Latest U.S. Department of Justice News

Trump braces for possible federal charges after being warned he's a target of documents probe

Jun. 08, 2023 17:28 PM EDT

MIAMI (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and his aides are bracing for a potential indictment in the classified documents investigation as prosecutors handling the probe were spotted Thursday at a Miami courthouse where a grand jury has been hearing from witnesses. The former...

Young lawyer who helped write voting rights bill 'star-struck' as he witnessed 1965 signing into law

Jun. 08, 2023 12:41 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joel Finkelstein is an accidental witness to one of the seminal events of the civil rights movement, the signing in 1965 of the Voting Rights Act. He was a year out of law school at Cornell when he received the call to head to the Capitol for the signing. Now 83,...

Voices from the violent civil rights era see attacks on voting rights as part of ongoing struggle

Jun. 08, 2023 12:05 PM EDT

They are part of a small, vanishing group who lived at the epicenter of the struggle for voting rights six decades ago, an era driven by segregation, violence and the yearning for equality that eventually led to laws bringing the U.S. closer to its promise of democracy for all its citizens. ...

Justice Dept. moves closer toward possible indictment of Trump in classified documents investigation

Jun. 07, 2023 21:43 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump in Florida heard from at least one additional witness Wednesday amid signs that the Justice Department was moving toward a possible indictment over the former president's mishandling of classified documents. In the...

Gunman who opened fire after Virginia high school graduation targeted graduate, Richmond police say

Jun. 07, 2023 18:59 PM EDT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A gunman who opened fire minutes after a high school graduation in Richmond, Virginia, targeted an 18-year-old graduate he had a long-running dispute with, police said Wednesday. Shawn Jackson, 18, and his father, Lorenzo Smith, 36, were both killed Tuesday in...

Justice Jackson reports flowers from Oprah, designer clothing as Thomas delays filing disclosure

Jun. 07, 2023 15:47 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disclosed Wednesday that she received a $1,200 congratulatory floral display from Oprah Winfrey and $6,580 in designer clothing for a magazine photo shoot in her first months as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. The details...

Florida grand jury involved in Trump documents probe by Justice Dept., AP source says

Jun. 06, 2023 23:36 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are using a grand jury in Florida as part of their investigation into the possible mishandling of classified documents at former President Donald Trump's Palm Beach property, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday night. The grand jury...

Supreme Court tossed out heart of Voting Rights Act a decade ago, prompting wave of new voting rules

Jun. 06, 2023 20:59 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — Within hours of a U.S. Supreme Court decision dismantling a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Texas lawmakers announced plans to implement a strict voter ID law that had been blocked by a federal court. Lawmakers in Alabama said they would press forward with a similar law...

Activist pleads guilty to federal charge in 2020 Philadelphia protest

Jun. 06, 2023 17:13 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A well-known west Philadelphia activist has pleaded guilty to a felony over actions during 2020 protests following the death of George Floyd. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Anthony Smith pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of obstructing law...

Black man shot in the mouth by Mississippi deputy to file federal civil rights lawsuit

Jun. 06, 2023 16:07 PM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Two men — one of whom was shot in the mouth by a law enforcement officer — announced on Tuesday that they will file a federal civil rights lawsuit against a Mississippi sheriff’s department alleging a pattern of excessive force against Black people. In...