Tag: doj

US plans to indict Cuba’s Raul Castro, US DOJ official says

The United States plans to indict Cuba’s Raul Castro, a U.S. Department of ​Justice official said late on Thursday.

The timing of the potential indictment, ‌which would need to be approved by a grand jury, was not immediately clear, but the official said it sounds imminent.

The potential indictment of the 94-year-old former ​president of Cuba and brother of Fidel is expected to focus ​on the downing of aircraft, the official said on condition ⁠of anonymity.

CBS previously reported that the case relates to Cuba’s deadly ​1996 shootdown of planes operated by humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue.

Representatives for ​Cuba’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of normal business hours.

A U.S. Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request ​for comment.

Trump’s administration has called Cuba’s current communist-run government corrupt and ​incompetent and is seeking to replace it. The latest move comes as President Donald Trump ‌has ⁠heaped pressure on Cuba, effectively imposing a blockade on the island by threatening sanctions on countries supplying it with fuel, igniting power outages and delivering blows to its economy.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District ​of Florida has ​been overseeing an ⁠effort to examine potential criminal charges against senior Cuban government officials.

Officials from both countries acknowledged earlier this year ​that they were in talks, but the negotiations appeared ​to founder ⁠amid the ongoing U.S. fuel blockade.

However, on Thursday, the Cuban government confirmed it had met with CIA chief John Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe told intelligence officials in Cuba that ⁠the U.S. ​was prepared to engage on economic security ​issues if Cuba makes “fundamental changes,” a CIA official said.

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Justice Department Files Complaint To Protect Law Enforcement, Challenging Connecticut Mask Ban, ID Requirements, And Use-Of-Force Policies For Federal Officers

Today, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Connecticut, Governor Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong, Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin, and Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Eliot Prescott, challenging their unconstitutional attempt to regulate federal law enforcement officers through the so-called “Act Concerning Democracy and Government Accountability,” also known as Senate Bill 397. 

“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Connecticut’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”

“This week — Police Week — we honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the safety of our Nation’s communities,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “This Department of Justice will not stand by idly in the face of lawless efforts that endanger our brothers and sisters in blue.”

“Connecticut’s attempt to regulate federal officers is dangerous and unconstitutional,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “State interference with federal operations is precisely what the Supremacy Clause was intended to prevent, as the Supreme Court has recognized for centuries.”

Among other things, the law prohibits federal officers from wearing facial coverings in the performance of their official duties, requires federal officers to clearly display their badge and name tag when performing official duties, and to adhere to Connecticut’s preferred use-of-force policies when performing official duties. Not only is the law an illegal attempt to regulate the federal government, but, as alleged in the complaint, the law threatens the safety of federal officers who have exhibited extreme bravery in enforcing our Nation’s laws despite an unprecedented wave of harassment, doxing, and even violence. Threatening officers with prosecution for simply protecting their identities and their families also chills the enforcement of federal law and compromises sensitive law enforcement operations. The danger is acute.

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DOJ Investigation Determines Yale’s Medical School Discriminated Against Whites and Asians

The Justice Department on Thursday, after a years-long investigation, determined that Yale’s School of Medicine discriminated against White and Asian applicants.

Yale selected applicants based on their race rather than their test scores.

According to the Justice Department, Black and Hispanic applicants with lower academic qualifications were admitted to Yale’s medical school over their White and Asian counterparts

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said Yale’s race-based program is in violation of federal law.

Via the DOJ:

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has completed a year-long investigation into the admissions policies and practices at the Yale School of Medicine.

Yale’s documents show that its leadership intentionally selected applicants based on their race.

Yale’s documents reveal that they studied how to use racial proxies to circumvent the Supreme Court’s prohibition on using race to select students.

Yale’s admissions data demonstrate that Black and Hispanic students have a much higher chance of admission to Yale than White or Asian students with the same test scores.

“Yale has continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform.” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“This Department will continue to shed light on these illegal practices, and demand that institutions of higher education comply with federal law,” Dhillon said.

