About our US Department of Justice (DOJ) news
Latest news on the US Department of Justice (DOJ): attorney general, federal prosecutions, Epstein files, capital punishment, rule of law and civil rights.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is the federal government's principal law enforcement and legal agency, responsible for enforcing federal law, overseeing the FBI, and prosecuting cases ranging from antitrust violations and drug trafficking to civil rights abuses and national security threats. Led by the attorney general — currently Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who took charge on 2 April 2026 after President Trump dismissed Pam Bondi — the DOJ's direction is closely watched as a barometer of the administration's legal and political priorities.
Blanche, formerly Trump's personal defence attorney, has overseen a significant shift in the department's focus. The DOJ has opened or intensified investigations into perceived political opponents, including former CIA director John Brennan and civil rights organisation the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which was indicted in April 2026 on fraud and money laundering charges. The department also dropped a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, widely seen as removing an obstacle to Trump's nomination of a preferred replacement.
In a major policy reversal, the DOJ announced in late April 2026 that it would resume federal executions, seeking the death penalty against 44 defendants and authorising firing squads, electrocution, and nitrogen asphyxiation as alternatives to lethal injection. The announcement drew sharp international criticism, particularly from European governments and human rights groups. Separately, the DOJ's internal watchdog launched an inquiry into the department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files — a saga that contributed to Bondi's dismissal.
Concerns about the DOJ's institutional independence have intensified under both Bondi and Blanche. A proposed rule that would allow the attorney general to intervene in state bar investigations of federal prosecutors has alarmed legal ethics experts and state attorneys general across the country. Mass departures from the Civil Rights Division — a unit historically at the heart of landmark legal battles over racial equality, voting rights, and discrimination — have raised questions about the department's long-term institutional capacity.
Founded in 1870, the DOJ has played a defining role in American legal history, from prosecuting Watergate-era officials to landmark antitrust cases against Standard Oil and, more recently, major tech companies. Its independence from direct presidential control has been a foundational principle — though one tested repeatedly across administrations. The tensions of the current period echo episodes from the Nixon era and the Church Committee reforms of the 1970s, which sought to insulate federal law enforcement from political manipulation.
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