Why a DC crime bill is creating big problems for Democrats
Senate Republicans are trying to put the squeeze on Democrats ahead of an expected vote on legislation next week that would undo parts of a District of Columbia crime bill. The bill would eliminate most mandatory sentences, lower penalties for a number of violent offenses, including carjackings and robberies, and expand the requirement for jury trials in most misdemeanor cases. The legislation was unanimously approved by the D.C. City Council, which then overrode a veto by Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in an overwhelming 12-1 vote. The GOP House passed a
Read MoreGOP senators grill Garland on border security, weaponization of law enforcement
Senior Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday about the nation’s fentanyl crisis, the flow of drugs and migrants over the U.S.-Mexico border and the Justice Department's stance on mandatory minimum sentences. The moments of drama came during the panel’s first oversight hearing of the Justice Department in the 118th Congress. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) challenged Garland over a Justice Department memo recommending that prosecutors not seek mandatory minimum sentences in some drug cases.
Read MoreUS intelligence: No evidence foreign adversaries behind 'Havana Syndrome'
The U.S. intelligence community has determined it was unlikely that a foreign adversary is responsible for a series of anomalous health incidents (AHI) plaguing intelligence and diplomatic staffers across the globe. A review conducted by intelligence agencies for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and released Wednesday probed a series of health incidents initially dubbed “Havana Syndrome” after government employees first reported experiencing mysterious neurological ailments there in 2016. But the review attributed those conditions to other facto
Read MoreTrump 'successfully chilled' FBI from being willing to investigate anything related to him: Peter Strzok
Former FBI agent Peter Strzok on Wednesday said former President Trump and others “successfully chilled the FBI’s willingness to investigate anything” Trump-related, complicating later inquiries into the former president’s classified document handling. Strzok took to Twitter to comment on new reporting from the Washington Post that FBI agents and Department of Justice prosecutors squabbled over how aggressively to criminally investigate Trump’s handling of classified documents, including whether to conduct a surprise search of his Florid
Read MoreTwitter suspends Mike Lee’s personal account
Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) personal Twitter account was suspended on Wednesday. Users were unable to see Tweets from his @BasedMikeLee account, with his feed only reading “Account suspended,” and that “Twitter suspends accounts that violate Twitter rules.” After leaving a Senate GOP lunch, Lee told The Hill that he wasn’t sure why the account got suspended. “Yeah, I just noticed that,” he said. “No idea why. I checked my email and I checked my direct mentioning function on the Twitter app and I haven’t received
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