Federal Government Department
Appears in 16 stories
Under pressure from both parties over Epstein file releases
No former president has ever been held in criminal contempt of Congress. On January 21, 2026, the House Oversight Committee voted 34-8 to advance a contempt resolution against Bill Clinton, with nine Democrats crossing party lines to support it. A companion resolution targeting Hillary Clinton passed 28-15, with three Democratic votes.
Updated 7 days ago
Supported petitioner
Federal courts have debated for decades whether restitution is criminal punishment or a civil remedy—a distinction that matters because the Constitution's Ex Post Facto Clause bars retroactive increases in criminal punishment. On January 20, 2026, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act is criminal punishment, so defendants cannot be held to payment terms that didn't exist when they committed their crimes.
Conducting criminal investigation into Fed Chair
On January 30, 2026, President Trump nominated former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Fed Chair when Powell's term expires in May. Gold, which had surged to a record $5,626 per ounce amid the constitutional crisis over Powell's criminal investigation, plunged 11% in hours as investors bet Warsh would preserve central bank independence.
Updated May 20
Conducting antitrust review of merger
Getty Images and Shutterstock announced a $3.7 billion merger on January 7, 2025. The two largest stock photo companies will control roughly 75% of the global market. Getty shareholders get 54.7% of the combined company, Shutterstock gets 45.3%.
Updated May 19
Providing warrants and forfeiture pathways that make sea actions legally defensible
The U.S. Coast Guard is now chasing a third Venezuela-linked tanker in international waters near Venezuela—under a judicial seizure order. Two other tankers have already been stopped in the past 11 days, including one dramatic helicopter boarding that the administration amplified on social media.
Updated May 15
Filed the appeal; represents the administration in the consolidated litigation
Harvard won. A federal judge said the government unlawfully cut off Harvard's research money—then ordered the taps turned back on. Now the Trump administration is appealing, keeping a cloud over a sprawling research portfolio that runs from medical breakthroughs to national-security science.
Houses the Attorney General and oversees the rescheduling rulemaking track
Trump's executive order instructing DOJ to fast-track marijuana's move to Schedule III immediately triggered a familiar split. Public health and industry groups cheered the potential research and tax impacts, while House Republicans organized opposition, urging Trump to keep marijuana in Schedule I.
Primary enforcement authority for the TikTok sell-or-ban law
The deal closed on January 22, 2026. TikTok's U.S. operations now belong to TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC—a new entity where Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX each hold 15%, existing ByteDance investor affiliates hold 30.1%, and ByteDance itself retains exactly 19.9%.
Administers federal pardons and has scrutinized Colorado’s handling of the Peters case.
President Trump pardoned former Mesa County, Colorado clerk Tina Peters in December 2025 over her nine-year state prison sentence for letting election conspiracy activists copy voting-machine data. The pardon has no legal effect on her state conviction, yet it triggered an escalating confrontation.
Ordered to release Epstein and Maxwell records under tight statutory deadlines
Jeffrey Epstein is dead, but his paper trail has led to immediate legal battles. On January 30, 2026, the Justice Department released more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images.
Updated May 14
Ordered to launch an AI Litigation Task Force targeting state AI laws.
Donald Trump just turned AI regulation into a states' rights knife fight. His new executive order creates a Justice Department "AI Litigation Task Force" to attack state AI laws. Washington can threaten to withhold $42 billion in broadband funds from states that don't comply.
Updated May 11
Provides the legal framework and forfeiture process for tanker seizures like the Skipper.
A US Coast Guard team fast-roped from helicopters onto the supertanker Skipper off Venezuela's coast. Within hours, President Donald Trump was bragging in Washington that the United States had just seized one of the world's largest tankers and would likely keep the oil.
Brought and is now moving to drop the Lopez–Full Play case amid wider anti‑corruption retrenchment
U.S. prosecutors spent years proving that Hernan Lopez, a former Fox International Channels CEO, and the sports marketing firm Full Play bribed South American soccer officials to lock down lucrative TV rights. A Brooklyn jury convicted them in 2023.
Updated May 10
Bringing criminal cases against Dubranova and coordinating broader actions against Russian cyber actors
A 33-year-old Ukrainian woman now sits at the center of Washington's latest cyber drama. U.S. prosecutors say Victoria Dubranova helped two Russia-backed hacker crews hit water systems, food facilities, and other infrastructure, turning online "hacktivism" into covert state work.
Executive branch department at the center of disputes over Trump prosecutions and alleged 'weaponization'
In November 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed veteran prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee two high‑risk investigations into Donald Trump: his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at Mar‑a‑Lago. Both probes produced federal indictments in 2023, placing a former president on track to face criminal trials over alleged election subversion and mishandling of national‑security secrets.
Released Epstein files that triggered the investigation
The last time British police arrested a senior member of the royal family, the monarch in question lost his head. Nearly four centuries later, on February 19, 2026, Thames Valley Police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — the former Prince Andrew and brother of King Charles III — on suspicion of misconduct in public office, making him the first senior British royal to face criminal investigation in modern history. The next day, police executed search warrants at Royal Lodge, a 30-room Windsor estate, and Wood Farm in Norfolk, seizing potential evidence.
Updated Feb 20
No stories match your search
Try a different keyword
How would you like to describe your experience with the app today?