The investigation showed that, in general, Black and Hispanic applicants were admitted with consistently lower academic qualifications than their White and Asian counterparts. These facts support the Department’s finding that Yale violated the law by intentionally discriminating based on race in its admissions, in clear violation of federal law.

Medical schools use substantial federal financial assistance to train the next generation of doctors.

The Department is continuing its focus on eradicating illegal race politics from admissions at medical schools, where quality and excellence are vitally important to public safety.

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John Brennan Admits There is a “Legion” of Deep State Operatives in DOJ and CIA Resisting Trump’s Orders

Former CIA Director John Brennan admitted to MSNOW anchor Nicolle Wallace that there is a “legion” of Deep State operatives in the DOJ and the CIA resisting Trump’s orders.

MSNOW hack Nicolle Wallace absurdly accused President Trump of turning the DOJ and FBI into political arms of his political operation.

She never said a word when Merrick Garland acted like Joe Biden’s personal lawyer and approved an FBI raid with deadly force on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago – at Biden request.

“What still exists in the system to slow that down?” Nicolle Wallace asked Obama’s CIA Director John Brennan.

“There’s still a legion of professionals in the law enforcement environment, Department of Justice, as well as the CIA and other places,” Brennan said.

“The ones who are refusing to follow politically motivated prosecutions, those who are refusing to support any type of political activities in the part of the Trump administration that are inconsistent with the authorities, the responsibilities of the intelligence community, law enforcement community, and Department of Justice,” Brennan confidently said to Nicolle Wallace.

“So, we have to rely on these individuals to stand up to their professional responsibilities and also to courts, to the judges…” Brennan said.

Brennan continued, “What has happened to our institutions is really going to have longstanding damage to these institutions.”

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Grassley Releases Records Showing Biden DOJ Possessed Text Messages From Hunter Biden Indicating Human Trafficking Violations – And Turned a Blind Eye

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley on Monday released records showing the Biden DOJ possessed text messages from Hunter Biden indicating human trafficking violations.

Hunter Biden was never charged for violating the Mann Act.

Merrick Garland’s DOJ turned a blind eye.

Click here to read the records.

In 2023, then-Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) held up explicit photos of Hunter Biden’s sex acts during an IRS whistleblower hearing.

Two IRS whistleblowers, Gary Shapley, and Joseph Ziegler, testified before the House Oversight Committee on the government prosecutors’ preferential treatment of Hunter Biden.

MTG brought the receipts showcasing Hunter Biden’s criminal behavior with prostitutes, possibly involving him in human trafficking violations.

The Democrats shouted at Marjorie Taylor Greene as she held up the photos.

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Senators release records on potential Hunter Biden prostitution crimes kept from them by Biden DOJ

Two Senate committees have obtained records from the Justice Department that show the government possessed evidence of potential prostitution-related crimes related to former first son Hunter Biden. 

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson had requested the records from the Justice Department in 2022, pursuant to their investigation into alleged corrupt acts and conflicts of interest by members of the Biden family. Those requests were not answered at the time. 

The Republican senators say the records – which include text messages between Hunter Biden and the women – show that the government had significant evidence of potential Mann Act violations allegedly committed by Hunter Biden from as early as October 2020.

For example, the messages show that Biden, whose father is former President Joe Biden, appeared to have purchased a flight from Los Angeles to an unknown destination for an unidentified woman in 2018. 

In their September 2020 report on Hunter Biden’s business interests in Ukraine while his father was vice president, the senators pointed to evidence that the younger Biden had paid women who were citizens of Ukraine and Russia. Some of those transactions were allegedly linked to what “appears to be an Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring.”

The findings raised concerns about potential Mann Act violations. The Mann Act prohibits the transfer of individuals across state lines for prostitution “or for any other immoral purpose.”

The IRS investigators who were probing Hunter Biden’s tax violations also said that they found evidence of potential Mann Act violations, Just the News previously reported. One of the investigators, who later blew the whistle to Congress about alleged favoritism shown to Biden by his father’s Justice Department, testified that Hunter Biden frequently deducted expenses for prostitutes and appeared to pay for their travel across state lines. 

