"Assessing threats of political violence and rising extremism on the far-right" PBS NewsHour 8/12/2022
Excerpt
SUMMARY: In response to the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, Trump supporters have increased calls for a civil war. Those dangerous threats are being fueled by conspiracy theories, and mistrust of the FBI and Justice Department promoted by many Republican politicians. Barbara Walter, professor at UC San Diego and author of “How Civil Wars Start," joins Laura Barrón-López to discuss.
"Iranian man charged for trying to assassinate former national security adviser John Bolton" PBS NewsHour 8/10/2022
Excerpt
SUMMARY: The U.S. Justice Department charged an Iranian national with plotting to kill John Bolton, who was National Security Adviser to President Trump. Federal officials say the suspect was a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, who allegedly tried to hire a hitman for $300,000 that was actually an FBI informant. Nick Schifrin joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
"What we know about the FBI’s search of Trump’s Florida home" PBS NewsHour 8/9/2022
Excerpt
SUMMARY: Former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence was searched Monday night by the FBI. Reports suggest the search was a part of investigations into whether Trump took classified records from the White House to his Florida home, marking a dramatic escalation into various investigations swirling around him. Carrie Johnson, who covers the Justice Department NPR, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
"Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson calls FBI search on Trump’s estate ‘alarming’" PBS NewsHour 8/9/2022
Excerpt
SUMMARY: Questions are swirling after the FBI searched former President Trump's Florida home. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas under President Reagan, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the political implications.
"Why former Sen. Jones believes facts will back up FBI search at Trump estate" PBS NewsHour 8/9/2022
Excerpt
SUMMARY: Former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat who served as the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama under President Clinton, joins Judy Woodruff with some perspective from the Democratic side of the aisle on the FBI search of Trump's residence.
"DOJ files motion to unseal search warrant used for Trump’s Florida residence" PBS NewsHour 8/11/2022
Excerpt
SUMMARY: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday he personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant for former President Trump's home in Palm Beach, Florida. FBI agents executed the warrant at Mar-a-Lago this week. They were reportedly searching for classified documents but more details could soon be revealed. Former federal prosecutor Jessica Roth joins William Brangham to discuss.
"FBI retrieved top secret documents from Trump’s Florida home" PBS NewsHour 8/12/2022
Excerpt
SUMMARY: A federal judge on Friday unsealed and made public the search warrant for former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. A review of the warrant reveals that the FBI collected more than 20 boxes of items, including some material classified as top secret. Sadie Gurman of The Wall Street Journal and Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, join Judy Woodruff to discuss.
"Inmates released to home confinement during pandemic fear ‘devastating’ reincarceration" PBS NewsHour 9/21/2021
Excerpt
SUMMARY: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Justice Department has released more than 30,000 non-violent inmates to home confinement to try to limit the virus' spread in prison. But, as John Yang reports for our ongoing "Searching for Justice" series, some of these men and women could be forced to return to prison once the pandemic ends.
"Storage Company Must Pay Airman $60,000 After Selling His Property While He Was Deployed" by Steve Beynon, Military.com 9/16/2021
A Massachusetts storage company accused of selling an airman's belongings while he was deployed overseas must pay thousands of dollars in fines and compensation, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
In February 2019, Tech. Sgt. Charles Cornacchio, who is based at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, deployed to Qatar. In July of that year, PRTaylor Enterprises LLC, a company doing business as Father & Son Moving & Storage, auctioned off all his stored belongings, according to a federal lawsuit.
Cornacchio did not find out about the sale for another month, while he was still deployed.
The items included military gear; mementos that belonged to a cousin who had been killed in action while also serving in the military; his grandfather's military medals; a dresser handmade by his great-grandfather; and family photographs.
The Justice Department said the auction was a violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a broad set of legal protections for both active-duty and reserve troops. According to the SCRA, anyone storing a service member's property must obtain a court order before selling or disposing of it. Father & Son Moving & Storage, based in Billerica, Massachusetts, did not do so, violating federal law, prosecutors say.
The Justice Department has aggressively enforced the SCRA, going after several companies who sold off service members' property in recent years. In 2020, the department sued a Florida towing company, Target Recovery Towing Inc., alleging they auctioned off a Marine's car while she was deployed. The company settled and was ordered to pay the Marine $17,500 and a $2,500 federal fine.
Later that year, federal prosecutors went after another Florida towing company, ASAP Towing and Storage, alleging it auctioned off dozens of service members' vehicles. The company was ordered to pay out compensations totaling up to $99,500 and a $20,000 fine. The city of San Antonio, Texas, also agreed to pay $47,000 to two service members after they complained the city unlawfully auctioned off their vehicles.
Prosecutors say Father & Son Moving & Storage knew Cornacchio was in the military and deployed abroad, adding that he was even in uniform at the time company movers came to pack up his belongings.
The company settled the suit and will pay Cornacchio $60,000 in compensation, as well as a $5,000 federal fine. It also was ordered to create policies to prevent further SCRA violations.
"This settlement should send a clear message to all storage facility operators that federal law prohibits them from auctioning off a servicemember's possessions without a court order," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.
