Latest Merrick Garland News

Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency

Dec. 13, 2024 12:06 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It's the largest single-day act of clemency in modern...

FBI Director Wray says he intends to resign before Trump takes office in January

Dec. 12, 2024 11:06 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray told bureau workers Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden's term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job. ...

Editorial Roundup: United States

Dec. 10, 2024 20:42 PM EST

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Dec. 6 The Washington Post on the Senate and a shrinking window to protect press freedom In 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland established new, but long-needed, press...

Justice Department ignored some policies when seizing reporters' phone records, watchdog finds

Dec. 10, 2024 14:33 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors sidestepped some Justice Department rules when they seized the phone records or emails of reporters as part of media leak investigations during the Trump administration, according to a new watchdog report being released as the aggressive practice of hunting...

Federal appeals court upholds law requiring sale or ban of TikTok in the US

Dec. 06, 2024 20:06 PM EST

A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok as soon as next month, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia...

Editorial Roundup: United States

Dec. 03, 2024 20:56 PM EST

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Dec. 2 The Washington Post on Joe Biden's pardon of Hunter Biden President-elect Donald Trump is selecting radical MAGA loyalists for top national security positions,...

Trump's FBI pick has plans to reshape the bureau. This is what Kash Patel has said he wants to do

Dec. 03, 2024 12:55 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kash Patel has been well-known for years within Donald Trump's orbit as a loyal supporter who shares the president-elect's skepticism of the FBI and intelligence community. But he's receiving fresh attention, from the public and from Congress, now that Trump has picked him to...

Biden pardons his son Hunter despite previous pledges not to

Dec. 02, 2024 07:49 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family. The...

Trump says he'll nominate Kash Patel as FBI director to remake the agency. Here's what happens next

Dec. 01, 2024 16:34 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s stunning announcement that he will nominate Kash Patel as FBI director sets the stage for a fresh round of turbulence at a law enforcement agency tasked with protecting the homeland and investigating federal crimes. Patel, a...

How Trump's bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes

Nov. 26, 2024 17:45 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was committed to holding accountable all perpetrators “at any level” for “the assault on our democracy.” That bold declaration won't apply to at least one...