NEW: In urging Judge Aileen Cannon to reconsider two orders that would, among other things, reveal the names of two dozen people who have participated in the Mar a Lago investigation, the Special Counsel's office filed a document available to Cannon and only Cannon. 1/
Specifically, the document -- in Smith's description -- "describes in some detail threats that have been made over social media to a prospective Government witness and the surrounding circumstances" & that "those threats are the subject of an ongoing federal investigation." 2/
Especially given the existence of that other investigation, you might therefore understand why the Special Counsel's office does not want that information shared with anyone, let alone Trump's counsel. 3/
But today, having reviewed the document at issue, Cannon ordered Smith's team to hand it over to Team Trump, finding an "insufficient basis to deviate from the adversarial process." 4/
If information about an ongoing federal investigation into threats to a prosecution witness is not worthy of an ex parte, under seal filing, I don't know what is. 5/
And the fact that this latest directive forcing disclosure was made in the context of Smith's motion for Cannon's reconsideration of two more extensive orders also forcing premature disclosure of investigative details and witness identities is mind boggling. 6/
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NEW: As the FBI executes a search warrant at a Fulton County board of elections office, it's worth remembering that there is existing litigation between DOJ and Fulton County over DOJ's attempt to obtain records pertaining to the 2020 election. 1/
In October, and at the request of the Georgia Election Board, DOJ issued a subpoena to Fulton County for "all used and void ballots, stubs of all ballots, signature envelopes, and corresponding envelope digital files from the 2020 General Election in Fulton County." 2/
In its December 2025 civil lawsuit, DOJ claims it sought these records due to "unexplained anomalies in vote tabulation and storage related to the 2020 election.” justice.gov/crt/media/1420…
NEW: Folks have been asking why Attorney General Pam Bondi, in her letter to Tim Walz, fixated on DOJ’s obtaining MN’s voting data. The answer may lie in Trump’s public statements—and MN’s last three elections. 1/
On Jan. 9, Trump met with oil and gas executives at the White House in a meeting his administration then posted to YouTube. Roughly 54 minutes in, Trump was asked about the feds’ failure to share evidence of Renee Good’s killing with state officials. 2/
Trump started by criticizing Gov. Walz and complaining about the “$19 billion” fraud uncovered in MN and mostly, according to him, perpetrated by Somali immigrants. But within a minute or so, he was talking about the elections. 3/
NEW: Comey moves to dismiss on grounds of multiple alleged instances of grand jury misconduct, stating that because the two-count indictment was never presented to the full grand jury, there was no actual indictment within the five-year statute of limitations for the two charged crimes.
This is hardly Comey's only effort to dismiss the indictment. He has two fully briefed and already argued motions to dismiss: one on grounds of selective/vindictive prosecution and the other due to Lindsay Halligan's allegedly unlawful appointment.
Some expected that Comey would wait for Judge Michael Nachmanoff to decide whether, as a magistrate judge previously ruled, he should get the transcripts and other grand jury materials.
NEW: In order to prove vindictive prosecution, a defendant has to show they have been charged due to a genuine animus toward them on account of their exercise of constitutional or statutory rights. That's usually a very tough road to hoe. 1/
Enter Tish James (and her legal team, led by Abbe Lowell). Their brief tonight cites to an Exhibit A, a 112-page compilation of 360 of Trump's public statements dating back to the day after she opened her investigation of the Trump Org and him. 2/
That exhibit reflects a LOT of work but everything in it was already public. What I don't recall seeing before is Exhibit G, an August 2025 letter to Lowell from DOJ's "special attorney for mortgage fraud" Ed Martin. 3/
As I was looking for information about the appointment of Kelly Hayes, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, I found an interesting DOJ press release. It describes how U.S. Attorney vacancies should be filled. 1/
Specifically, it explains: “Pursuant to the Vacancy Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. § 546, the Attorney General has the authority to name a U.S. Attorney to serve on an interim basis for up to 120 days.” 2/
The press release continues, “After that time, if a successor isn’t nominated and confirmed, it falls to the district court to appoint a U.S. Attorney to serve until the confirmation of his or her successor.” 3/
On February 27, Attorney General Bondi told Kash Patel she'd learned the NY field office was sittting on thousands of pages of Epstein records in a sharp letter. 1/
And then she gave a directive: "By 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, February 28, the FBI will deliver the full and complete Epstein files to my office, including all records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and his clients, regardless of how such information was obtained." 2/
Bondi continued, "There will be no withholdings or limitations to my or your access. The Department of Justice will ensure that any public disclosure of these files will be done in a manner to protect the privacy of victims and in accordance with law." 3/