Articles

Trump returns to ‘Witch Hunt’ tweets against Mueller probe

Capping a week of drama, backtracking and blistering statements from allies about his attitude toward Russian election interference, President Donald Trump on Monday returned to familiar rhetoric, referring to the special counsel’s Russia probe as a “hoax” and “Witch Hunt.”

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Democrats fault Kavanaugh comment on independent counsel law

Democrats opposing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination are seizing on remarks he made in 2016 saying he would like to put the “final nail” in a Supreme Court precedent upholding an independent counsel law as constitutional. Republicans are pushing back, saying Kavanaugh’s comment is being distorted.

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Dems see Kavanaugh as Obamacare threat, but law likely safe

The heated debate over how Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would vote on the Affordable Care Act might not matter. As long as five past defenders of the health care law remain on the nation’s highest court, the odds tilt in favor of it being allowed to stand. Some Democrats are warning that President Donald Trump’s designee could spell doom for the statute, even as some conservatives are portraying Kavanaugh as sympathetic to former President Barack Obama’s landmark legislation.

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Mueller seeks immunity for 5 witnesses in Manafort case

The special counsel in the Russia investigation is seeking immunity for five potential witnesses in the upcoming trial of President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. The five individuals have indicated they won’t testify or provide other information “on the basis of their privilege against self-incrimination,” special counsel Robert Mueller’s office told a federal judge in Virginia in a court filing Tuesday.

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Trump backs down, says he misspoke on Russia meddling

Blistered by bipartisan condemnation of his embrace of a longtime U.S. enemy, President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed away from his public undermining of American intelligence agencies, saying he simply misspoke when he said he saw no reason to believe Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.

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Prosecutors: Russian hackers exploited US cyber vulnerability

To steal politically sensitive information, prosecutors say Russian hackers exploited some of the United States’ own computer infrastructure against it, using servers they leased in Arizona and Illinois. The details were included in an indictment released Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller, who accused the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, of taking part in a wide-ranging conspiracy to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

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Supreme Court nominee’s paper trail might color confirmation

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s opponents are digging through documents at President George W. Bush’s library in Texas and other repositories around the country looking for anything that could help derail his nomination. The trail of documents is extensive, as Kavanaugh spent five years in the Bush White House and 12 years as a federal judge.

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Judge temporarily halts deportation of reunified families

A federal judge on Monday ordered a temporary halt to any deportations of immigrant families who were reunited after being separated by the Trump administration at the border. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw imposed a delay of at least a week after a request from the American Civil Liberties Union, which cited “persistent and increasing rumors … that mass deportations may be carried out imminently and immediately upon reunification.”

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Barnes partner tapped to fill last Indiana vacancy in federal judiciary

Damon R. Leichty, partner in the South Bend office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, has been nominated to serve as a judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, potentially filling the last empty seat in the federal judiciary in Indiana. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Leichty will fill the vacancy created when Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr., took senior status in January 2016.

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Kavanaugh to address his past work involving Clinton, Bush

Before his Senate confirmation hearing, President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court will need to provide information about his past experience investigating President Bill Clinton and working for President George W. Bush. Requests for that information are included in questionnaires sent to Brett Kavanaugh by the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, who will lead the confirmation hearing.

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Senate Democrats vow to block Trump SCOTUS pick Kavanaugh

Democratic senators from Connecticut and Michigan on Friday announced opposition to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, saying Brett Kavanaugh’s judicial record clearly shows that he would limit access to health care and curtail environmental protections.

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12 Russians accused of hacking in 2016 U.S. election

The Justice Department on Friday indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers on charges they hacked into Democratic email accounts during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and released stolen information in the months before Americans headed to the polls.

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Dozens of immigrant children to be reunited with parents

Dozens of immigrant children under the age of 5 will be released from government custody and reunited with their parents Tuesday after being separated at the border under President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy. A government lawyer said Monday at least 54 children under the age of 5 would join their parents by a court-ordered deadline, only about half the 100 or so children covered by the order.

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Supreme Court enjoys relatively high public confidence

The next Supreme Court justice will join the bench at a time when the public has more confidence in the high court than in Congress or the presidency. A Gallup survey in June found 37 percent of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the court, while another 42 percent have “some” confidence. Only 18 percent have little or no confidence in the court.

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