Executive Branch

Gaetz’s AG nomination could face ‘steep’ climb, senators warn

Republican senators signaled Thursday that they plan to closely scrutinize allegations of wrongdoing dogging Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, former congressman Matt Gaetz, setting up a potential showdown between the president-elect and the GOP-controlled Senate.

Nov 14, 2024 4:21 PM CST

Biden faces shrinking window for judicial nominations

Senate Democrats are staring down a shrinking timeline to confirm more than two dozen of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, with President-elect Donald Trump warning Republicans to do all they can to block the effort.

Nov 13, 2024 3:25 PM CST

RNC election lawyer, a ‘very genial guy,’ will be new White House counsel

The White House counsel in the new Trump administration is a former BigLaw lawyer who worked as the Republican National Committee’s outside counsel for election integrity in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Nov 13, 2024 11:24 AM CST

Federal judge suspends deadlines in Trump criminal case

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s election-interference case in D.C. federal court suspended all remaining deadlines Friday—the latest sign that the federal prosecutions of the president-elect are winding down.

Nov 8, 2024 1:00 PM CST

Which law firms are expected to win influence in Trump administration?

Boutique and smaller law firms that have advised President-elect Donald Trump and his allies may be among the legal counsel who benefit when he takes office in January.

Nov 7, 2024 9:22 AM CST

‘Watchdogs’ author has no regrets about choosing civil service over the NBA

Glenn Fine’s career-long crusade against corruption might have its roots in his college days as a point guard for the Harvard basketball team. He played his personal best against Boston College—in a game that he later discovered had been fixed by the mob.

Nov 6, 2024 8:11 AM CST

What we know about Trump, Harris, and judicial nominations

The numbers will fluctuate before the inauguration in January, but the next president could have the fewest openings to fill at the start of a presidential term since 1989, according to figures compiled by the Brookings Institution. Any openings on the Supreme Court would depend in part on who wins the White House.

Oct 31, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

Trump says he’d fire special counsel Jack Smith in ‘two seconds’ if elected again

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would “fire” special counsel Jack Smith on his first day back in the White House if he is elected again, making clear that he would push to drop a pair of federal cases against him.

Oct 24, 2024 1:07 PM CDT

Appendix of source materials unsealed in Trump Jan. 6 prosecution

U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan on Friday unsealed a heavily redacted—and unrevelatory—version of the appendix of source materials underpinning special counsel Jack Smith’s case against Donald Trump for election interference.

Oct 18, 2024 11:25 AM CDT

Conservative faction pushes judge nominees who are ‘even more bold and more conservative’

Former President Donald Trump has broken with leaders of the conservative Federalist Society, who failed to voice their support when he tried to overturn the 2020 election and when prosecutors charged him with crimes.

Oct 15, 2024 10:02 AM CDT

Judge approves releasing source documents that detail more Trump-Jan. 6 evidence

A federal judge on Thursday approved the public release of redacted source documents that helped inform special counsel Jack Smith’s explosive 165-page legal brief arguing that Donald Trump can still face prosecution for trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election, but gave the former president seven days to take steps to block the disclosure.

Oct 11, 2024 9:31 AM CDT

SCOTUS immunity decision may have protected crimes in Nixon White House, 9th Circuit judge says

White House “plumbers” who broke into the office of the psychiatrist treating the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers may have had immunity for their crimes if the U.S. Supreme Court’s July immunity decision had governed the cases, according to an op-ed by a federal appeals judge.

Oct 8, 2024 3:54 PM CDT

FBI probe of Kavanaugh was constrained by Trump White House, report finds

In September 2018, as allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett M. Kavanaugh threatened his confirmation to the Supreme Court, President Donald Trump vowed that the FBI would have “free rein” to vet the claims. But the White House never authorized the agency to independently probe the sexual misconduct allegations, which Kavanaugh staunchly denied.

Oct 8, 2024 12:34 PM CDT

Biden student loan forgiveness may proceed, federal judge says

A federal judge will allow a temporary restraining order that prevented President Joe Biden from discharging student loan debt for more than 25 million Americans to expire Thursday, clearing the way for the administration to move forward with the plan.

Oct 3, 2024 1:40 PM CDT

5 takeaways from the big new filing on Trump’s 2020 election plot

We now have the most extensive new detail in years about former President Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the 2020 election, in the form of a much-anticipated filing from special counsel Jack Smith. It features some significant revelations and quotes that could be important not just for the legal battle, but for the 2024 election.

Oct 3, 2024 1:15 PM CDT