Department

Justice department claims there’s ‘no dispute’ over whether ex-FBI head’s post could be read as a threat against TrumpThe US Department of Justice has defended its prosecution of former FBI director James Comey, claiming in new court documents there is “no serious dispute” that his social media post last year featuring a photo of seashells arranged to read “8647” could be interpreted as a threat against Donald Trump.“There is no serious dispute that an objective viewer of Comey’s post could read it to mean ‘Kill President Trump’” prosecutors wrote in a document filed on Tuesday in response to efforts by Comey’s efforts to have the case dismissed. Continue reading...

• The Senate voted on Saturday to confirm Todd Blanche as the new attorney general under President Donald Trump. • Blanche brings a dual background as both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer, which supporters believe will provide necessary balance to the Justice Department. • The appointment is framed as a corrective measure to address perceived political excesses and the "bending" of the law during Merrick Garland's tenure.

• Todd Blanche delivered his first official speech as the new leader of the Justice Department, addressing tens of thousands of staff members. • In a bid to stabilize the agency, Blanche utilized a decidedly optimistic and supportive tone to calm employees during the leadership transition. • The address is significant as it marks the beginning of Blanche's tenure and his initial attempt to establish rapport with the department's workforce.

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group acquires Knightsbridge-headquartered retailer after it went into administrationBusiness live – latest updatesThe owner of Sports Direct has bought Harvey Nichols out of administration after the upmarket department store chain warned it could run out of money if it did not find new funding.Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group said on Thursday it had bought the department store chain, which is headquartered at its store in Knightsbridge, for an undisclosed sum on the same day as it was placed into administration. It has 13 stores and 1,200 employees. Continue reading...

Prosecutors charge Heidi Beirich with financial crimes as part of case against the Southern Poverty Law CenterThe justice department on Wednesday arrested a leading expert on far-right extremism, charging her with financial crimes as part of the government’s ongoing case against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).Federal prosecutors charged Heidi Beirich, who formerly served as the group’s chief financial officer, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Justice Department has deployed approximately 20 staff members from the Civil Rights Division and Minnesota’s US attorney’s office to monitor polling sites in Hennepin and Ramsey counties for the 2026 midterms. • County officials have refused federal staff entry, forcing monitors to remain at least 100 feet outside polling locations. • This move occurs amid heightened tensions, as the Trump administration has previously targeted Minnesota with a deadly immigration crackdown and the pausing of over $500 million in Medicaid payments.

Revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke terms of their visas, says Department of StateThe US Department of State has canceled more than 175,000 visas since Donald Trump returned to office, quadrupling the pace of revocations under Joe Biden’s final year in the White House, according to a new tally released by the department this week.The announcement said the revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against Americans, defrauded US citizens, abused the immigration system or endangered national security. Many followed run-ins with law enforcement, the department said, with assault, drunk driving, theft and drug offenses the leading causes, alongside reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse and fraud. Continue reading...

Will Rosenzweig’s defunct blog was publicized online by conservative pundit who tagged senior DoJ officialsA federal prosecutor fired last year over critical comments he had written as a private citizen about Donald Trump sued the justice department on Friday, saying his termination violated his first amendment rights.Will Rosenzweig was two weeks away from trying a multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud case when a blog he had written years earlier covering a broad range of topics was publicized online by a conservative political commentator who also included a screenshot of Rosenzweig’s LinkedIn account and tagged senior justice department officials for their awareness. Continue reading...

Filing by attorney general Raúl Torrez comes after DoJ appears to have ignored deadline for key Epstein ranch filesNew Mexico filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice and acting attorney general Todd Blanche on Wednesday for “stonewalling” its criminal investigation into the activities of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at a remote ranch in the state.Raúl Torrez, the New Mexico attorney general, had said he was mulling the possibility of legal action if the justice department (DoJ) did not share with him by 31 July information about the alleged historical abuse of girls and young women at Epstein’s Zorro ranch about 30 miles south of Santa Fe. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Department of Justice is monitoring polling sites in Detroit, Hamtramck, Lansing, and East Lansing during the August 4 Michigan primary. • The agency notified Detroit, Lansing, and East Lansing of its intent to deploy election monitors via letters sent in late June. • This oversight ensures federal monitoring of the voting process to maintain election integrity and protect voter rights in key urban areas.

