The U.S. Department of Justice is facing criticism for proposing a rule that would expand its power and shield its own attorneys from accountability for professional misconduct, potentially eroding public trust in the justice system.
The proposed rule would allow the Attorney General to delay or suspend state bar investigations of DOJ attorneys, which critics argue could weaken accountability and allow the department to police itself.
Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich argues that Harmeet Dhillon’s potential nomination as Attorney General signals a shift away from civil rights enforcement, pointing to her selective approach to cases involving law enforcement violence and her targeting of universities for allowing “antisemitic” protests.
The Vera Institute of Justice has issued a statement criticizing the removal of Attorney General Pam Bondi, highlighting the changes under her leadership that affected victim services, youth justice, and more, as well as the funding cuts that affected various programs.
The Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi has closed over 23,000 criminal cases in the first six months of President Donald Trump’s administration, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses, while pursuing immigration cases.
Minnesota prosecutors have filed a federal lawsuit against the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to force the Trump administration to release evidence in the shootings of three people, despite being denied by the federal government.
The Biden administration has rescinded its stricter “no-knock” entry procedures, expanding the circumstances under which federal law enforcement may conduct searches without warning, and has been met with criticism from some former prosecutors.
The U.S. Department of Justice has violated court orders in New Jersey more than 50 times, due to the Trump administration’s mass deportation expansion, according to a Politico report.
Grand juries in recent federal cases have declined to indict in matters that prosecutors appeared confident would proceed, suggesting a resurgence of the grand jury’s constitutional role and a growing skepticism among citizens called to serve.
Federal Judge Margaret M. Garnett has dismissed two counts of Luigi Mangione’s federal indictment, ruling that prosecutors cannot pursue a potential death sentence in the case tied to the killing of Brian Thompson, as the crime did not meet the criteria for a federal death penalty.
ICE is a symptom of a deeper structural malignancy within the federal government, and that meaningful reform requires returning immigration enforcement to the Department of Justice and fundamentally reforming the Department of Homeland Security.
Don Lemon, a former CNN anchor, was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles for allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act while covering a protest, in what press freedom advocates and courts have called an unprecedented effort to criminalize routine newsgathering.
The Biden administration’s criminal justice reform efforts have been criticized for relying on short-term measures and political signaling rather than durable policy changes, leaving the system vulnerable to reversal under future administrations.
A federal judge has dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to compel California to turn over its full, unredacted statewide voter registration list, rejecting what voting rights groups described as an unlawful attempt to obtain voters’ sensitive personal information.
Three former DOJ trial attorneys have criticized the Trump administration for canceling an agreement between Minneapolis and the DOJ that required police to de-escalate whenever possible, arguing that it undermined accountability and led to the fatal shooting of Renee Good.
The Wren Collective has identified 10 significant attacks on democracy and civil rights in the US in 2025, including mass deportation, increased use of the death penalty, dismantling of civil rights enforcement, and attacks on health care, academic freedom, and press freedom.
The Wren Collective has released a year-end recap of its Democracy Under Attack newsletter, highlighting the 10 worst excesses of the Trump administration’s power over the past year, including the use of a secret police force, the aggressive pursuit of the death penalty, the withdrawal of the Department of Justice from civil rights enforcement, the mobilization of the National Guard, the control of academic freedom, the attack on journalism, the criminalization of reproductive and transgender health care, the attack on entertainers, the use of government-run accounts as internet trolls, and the slashing of public safety investments.
Prison reform experts and advocacy groups are raising concerns after recently released Department of Justice reports on sexual violence in prisons and jails omitted data on incarcerated transgender people, which could hinder reform efforts and obscure the realities of violence behind bars.
Federal attorneys argue that President Donald Trump’s continued federal control of California National Guard troops stationed in Los Angeles remains lawful due to an alleged ongoing “danger of rebellion,” despite California’s insistence that the deployment violates constitutional limits on presidential power and undermines state authority over its Guard.
The Department of Justice released a memo under the Trump administration that threatens to roll back key protections for transgender and intersex people under the Prison Rape Elimination Act, potentially putting them at increased risk of sexual assault in federal prisons, jails, and youth facilities.