The newest stories in The Monochrome Chronicles that mention Justice, newest first.
North Carolina
Federal prosecutors said the defendants are noncitizens charged over the 2024 election; the Southern Coalition for Social Justice questioned the timing, according to NC Newsline and Carolina Journal.
Kansas
The secretary of state’s office said monitors may only observe, as the Justice Department plans about 1,000 monitors nationwide.
Arkansas
KUAR reports the commission rejected a Justice Department request; one commissioner warned the move could suggest the county has something to hide.
New Mexico
County officials were told about three weeks ago and were not given a reason, KUNM reports; the clerk says the county is ready.
Developing
Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state inquiry and federal prosecutors issued new subpoenas after a New York Times report on a spoiler candidacy; challenger Mary Peltola’s campaign denies any role.
Midterms
A divided panel said the government’s emergency was partly of its own making and sent the fight back to a trial judge, a week before the midterms.
Justice Department
A federal judge in Manhattan ordered her reinstated with back pay, rejecting the administration’s claim that it could remove career prosecutors at will. The department says it will appeal.
Midterms
The Justice Department wants about 20,000 voters’ ballots set aside until their citizenship is checked. Two of three judges questioned whether a federal court can order that so close to Election Day.
Midterms
The suit, filed less than two weeks before Election Day, argues that a second candidate named Sullivan could confuse voters. Election law experts call it an unprecedented and very weak federal intervention.
Supreme Court
In unusually pointed public remarks, the liberal justice faulted the conservative majority’s decisions on gerrymandering, voting rights, campaign money and presidential power, while rejecting the idea that the court simply does the president’s bidding.
Midterms
Federal officials call the case proof that noncitizen voting is a threat. California election officials say the administration is leaning on unverified claims as it tries to hold back thousands of mail ballots two weeks before Election Day.
Midterms
The suit follows a 48-hour demand that state and Los Angeles County officials review a list delivered on a password-protected thumb drive. Election officials call the demand legally baseless and say the drive is not a secure way to handle voter data.
Justice Department
The Justice Department confirmed a court-approved warrant but gave no details. Omar called the search an intimidation campaign, three weeks before an election in which she is on the ballot.
Press Freedom
The networks briefly stopped sharing White House pool coverage after the administration barred CNN. Press advocates called the investigation an attempt to intimidate journalists.
Midterms
In a 78-page ruling, a federal judge in Washington said the policy broke privacy and administrative law, relied on unreliable records and had already removed citizens from the rolls.
Justice Department
Prosecutors have presented evidence to a grand jury on whether the former White House aide lied to Congress. The case is being run by the Civil Rights Division, an unusual choice.
AI Policy
A Justice Department memo tells staff to adopt the label, and Business Insider and the Independent report that the president called people who keep saying “Artificial Intelligence” the enemy. The rebrand has no legal force over companies or citizens.
Voting
A Miami judge dismissed charges against a Florida woman, saying voter qualifications belong to the states. The ruling covers one case but strikes at a law the Justice Department has leaned on before the midterms.
Press Access
The Justice Department told a federal judge that White House access is “a privilege, not a right”; a hearing on restoring the reporters’ credentials is set for Wednesday.
Supreme Court
The unsigned order rests on whether the preservation group has standing, not on whether the project is legal; Chief Justice Roberts dissented, according to NBC News and CBS News.
Privacy
The government accused TikTok and ByteDance of collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent; the settlement resolves the allegations without a finding of liability.
The Courts
A one-sentence administrative stay lets construction continue while the full Supreme Court weighs the administration’s request; a judge’s injunction was due to take effect Friday.
Developing
Chairman Rand Paul sent the referral straight to the Justice Department; Democrats call criminal contempt punitive, and Fauci’s lawyer calls the vote a political stunt.
Supreme Court
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to nearly all children born in the U.S.; Justice Brett Kavanaugh reached the same result on statutory grounds, and Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.
The Fed
Two rulings by Chief Justice John Roberts expanded presidential power over independent agencies while treating the Federal Reserve as a separate case, leaving Lisa Cook on the Fed board for now.
Elections
A 5-4 majority led by Justice Amy Coney Barrett upheld Mississippi’s five-day grace period, over a dissent by Justice Samuel Alito arguing that federal law requires ballots to be in by Election Day.
Courts
The department says the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is dead and that compelling officials to swear to it raises separation-of-powers concerns. Challengers say officials still will not say so under oath.
Update
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House panel the fund is dead after Republican resistance stalled an immigration-enforcement bill; the rest of Trump’s IRS settlement stands.
Courts
Judges in Virginia and Florida acted Friday against the Justice Department fund set up under Trump’s settlement with the IRS, NPR reported.
Courts
Judge Leonie Brinkema barred the Justice Department from moving money into the fund, weighing claims or paying out while a June 12 hearing is pending; the department says it is confident the fund is legal.
The Fed
Chair Jerome Powell said he will remain a governor until the Justice Department matter is “well and truly over.” The Senate Banking Committee advanced Kevin Warsh as his successor.
The Fed
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro handed the cost-overrun question to the Fed’s inspector general but said she could reopen the case. The move may clear the way for Kevin Warsh.
Drug Policy
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s order does not legalize marijuana. It eases research and tax rules, and a hearing on broader changes is set for June.
Justice Department
Veteran Trump ally Joe diGenova has taken over the inquiry into the former CIA director. Brennan’s lawyers deny wrongdoing, and a Justice Department spokesperson called the personnel change “healthy and normal.”
Elections
A Trump-appointed judge called the demand a fishing expedition, the fifth court to reject the department’s effort. The Justice Department has sued 30 states and D.C.
Antitrust
A Manhattan jury sided with 33 states and the District of Columbia that kept suing after the Justice Department settled. A judge will now decide remedies.
Supreme Court
The justices set aside an appeals court ruling and sent the case back to a trial judge after the Justice Department asked to drop it. Bannon has already served his four-month sentence.
The Fed
Policymakers still project one cut this year; Chair Powell says he will stay on the board until the Justice Department probe is over.
The Fed
Chief Judge James Boasberg called the stated reasons a pretext; U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro says her office will appeal.
Antitrust
The deal opens Ticketmaster’s platform to rivals and sets a $280 million fund, but New York and about two dozen other states are pressing on.
