United States Department of Justice

Force in Play

Under acting AG Todd Blanche, continuing prosecutions of former officials

James Comey deleted the Instagram post within hours of publishing it. Nearly a year later, a federal grand jury in North Carolina charged him with two counts of threatening the President of the United States over the same fifteen-character image: '8647' written above seashells. The indictment, returned April 28, 2026, is the second federal case Trump's Justice Department has brought against the former FBI Director—the first, filed in Virginia in September 2025, was dismissed when a judge ruled the interim prosecutor had been unlawfully appointed. Alongside the new indictment, Judge Louise Wood Flanagan issued an arrest warrant for Comey; he may be allowed to self-surrender rather than be taken into custody. Within hours, Comey posted a video response on his Substack: 'I'm still innocent. I'm still not afraid.'

Updated 3 days ago

Rule Changes

Filed motion to dismiss Bannon's conviction under Trump administration

The Supreme Court on April 6, 2026, vacated the appeals court ruling that upheld Steve Bannon's criminal contempt of Congress conviction, sending the case back to the lower courts where the Department of Justice (DOJ) has a pending motion to dismiss the charges entirely. The brief, unsigned order contained no noted dissents. Bannon had already served a four-month federal prison sentence in 2024 for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Updated Apr 6

Rule Changes

Leadership in transition; acting attorney general facing legal challenges; permanent replacement under Senate consideration

President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2, 2026, replacing her with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — the lawyer who defended Trump in his Manhattan criminal trial before joining the Department of Justice (DOJ). The move makes Blanche the fourth person to lead the Justice Department under Trump, following Jeff Sessions, William Barr, and Bondi herself. Within hours of Bondi's removal, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans signaled they would consider Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin as a permanent replacement, though legal scholars raised questions about Blanche's ability to simultaneously serve as both acting attorney general and acting Librarian of Congress.

Updated Apr 3

Money Moves

Cleared the acquisition without conditions

Wiz was founded in January 2020 by four veterans of Israel's military intelligence Unit 8200. Six years later, Google paid $32 billion in cash to acquire it — the largest deal in Google's history, the largest cybersecurity acquisition ever, and more than the combined cost of Google's eight next-biggest purchases. The deal closed on March 11, 2026, after clearing both United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and European Union regulatory review without conditions. Google had tried once before, offering roughly $23 billion in mid-2024; Wiz walked away and said it would pursue an initial public offering instead. Google came back nine months later and paid 39 percent more.

Updated Mar 11