Jeremy Roebuck

Kilmar Abrego García set free after illegal deportation, smuggling charges The Maryland man illegally deported to El Salvador has been released as he awaits trial on human smuggling charges. ICE may try to quickly deport him.

NEWS W/ @jeremyrroebuck.bsky.social

Kilmar Abrego García set free after illegal deportation, smuggling charges

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

Migrants criminally charged after failing to register with U.S. government Prosecutors are criminally charging unauthorized immigrants who have not signed up on a little-known government registry. Some judges rejected the charges.

Migrants criminally charged after failing to register with U.S. government via @jeremyrroebuck.bsky.social and Marianne LeVine www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

Justice Dept. to drop police reform deals with Minneapolis, Louisville Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s civil rights division, announced the decision days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.

Justice Dept. to drop police reform deals with Minneapolis, Louisville

via Mark Berman + @perrylstein.bsky.social

ICE moves detainees to Texas facility where judge declined to halt deportations One Philadelphia man was transferred to Texas in apparent violation of a court order requiring that he be kept in Pennsylvania as his case played out there.

NEW: ICE has moved dozens of potential targets for Alien Enemies Act removal to a facility in the one court division in the nation that has so far declined to stand in the way of Trump's deportation plans. Advocates fear "gamesmanship" w/ Marianne Levine

Justice Department lawyers face skeptical judges upset by ‘shoddy work’ In lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, judges have accused the Justice Department of offering flimsy evidence and inadequate answers.

Judges are increasingly losing their patience with the Trump administration.

The “deference that judges would give to attorneys from Main Justice is evaporating,” one said.

w/ Mark Berman

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Dozens more cases filed in New Mexico yesterday and today since our first report.

First migrants charged with entering restricted military zone at border The Justice Department has begun the first criminal prosecutions of migrants who breach a newly expanded military zone at the southern border that is patrolled by U.S. troops.

DOJ has begun the first prosecutions of migrants who breach a newly expanded military zone at the southern border patrolled by U.S. troops, threatening people with additional penalties for crossing the border illegally

w/ @mariasacchetti.bsky.social + @danlamothe.bsky.social

FBI reassigns agents who knelt during 2020 Black Lives Matter protests Conservatives have pointed to the photo, taken during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, as proof that the FBI harbors a liberal agenda.

The FBI has reassigned several agents who were photographed kneeling with protesters in Washington, D.C., during the 2020 racial justice protests after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

via @perrystein.bsky.social + @ellenwapo.bsky.social

First migrants charged with entering restricted military zone at border The Justice Department has begun the first criminal prosecutions of migrants who breach a newly expanded military zone at the southern border that is patrolled by U.S. troops.

SCOOP w/ @danlamothe.bsky.social & @jeremyrroebuck.bsky.social

First migrants charged with entering restricted military zone at border The Justice Department has begun the first criminal prosecutions of migrants who breach a newly expanded military zone at the southern border that is patrolled by U.S. troops.

DOJ has begun the first prosecutions of migrants who breach a newly expanded military zone at the southern border patrolled by U.S. troops, threatening people with additional penalties for crossing the border illegally

w/ @mariasacchetti.bsky.social + @danlamothe.bsky.social

DOJ to review case of FBI informant who fueled conspiracies about Biden family Alexander Smirnov pleaded guilty in December in federal court in Los Angeles to multiple federal charges, including making a false statement and tax charges.

DOJ to review case of FBI informant who fueled conspiracies about Biden family

via @perrylstein.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Amid Trump’s pause on foreign bribery cases, one involving a company his allies targeted will proceed Prosecutors intend to move forward with their case against two former executives at the voting machine company Smartmatic, which became a target of conspiracy theorists during the 2020 election.

Amid Trump’s pause on foreign bribery prosecutions, the Justice Department has authorized one case to proceed -- and it involves an old target of the president and his allies.

FBI, other criminal investigators drafted for welfare checks on migrant children Trump administration officials say they want to protect young migrants from trafficking and violence. Advocates worry they’re being targeted for deportation.

DHS has enlisted FBI & other LEO agencies to do welfare checks on migrant children & young people, alarming advocates, @marianne_levine @mariasacchetti.bsky.social
@jeremyrroebuck.bsky.social @carolleonnig.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social report. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

FBI, other criminal investigators drafted for welfare checks on migrant children Trump administration officials say they want to protect young migrants from trafficking and violence. Advocates worry they’re being targeted for deportation.