• The U.S. Justice Department deployed election monitors to four Michigan cities on Tuesday to oversee a critical primary election. • The primary is essential for determining the November candidates for an open U.S. Senate seat, which is expected to be one of the most competitive races of the 2026 midterms. • This move ensures federal oversight of voting processes to maintain integrity and accessibility during a high-stakes electoral cycle.

• The U.S. Department of Justice has deployed election monitors to Michigan to ensure fairness and transparency during the 2026 primary elections. • High-stakes contests include a fractured Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate between Rep. Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, as well as a competitive race for governor. • These primaries are critical because the Senate seat is currently rated as a "toss-up" by the Cook Political Report for the general election against Republican Mike Rogers.

Winter flu season is putting pressure on the health system, with medical staff bracing for the ‘worst three weeks of the year’Sick patients in New South Wales have been told to avoid the emergency room unless their life is at risk after a record day for winter presentations put the hospital system under strain.The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, said just under 10,000 people presented to emergency departments in Sydney on Monday, the “biggest ever recorded winter day in history”. It was around 1,000 more people than the average. Continue reading...

Internal inquiries also opened after two suicides and two attempted suicides of staff in departments connected to PM’s officeThe Paris state prosecutor has opened a preliminary inquiry into alleged workplace bullying after the attempted suicide of a staff member in a department connected to the French prime minister’s office, France Inter radio has revealed.The public radio station reported on Monday that two government workers in different departments had ended their lives in the past year, and two others had attempted suicide. The radio station said complaints of alleged workplace bullying had been made. Continue reading...

Passports with the president’s portrait, previously only available in DC, will be offered at 27 agencies nationwideUS politics live – latest updatesAmericans outside the nation’s capital will soon be able to get limited-edition passports that feature a picture of Donald Trump and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the state department announced.The department’s 27 passport agencies nationwide will start offering the special travel documents next month. They previously had only been available at the Washington DC passport office for in-person applicants. Continue reading...

• GlobalFoundries has signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce to receive a $300 million award under the CHIPS R&D program. • The funding is dedicated to accelerating U.S. leadership in silicon photonics, which provides the critical optical technologies necessary for AI and high-performance computing. • This initiative aims to strengthen domestic semiconductor capabilities amidst volatile geopolitical tensions, including trade conflicts with China and instability in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Details of parents and staff, including email addresses and phone numbers, are among data taken by cybercriminalsThe Department for Education and a police database have been targeted by a cyber-attack, exposing more than 740,000 pieces of data.Details of government officials, senior school leaders, university staff, police officers and members of the public have been taken by hackers. Continue reading...

David Huerta was arrested while protesting against an ICE operation during crackdown in Los AngelesThe Department of Justice (DoJ) has moved to dismiss charges against a prominent California union leader who was arrested while protesting an immigration raid in Los Angeles last year, in the latest US government case against protesters to fall apart.David Huerta, the president of Service Employees International Union United Service Workers West, was arrested at a June 2025 demonstration and has been fighting the charges ever since. On Monday, the US attorney’s office in LA filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him. Continue reading...

• A new State Department report on Cuba has specifically targeted left-wing American citizens, including Hasan Piker, the daughter of Representative Ilhan Omar, and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). • Separately, outgoing Texas Senator John Cornyn expressed frustration over the focus on events from six years ago with only 109 days remaining until the midterm elections. • Republican strategists, including Paul Shumaker, note that campaigning candidates face a precarious balance between maintaining MAGA support and avoiding the alienation of disillusioned independent voters.

Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet, led by Louise Haigh, will oversee both No 10 in London and northern equivalent• Andy Burnham’s first Labour cabinet: who’s in and who’s out?Andy Burnham has created a powerful new department taking in parts of the Cabinet Office, Treasury and housing ministry to become the “dominant driver of the UK’s economy”.In one of his first acts, Burnham has created the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, to be headed up by his ally and enforcer Louise Haigh, which will oversee the No 10 operation in London, the forthcoming No 10 North in Manchester and parts of the Cabinet Office. Continue reading...

New report denounces Havana and claims ‘campaign of subversion’ has infiltrated highest levels of US governmentAs part of the Trump administration’s continuing attack on left-leaning groups, the US state department has listed several activists and organizations as “front groups and fellow travelers” for Cuba, including Hasan Piker and Amazon Labor Union founder Chris Smalls.In a 100-page report released on Monday, the state department denounces Cuba as the “capital of 21st-century communism”, accusing the Cuban government of carrying out a “campaign of subversion” that has “infiltrated the highest reaches of the US government, recruited and cultivated generations of American activists [and] backed an unprecedented wave of leftwing terrorism on American soil”. Continue reading...

MPs and industry experts say potential reorganisation will waste time at critical moment for AI and economic growthAndy Burnham’s plan to scrap the government’s technology department has triggered an angry backlash from MPs, Whitehall officials and tech experts.The incoming prime minister has asked officials to draw up plans to abolish the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of a wider Whitehall shake-up. Continue reading...

• The U.S. State Department is hosting a meeting with international officials to discuss the threat of left-wing terrorism. • Counterterrorism experts argue that the Trump administration's specific focus on the far left fails to provide necessary context regarding the broader spectrum of political extremism. • This shift in focus is significant as it highlights a potential imbalance in how the government identifies and prioritizes domestic and international security threats.

Journalists who had reported on security concerns around the new Air Force One, a gift from Qatar, received summonsThe New York Times on Wednesday filed a motion to quash subpoenas the justice department served journalists who reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, teeing up a significant court fight over press freedom and the government’s ability to force reporters to identify sources.“As we set out in our motion, these subpoenas are brought in bad faith to punish The Times for its coverage. They violate the constitutional rights of The Times and its journalists. We are going to court to defend our journalists’ rights to report freely on the administration and to provide the public with stories that matter,” David McCraw, the newspaper’s senior vice-president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement. Continue reading...

• President Donald Trump's second administration is implementing a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. State Department, marking one of the most significant upheavals in American diplomacy in a century. • The transformation involves extensive personnel changes and a restructuring of the diplomatic establishment to align with the administration's specific policy goals. • This shift matters as it fundamentally alters how the United States manages international relations and interacts with global allies and adversaries.

Konstantin Sokolov, who gave undisclosed sum and has not held government job before, to chair Tripp+ trade project Konstantin Sokolov, a Russian-born private equity investor in Chicago, will serve as chairman of a new state department enterprise fund overseeing more than $200m designated for a central Asia trade corridor, including investments in transportation, energy infrastructure and critical minerals, the Guardian has learned. The state department confirmed his appointment on Friday.Sokolov was one of 36 donors, including 21 corporations and 15 individuals and family foundations, who Trump said contributed over $350m to Donald Trump’s ballroom project. Continue reading...

Shawn Fain calls allegations ‘bogus’ and says attorney holds a ‘grudge’ against him over union’s ‘anti-war stance’ on GazaThe US Department of Justice is probing allegations against United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain that he put pressure on another high-ranking union official to provide benefits to his fiancee and sister and then retaliated against the official who refused to approve it.On Sunday, Fain, who is running for his second term as union president, said the accusations are false and a part of election interference against him. Continue reading...

• The Department of Health and Social Care is launching pioneering pilot schemes to allow NHS patients to access cutting-edge medicines months earlier than previously possible. • New funding and a dedicated commissioner have been appointed to improve the safety, fairness, and consistency of maternity and neonatal care across England. • The British Medical Association (BMA) has voted to accept a new pay structure and career-progression offer for resident doctors.