Jeff Mordock

Steny Hoyer: House vote on FISA will happen Thursday

The House will vote Thursday to reauthorize controversial government surveillance powers, the office of Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said in a statement.

May 28, 2020

House adjourns without FISA reauthorization vote

The House late Wednesday adjourned without a debate or vote on a FISA extension bill that increasingly looked to be in trouble after a threat from President Trump to veto.

May 27, 2020

House votes to reauthorize FISA provisions through proxy system

The House voted Wednesday on reauthorizing expired government surveillance tools, ignoring pleas from Republicans to hold off and a threat from President Trump to veto the bill.

May 27, 2020

Donald Trump threatens to veto House FISA bill

President Trump on Wednesday vowed to veto legislation extending three Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provisions, saying the law was abused to monitor members of his 2016 campaign.

May 27, 2020

Nancy Pelosi to move forward with controversial FISA bill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she plans to move forward with a scheduled vote to renew controversial surveillance tools used by the intelligence community.

May 27, 2020

Rod Rosenstein to testify before Senate panel on origins of Russia probe

Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein confirmed Wednesday that he will testify before a Senate committee investigating the origins of the Russia probe.

May 27, 2020

House Republican leaders urge Democrats to pull FISA bill

Top House Republicans on Wednesday urged Democrats to pull the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act bill, saying their challenge to the new proxy voting rules could ultimately invalidate it.

May 27, 2020

Donald Trump urges House Republicans to vote against FISA renewal

President Trump late Tuesday urged House Republicans to vote against the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, saying Congress should not support it until a full investigation into how it was used to monitor members of his campaign is completed.

May 27, 2020

Cook County president blocks measure to give first responders access to COVID-19 patient addresses

The top official in the county surrounding Chicago blocked a resolution Tuesday that would have provided first responders with addresses of COVID-19 patients, saying the information would lead to increased discrimination against black and Latino communities.

May 26, 2020

Justice Department says Nevada’s social distancing orders for churches are unconstitutional

The Justice Department warned the state of Nevada that restricting religious services to 10 people or less while some secular businesses reopened without such limitations runs afoul of the Constitution.

May 26, 2020

Emmet Sullivan, federal judge in Michael Flynn case, hires high-powered lawyer Beth Wilkinson

The federal judge overseeing former national security adviser Michael Flynn's criminal case has hired an attorney to represent him as an appeals court reviews his decision not to immediately grant the Justice Department's request to dismiss the case.

May 24, 2020

FBI Director Christopher Wray orders internal review of Michael Flynn case

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray has ordered an internal probe into the bureau's handling of the case against Michael Flynn, who briefly served as President Trump's first national security adviser before becoming the first casualty of the Russia probe.

May 22, 2020

More than a dozen former Watergate prosecutors urge appeals court not to dismiss Flynn case

More than a dozen former Watergate prosecutors on Friday urged a federal appeals court to deny an emergency request by Michael Flynn to dismiss his criminal case.

May 22, 2020

Lawyer says he no longer represents Biden accuser Tara Reade

The lawyer representing Tara Reade, the ex-Senate staffer who has accused Joseph R. Biden of a 1993 sexual assault, said Friday she is no longer a client.

May 22, 2020

Former FBI official sexually harassed eight subordinates, inspector general report found

The Justice Department inspector general concluded that a senior FBI official sexually harassed eight subordinates and misled investigators probing the claims.

May 22, 2020

Cook County releases COVID patients addresses to first responders

The Board of Commissioners in Cook County, Illinois, narrowly approved a resolution Thursday that lets suburban Chicago first responders get the addresses of individuals who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

May 21, 2020

Emmet Sullivan ordered by appeals court to respond to request for removal in Michael Flynn case

A federal appeals court Thursday ordered the judge overseeing the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to respond to a petition from Flynn's legal team seeking to remove him from the case.

May 21, 2020

Republican senators demand that DOJ investigate how Planned Parenthood got coronavirus relief aid

A group of Republican senators Thursday urged the Justice Department to investigate how dozens of Planned Parenthood affiliates received more than $80 million in coronavirus relief loans, arguing the organization's billion-dollar revenue should have made those affiliates ineligible.

May 21, 2020

Chinese national charged with trying to steal $20M in coronavirus relief funds

A Chinese national living in New York was charged Thursday with trying to steal more than $20 million in federal Paycheck Protection Programs loans, the biggest fraud case brought so far by federal prosecutors involving government loans to rescue small businesses impacted by the coronavirus crisis.

May 21, 2020

Trump pulls plug on Chuck Canterbury, nominee to head up ATF

Nearly one year after a disastrous Senate confirmation hearing, President Trump on Tuesday withdrew his nomination of Chuck Canterbury to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

May 19, 2020