Tag: Trump Justice Department

Justice Department says FDA ‘lacks jurisdiction’ over death-penalty drugs

The Justice Department says in a new legal opinion that the Food and Drug Administration does not have authority over drugs used in lethal injections, a stance sure to be challenged by death-penalty opponents.

The department’s Office of Legal Counsel said that “articles intended for use in capital punishment by a state or the federal government cannot be regulated as ‘drugs’ or ‘devices.’ ”

The legal opinion, issued this month, comes as states have struggled in recent years to obtain drugs for lethal injections, which remain the country’s primary method of execution even as the number of executions has declined.

View the complete May 14 article by Laurie McGinley and Mark Berman on The Washington Post website here.

Barr Assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to Review Origins of Russia Inquiry

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr has assigned the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut to examine the origins of the Russia investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter, a move that President Trump has long called for but that could anger law enforcement officials who insist that scrutiny of the Trump campaign was lawful.

John H. Durham, the United States attorney in Connecticut, has a history of serving as a special prosecutor investigating potential wrongdoing among national security officials, including the F.B.I.’s ties to a crime boss in Boston and accusations of C.I.A. abuses of detainees.

His inquiry is the third known investigation focused on the opening of an F.B.I. counterintelligence investigation during the 2016 presidential campaign into possible ties between Russia’s election interference and Trump associates.

View the complete May 13 article by Adam Goldman, Charlie Savage and Michael S. Schmidt on The New York Times website here.

House Intel panel subpoenas Barr for full Mueller report, evidence

The House Intelligence Committee has issued a subpoena for documents and materials related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s election interference.

The panel’s chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), issued the subpoena to Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday evening, accusing the Justice Department of failing to negotiate with the committee or comply with the panel’s bipartisan requests for Mueller’s files.

The committee is demanding Mueller’s full unredacted report, the underlying evidence, and all counterintelligence and foreign intelligence materials generated in the course of the investigation. It set a May 15 deadline for the Justice Department to hand over the materials.

View the complete May 8 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

House panel votes to hold Barr in contempt

The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, escalating a growing feud between Democrats and the Trump administration over special counsel Robert Mueller‘s report.

In a 24-16 vote, Democrats made a formal recommendation that the House hold Barr in contempt for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena for Mueller’s full unredacted report and underlying documents.

House leaders have expressed support for the contempt resolution, though it’s unclear when it will advance to the House floor. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said during a press conference after the vote that it would happen “rapidly” and “soon,” though he said he is not sure of a specific time.

View the complete May 8 article by Morgan Chalfant and Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

Legal Expert: Barr Made A ‘Serious Error’ In Defense Of Trump

President Donald Trump has repeatedly described special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report for the Russia investigation as a total vindication of him, insisting that Mueller ruled out the possibility of obstruction of justice. But Mueller never ruled out that possibility; he simply didn’t reach a conclusion on the matter. And Rebecca Roiphe, a New York Law School professor and former Manhattan prosecutor, explains why Mueller was right to do what he did — and why Attorney General William Barr’s response to Mueller’s report is deeply problematic.

Mueller, Roiphe notes inThe Daily Beast, has allowed for Congress to evaluate the obstruction matter — which was exactly what he should have done.

“To be sure, by handing over the lightly redacted results of Mueller’s investigation to Congress, Barr served the purpose of the Constitution and special counsel regulations,” Roiphe observes. “But by making his own call on criminal obstruction, Barr made a serious error.”

View the completeMay 7 article by Alex Henderson of AlterNet on the National Memo website here.

Poll: Little support for Barr’s handling of Mueller report

Amid Attorney General William Barr’s escalating clash with Congress, a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows few voters are praising him for how he has handled the release of the Mueller report.

But while many voters disapprove of Barr’s handling of the report, there’s little sign of the kind of widespread antipathy that would lend public support to congressional Democrats who are considering holding the attorney general in contempt for not providing information and testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.

View the complete May 8 article by Steven Shepard on the Politico website here.

Dems want Justice IG to investigate Barr

Democrats are trying to convince the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate Attorney General William Barr in the wake of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.

Senate Democrats realize they have almost no shot at convincing the Republican majority to dig into Barr’s actions since the Russia investigation wrapped up in March, and little leverage to force GOP senators, who are eager to move on, to the negotiating table.

Instead, they’re focusing their efforts on winning over the Justice Department’s top watchdog, putting the inspector general in the middle of a fight between Senate Democrats and Barr.

View the complete May 7 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

FBI director Chris Wray pushes back on Bill Barr’s claim about ‘spying’ on the Trump campaign

FBI director Chris Wray pushed back on Attorney General William Barr’s claims about law enforcement “spying” on the Trump campaign.

Barr suggested FBI surveillance that caught up at least two campaign associates was improperly conducted, despite courts issuing warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to investigate foreign nationals who spoke to members of the Trump campaign.

Wray, however, disputed Barr’s usage of the term and said he knew of no illegal surveillance on any of the 2016 campaigns.

“That’s not the term I would use,” Wray said.

View the complete May 7 article by Travis Gettys on the Raw Story website here.

Trump move raises pressure on Barr

President Trump’s decision to publicly object to special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony has raised pressure on Attorney General William Barr while stoking a deepening feud with Capitol Hill over presidential power.

Barr has maintained that he is willing to allow Mueller to testify, a position that now appears to put him at odds with the president.

Until this weekend, Trump had expressed ambivalence over Mueller’s testimony, leaving the decision up to Barr.

View the complete May 6 article by Morgan Chalfant and Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

With Mueller on Justice staff, Barr has sway over testimony

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller was expected to step down days after concluding his investigation in March. Yet he remains a Justice Department employee — and the department won’t say why.

That’s just one of the complications at play in the high-stakes, secret negotiations over whether Mueller will testify before Congress.

Whatever role Mueller now has, keeping him on the Justice Department payroll offers one clear advantage to President Donald Trump’s administration: It makes it easier for Attorney General William Barr to block Mueller from testifying before Congress.

View the complete May 6 article by Michael Balsamo and Jonathan LeMire on the Associated Press website here.