Grassley, of Iowa said that the Justice Department’s failure to turn over the records earlier is further evidence of the favoritism shown to the then-president’s son. 

“[The] DOJ and FBI possessed evidence of potential crimes, yet it’s unclear what steps they … took to fully investigate this shocking evidence,” he said in a statement shared with Just the News. 

“We do know President Biden followed it up by issuing an unprecedented pardon to get his son off the hook for serious crimes. This is an affront to blind justice, and it’s especially sickening considering Hunter Biden’s actions appear to have put vulnerable women at risk,” he also said

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Biden to Fight Trump DOJ Over Release of 70 Hours of Audiotapes of His Conversations with Ghostwriter

Joe Biden will fight the Trump DOJ to prevent the release 70 hours of audiotapes of the former president’s conversations with his ghostwriter.

Last week it was reported that the DOJ was preparing to release damning audio of Biden’s interview with former Special Counsel Robert Hur. The Department is also going to release 2017 audio recordings of conversations with his ghostwriter in which he disclosed classified information.

Joe Biden is expected to intervene, according to Politico. The Judge says Biden has until Tuesday to respond.

“Former President Joe Biden intends to intervene in litigation to block the Trump administration’s effort to release 70 hours of partially redacted audio recordings of interviews he conducted in 2017 with a ghostwriter who worked with Biden on his memoirs, the Justice Department indicated in new court papers,” Politico reported.

“DOJ lawyers told a federal judge in Washington on Friday that they expected Biden would seek to “prevent any such disclosures” of the audio tapes to Congress and to the conservative Heritage Foundation, which sued last year to access the materials,” the outlet reported.

“President Biden cooperated fully with Special Counsel Hur, and agreed to provide audiotapes of conversations with his biographer for a book about his deceased son on the condition that they would not be made public,” Biden spokesperson TJ Ducklo said in a statement to Politico. “The DOJ themselves have said these tapes serve no public interest.”

“What’s happening now isn’t about transparency. It’s about politics,” Ducklo continued. “If this Administration were genuinely committed to transparency, they would release Volume 2 of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s own alleged mishandling of classified documents. That report contains information Americans actually deserve to see.”

Joe Biden previously asserted executive privilege over the audio recordings related to then-Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into his stolen classified documents scandal.

Republicans have argued that Joe Biden cannot assert executive privilege over the audio since the transcript has already been released.

Then-US Attorney General Merrick Garland classified the audio tapes of Biden’s interview with Hur as “Top Secret” and locked it way in a SCIF.

The Oversight Project vowed to obtain and release Biden’s audio recordings of his conversation with his ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer.

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‘Bitcoin Isn’t Going Anywhere’: Trump Officials Discuss DOJ, FBI Refocus on Crypto Crime, Not Developers

At the Bitcoin 2026 Conference, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel outlined a shift in the U.S. government’s approach to digital assets like Bitcoin.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel used a Bitcoin 2026 Conference panel to signal a shift in how the U.S. government approaches digital assets, stressing support for developers and a focus on crime rather than code.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, moderating the virtual discussion, opened by asking Blanche and Patel for their Bitcoin origin stories. 

Blanche said his son pushed him toward Bitcoin and called him a “clown and idiot” for not investing, while also noting that his government role bars him from owning assets. Patel framed Bitcoin and other virtual assets as economic infrastructure, saying they are assets “just like business and everything else” that “power and muscle the world.”

Blanche: Prior administrations suppressed bitcoin and crypto

Grewal then pressed the officials on past prosecutions tied to crypto. Blanche said some prior FBI and Justice Department efforts were misguided, suggesting that earlier administrations pursued cases against developers in ways that cut across core rights. 

He argued that the government should not treat software builders as stand‑ins for criminals and said the focus should be on “the third party criminal and not… the builders and platform builders.” 

According to Blanche, aggressive enforcement caused some platforms to leave the United States and reflected a lack of understanding that “stifled innovation” and “suffocated enthusiasts.”

