Department of Justice

Money Moves

Would administer the contested settlement fund

ICE and Border Patrol budgets normally have to be renegotiated every year, which gives both parties leverage during shutdown fights. Early Friday, the Senate voted 52-47 to fund them for three years straight, through the end of President Trump's term.

Updated 6 days ago

Rule Changes

Complying with court order; fund dropped

The Trump administration dropped its $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund on June 1, less than two weeks after creating it. Three forces killed it: a court freeze in Alexandria, a Senate Republican revolt that stalled the reconciliation bill, and a meeting between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump. No claims were ever paid.

Updated Jun 2

Rule Changes

Secured criminal conviction and sentencing

OxyContin launched in 1996 with marketing that downplayed addiction risk. Thirty years and hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths later, the company that made it no longer exists.

Updated May 31

Rule Changes

Prosecuting the case from the District of Maryland

A federal grand jury indicted Dr. David Morens, 78, Fauci's longest-serving adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). He faces five counts: conspiracy against the United States and destruction of federal records. Morens allegedly used a personal Gmail account to route official COVID-19 business outside the reach of FOIA requests.

Updated May 31

Force in Play

Lead prosecuting authority

A Secret Service officer's ballistic vest stopped a shotgun round at the Washington Hilton on the evening of April 25. Two days later, federal prosecutors charged the shooter, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, with attempting to assassinate President Trump.

Updated May 31

Rule Changes

Signaled intent to seek further review after DC Circuit loss

For 45 years, the Refugee Act of 1980 has guaranteed that anyone reaching US soil—however they got there—can ask for asylum. On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed a proclamation declaring an 'invasion' at the southern border and suspending that right. A federal appeals court just ruled he cannot.

Updated May 31

Force in Play

Bringing the prosecution; Office of Inspector General co-leads the underlying probe

A federal court sealed Volume II of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on Donald Trump's handling of classified documents in January 2025. Sixteen months later, the Department of Justice charged a supervisor from the same U.S. Attorney's Office (which once held the case file) with emailing the sealed volume to her personal Gmail as 'Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf.'

Updated May 21