DOJ directive creates civil forfeiture loophole
As Indiana considers revamping its civil forfeiture law, the federal government has given state and local law enforcement a mechanism to potentially do an end-run around whatever reforms are made.
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Lawyer: Russian developer’s staffer also at Trump Tower meet
A representative of the Russian developer who partnered with President Donald Trump to bring the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow was the eighth person at a Trump Tower meeting arranged by Donald Trump Jr. during the campaign, a lawyer for the developer said Tuesday.
Trump tests legal limits by delaying dozens of Obama’s rules
It typically takes years for presidents to kill federal regulations they dislike, but Donald Trump has found a shortcut: He’s just putting them on long-term hold.
Sessions said to target opioid care in crackdown on fraud
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is poised to announce a major law enforcement action this week targeting health-care fraud, focusing on opioid treatment programs exploiting Obamacare insurance plans, according to two people familiar with the matter.
FBI nominee Wray pledges the `impartial pursuit of justice’
Christopher Wray pledged “the impartial pursuit of justice” if confirmed as FBI director, as senators focused on his ability to pursue investigations independently against the backdrop of revelations about a meeting the president’s son held with a Russian lawyer during last year’s campaign.
Trump Jr. releases emails on Russian lawyer contacts
Donald Trump Jr. eagerly accepted help from what was described to him as a Russian government effort to aid his father’s campaign with damaging information about Hillary Clinton, according to emails he released publicly on Tuesday.
Feds probe Indianapolis police shooting of black driver
Federal investigators are going to review last month’s fatal shooting of unarmed black driver Aaron Bailey by Indianapolis police officers.
Court vacates union representation, citing unclear deciding vote
The regional director of the National Labor Relations Board erroneously counted a ballot in favor of union representation of a northern Indiana company and impacted the outcome of an election to determine whether the union would represent the company, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held Tuesday.
Trump administration calls for overhaul of Wall Street rules
The Trump administration laid out its highly anticipated plan for overhauling bank rules, calling on the government to ease, though not eliminate, many of the strictures that were imposed on Wall Street after the financial crisis.
McKinney grad named to rural affairs USDA post
An Indiana native and graduate of Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law has been named to a U.S. Department of Agriculture post overseeing rural issues. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Monday that Anne Hazlett will lead the USDA's rural development agencies.
No bond for woman accused of leaking top-secret documents
A federal judge in Augusta, Georgia, ordered a young woman charged with leaking classified U.S. documents to remain jailed until her trial after prosecutors argued she might possess more stolen government secrets.
Comey’s release of Trump memo to newspaper: Was it legal?
When former FBI Director James Comey revealed Thursday that he orchestrated a disclosure of damaging details about his conversations with President Donald Trump, he demonstrated his savvy use of media and his skills as a Washington operator. He also kicked up a hornet's nest of questions about the legal and ethical implications of the move.
Labor secretary defends merging anti-discrimination agencies
Cutting and merging two agencies that investigate workplace discrimination won't reduce the government's enforcement power, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said Wednesday. But Democrats pointed to what they say is President Donald Trump's broader effort to roll back decades of civil rights protections.
US contractor arrested after leak of Russia hacking report
A federal contractor has been arrested following the leak of a classified intelligence report that suggests Russian hackers attacked at least one U.S. voting software supplier days before last year's presidential election.
Bosma Enterprises files lawsuit over VA contracting changes
Indianapolis-based not-for-profit Bosma Enterprises and other advocacy groups for the blind on Wednesday sued the Department of Veterans Affairs in federal court, alleging the agency ignored a long-standing law when it changed contracting rules that have been used for decades to give jobs to the visually impaired.
Justice Department: School bullying persists, sex assaults up
One in every 5 middle and high school students has complained of being bullied at school and the number of reports of sexual assault on college campuses has more than tripled over the past decade, according to a federal study released Tuesday.
Indy HeartBeat targets youth violence with $1M federal grant
A new program targeting youth violence and public safety in Indianapolis is set to launch with help from a $1 million grant from the U.S. Justice Department.
Trump launches commission to investigate voter fraud
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday launching a commission to review alleged voter fraud and voter suppression, building upon his unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 election.
Trump: Comey better hope there are no ‘tapes’ of talks
President Donald Trump, in a warning to his fired FBI director, said Friday that James Comey had better hope there are no “tapes” of their conversations. Trump’s tweet came the morning after he asserted Comey had told him three times that he wasn’t under FBI investigation.
ACLU slams, prosecutors welcome Sessions’ call for tougher charges
The American Civil Liberties Union says Attorney General Jeff Sessions is "repeating a failed experiment" by encouraging prosecutors to pursue tougher charges against most suspects.