“In the last administration, we were stifling innovation and depriving US citizen and Bitcoin and crypto enthusiasts from doing what they should be able to,” Blanche said.

Blanche drew a line between criminal use of crypto and the underlying technology. He said the government will not excuse bad actors who use Bitcoin or other digital assets for crime, but he rejected the idea that ordinary participants should live in constant fear of prosecution. 

On policy questions tied to cases such as Tornado Cash, Roman Storm, and Samourai Wallet, he said that if a person is developing software and is not the third‑party user committing a crime, “you are not going to get investigated and/or get charged.” He told coders that if they are under investigation, “your lawyer should feel very comfortable working with the FBI.”

Patel echoed that stance while stressing active enforcement against fraud. He said the FBI has spent the past year targeting scam centers that use crypto, including networks tied to foreign adversaries that seek to “police Americans and fleece them from their hard earned assets.” 

His goal, he said, is for the bureau to “look at the right people” and for Americans who buy digital assets to feel their funds are safe. Patel added that the FBI is proactively investigating crime in Bitcoin and other digital assets and is pushing prevention work on the “front end” to stop schemes before they reach victims.

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Justice Department seeks to revoke citizenship for 12 naturalized Americans

The Justice Department said Friday it is seeking to revoke the citizenship of 12 naturalized Americans, claiming they obtained their citizenship fraudulently.

The department claimed the 12 individuals have been accused of serious offenses, including providing material support to a terrorist group, committing war crimes and sexually abusing a minor, which are grounds for denaturalization.

“Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse, or expressing support for terrorism should never have been naturalized as United States citizens,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system. 

“Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law,” he added.

The department filed the court documents to revoke the citizenship in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

The migrants were from multiple countries, including two citizens from Colombia and one each from Bolivia, China, Gambia, India, Iraq, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia and Uzbekistan.

“This Department of Justice continues to file denaturalization actions at record speeds to restore integrity in our naturalization process,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the DOJ’s Civil Division said. “The disturbing criminal histories confirm these individuals should have never received the privilege of U.S. citizenship.  

“We remain committed to leveraging every tool available under the law to pursue those who obtain their U.S. citizenship unlawfully.”

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DOJ Sues New Mexico and Albuquerque Over Laws Blocking Federal Immigration Enforcement

The United States has filed a complaint and motion for preliminary injunction against the State of New Mexico, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, the City of Albuquerque, and Albuquerque Mayor Timothy Keller, alleging that the implementation of House Bill 9 (HB9), entitled the “Immigrant Safety Act,” and Albuquerque City Ordinance O-26-15, entitled the “Safer Community Places Ordinance (SCPO),” infringes on federal immigration enforcement authority.

Through HB9, the State of New Mexico is trying to abolish decades of long-standing, voluntary partnerships between local governments and federal authorities that are essential for enforcing immigration laws and keeping the federal immigration system running as Congress intended.

“New Mexico is attempting to regulate immigration policy, something the federal government is clearly and uniquely empowered by the Constitution to do,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Our filings seek to halt the state’s unconstitutional actions by preserving cooperation between federal, state, and local law enforcement and allowing federal immigration officials to enforce the law.”

Both HB9 and the SCPO seek to block federal agents from using any local government property to carry out their work. Additionally, by unlawfully requiring private businesses to tip off illegal aliens about immigration enforcement activities, the SCPO attempts to harbor and shield illegal aliens from detection by federal immigration authorities and poses an obstacle to the enforcement of federal immigration law.

“The State of New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque seek to intentionally obstruct federal law enforcement by preventing cooperation between local governments and the federal government,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison for the District of New Mexico. “HB9 and the SCPO unlawfully interfere with federal immigration enforcement, illegally discriminate against federal operations, and violate constitutional protections regarding contracts and federal supremacy. Additionally, by barring public entities from participating in federal immigration detention in New Mexico, HB9 jeopardizes nearly 300 jobs and the economy of Otero County. Our lawsuit asks the court to declare these laws invalid and issue an immediate injunction to stop them from being enforced.”

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