DHS has enlisted the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to do welfare checks on migrant children and young people, alarming advocates

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

How the Justice Department is remaking itself in Trump’s image

w/ Mark Berman + @perrystein.bsky.social + Spencer S. Hsu

wapo.st/4icDsIh

Several top career officials ousted at Justice Department The terminations are the latest upheavals at an agency where the administration has removed several high-ranking officials.

Justice Dept ousts several more career officials including top pardon attorney and lawyer leading the office that handles internal investigations into prosecutorial misconduct.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

‘We will not falter.’ Trump-era resignation letters take center stage. A wave of federal government firings and resignations since President Donald Trump took office means colorful departure letters have burst into public view.

‘We will not falter:' The art of the carefully-crafted resignation letter in Trump's second term

Copy of the memo here: www.washingtonpost.com/documents/2f...

Trump’s orders have a common theme: Have the Justice Dept. handle it Donald Trump signed orders dealing with the border, criminal justice and the Biden administration. In many cases, he assigned work to the attorney general.

NEW: Trump’s executive orders have a common theme: Have the Justice Dept. handle it

w/ @markberman.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Justice Department says it will prosecute local officials over immigration enforcement The directives to Justice Department employees could face fierce blowback from legal advocacy groups and officials in cities and states led by Democrats.

Justice Department says it will prosecute local officials who resist immigration enforcement efforts

w/ @mariasacchetti.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Trump’s orders have a common theme: Have the Justice Dept. handle it Donald Trump signed orders dealing with the border, criminal justice and the Biden administration. In many cases, he assigned work to the attorney general.

Trump’s executive orders have a common theme: Have the Justice Dept. handle it, via @markberman.bsky.social @jeremyrroebuck.bsky.social l www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Newly released FBI wiretap documents reveal glimpse of George Norcross-John Dougherty relationship The filings show how the New Jersey power broker and Philadelphia labor leader raised money to support each other’s favored political candidates and leveraged their fiefdoms to advance their goals.

Throughout, Doc refers to Norcross in his conversations with others as the "big guy across the water" or "my buddy in NJ"

As the FBI listened in, Norcross and Dougherty discussed fundraising, land deals, potential contracts, and their mutual disdain for Brady's leadership of the Philly Democratic Party.

The wiretaps caught discussions among Norcross, Dougherty and a veritable who's who of political figures on both sides of the Delaware River - including ex-Philly Mayor Jim Kenney, former NJ Gov. Chris Christie, ex-NJ Sen Prez Steve Sweeney, and Philly Dem Party chair Bob Brady

The filings offer the most complete portrait to date of how the FBI probe of Dougherty, which ended with his conviction for bribery and embezzlement, grew to include taps on Norcross' phones. Feds did not charge Norcross, but some of what they heard is now part of NJ AG's case.

Newly released FBI wiretap documents reveal glimpse of George Norcross-John Dougherty relationship The filings show how the New Jersey power broker and Philadelphia labor leader raised money to support each other’s favored political candidates and leveraged their fiefdoms to advance their goals.

NEW: Newly released FBI wiretap docs offer an inside look at ties between S. Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross and Philly labor leader John Dougherty - and their willingness to leverage their power to benefit one another.

w/ Andrew Seidman

Bucks County man pleads guilty to hiding past as bodyguard to former Liberian president and war criminal Charles Taylor Isiah Kangar, 51, of Bristol, told a federal judge he’d assumed the identity of his younger brother when applying for a green card and later, U.S. citizenship more than a decade ago.

NEW: Bucks County man pleads guilty to hiding past as bodyguard to former Liberian president and war criminal Charles Taylor

George Norcross exploited ‘overwhelming political influence’ to extort rivals, prosecutors say in fight to allow charges to reach a jury The attorney general's filing comes after Norcross and his codefendants urged a Mercer County judge to toss racketeering and extortion charges against them before trial.

NEW: George Norcross exploited ‘overwhelming political influence’ to extort rivals, prosecutors say in fight to allow charges to reach a jury

w/ Andrew Seidman

North Philadelphia landlord convicted of setting the blaze that led to the death of fire Lt. Sean Williamson Throughout his trial, Al-Ashraf Khalil sought to blame the fire department for Lt. Sean Willaimson's death in a building collapse shortly after the blaze was extinguished. A jury disagreed.

NEW: North Philadelphia landlord convicted of setting the blaze that led to the death of fire Lt. Sean Williamson

The Pa. Supreme Court rejected Philly’s latest attempt to pass its own gun laws In a unanimous decision, the high court ruled that the city’s arguments had fallen “woefully short” of the standard needed for a legal victory.

The Pa. Supreme Court rejected Philly’s latest attempt to pass its own gun laws

Via Chris Palmer + Gillian McGoldrick