Merrick Garland

Federal Grand Jury Convened to Investigate 'Conspiracy Against Trump'

| Importance: 10/10

Conservative lawyer Mike Davis announced a federal grand jury in Florida will convene in January to investigate an alleged decade-long ‘conspiracy’ against Trump involving Merrick Garland, Lisa Monaco, Chris Wray, and Jack Smith. Court filings confirm the grand jury’s existence, …

Chris Wray federal grand jury Jack Smith Lisa Monaco Merrick Garland +3 more corruption institutional-capture political-persecution rule-of-law-erosion weaponization-of-government
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Trump Administration Shuts Down KleptoCapture Task Force

| Importance: 9/10

On February 5, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the immediate dissolution of the KleptoCapture Task Force, a critical anti-corruption initiative established in 2022 to enforce sanctions on Russian oligarchs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The shutdown marks a significant …

Pam Bondi Donald Trump Merrick Garland Gary Kalman Aaron Zelinsky +2 more institutional-capture anti-corruption kleptocracy sanctions russia +2 more
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Pam Bondi Rescinds Journalist Protection Safeguards as AG

| Importance: 9/10

Attorney General Pam Bondi eliminates journalist protection guidelines established by Merrick Garland, reverting to a pre-2021 ‘balancing test’ that allows the Department of Justice to more aggressively pursue journalist records in leak investigations. The policy change removes key …

Pam Bondi DOJ Merrick Garland News Outlets Bruce Brown pam-bondi journalist-protections surveillance-policy press-freedom-elimination systematic-intimidation +1 more
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Jack Smith releases final report concluding Trump would have been convicted for January 6 crimes

| Importance: 10/10

Special Counsel Jack Smith released his 137-page final report on Trump’s January 6 case, concluding Trump engaged in an “unprecedented criminal effort” to overturn the 2020 election through “deceit and knowingly false claims.” Smith stated Trump would have been …

Jack Smith Donald Trump Mike Pence Merrick Garland jack-smith special-counsel january-6 final-report election-fraud +2 more
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Justice Department Seizes 32 Russian Disinformation Domains Mimicking U.S. News Sites, Exposes Kremlin Operation Directed by Putin Aide

| Importance: 9/10

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on September 4, 2024 that the Justice Department seized 32 internet domains used in Russian government-directed foreign malign influence campaigns known as “Doppelganger.” The operation, established in 2022 by Russian IT firm Social Design …

Department of Justice Merrick Garland Sergei Kiriyenko Vladimir Putin Social Design Agency +2 more doppelganger russian-disinformation fake-news-sites domain-seizures 2024-election +2 more
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Judge Cannon dismisses Trump classified documents case, rules Jack Smith appointment unconstitutional

| Importance: 10/10

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against Trump, ruling that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. Cannon, a Trump appointee, found Attorney General Garland lacked authority to appoint Smith …

Aileen Cannon Jack Smith Donald Trump Clarence Thomas Merrick Garland classified-documents aileen-cannon jack-smith special-counsel constitutional-crisis +2 more
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Paul Pelosi Visa Stock Sale Controversy

| Importance: 8/10

Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sold 2,000 shares of Visa worth between $500,000 and $1 million on July 1, 2024. This transaction became controversial when the Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Visa on September 24, alleging monopolization of …

Paul Pelosi Nancy Pelosi Rick Scott Visa Inc. Department of Justice +1 more congressional-corruption insider-trading market-manipulation regulatory-capture doj-investigation +1 more
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Jack Smith appointed Special Counsel to investigate Trump

| Importance: 8/10

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as Special Counsel to oversee DOJ’s criminal investigations of Donald Trump, three days after Trump announced his 2024 presidential campaign. Smith was tasked with investigating Trump’s role in the January 6 Capitol attack and his …

Jack Smith Merrick Garland Donald Trump Department of Justice special-counsel jack-smith january-6 classified-documents criminal-investigation
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FBI executes search warrant at Mar-a-Lago

| Importance: 10/10

FBI agents executed an unprecedented search warrant at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, recovering 33 boxes containing 11 sets of classified documents, including top secret and sensitive compartmented information. The search followed Trump’s failure to return all classified materials …

Donald Trump FBI Merrick Garland Bruce Reinhart National Archives classified-documents obstruction-of-justice mar-a-lago espionage-act fbi-investigation
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Task Force KleptoCapture Launched: US Expands Anti-Kleptocracy Operations

| Importance: 7/10

Attorney General Merrick Garland establishes Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement unit dedicated to enforcing sanctions and seizing assets of Russian kleptocrats following Ukraine invasion. The initiative represents a major expansion of US anti-corruption enforcement …

Merrick Garland Department of Justice Task Force KleptoCapture Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative kleptocracy sanctions asset-recovery doj russia +2 more
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Task Force KleptoCapture Launched: US Expands Anti-Kleptocracy Operations

| Importance: 8/10

Attorney General Merrick Garland established Task Force KleptoCapture, an unprecedented interagency law enforcement unit dedicated to enforcing sanctions and seizing assets of Russian kleptocrats following the Ukraine invasion. The initiative represents a major expansion of US anti-corruption …

Merrick Garland Andrew Adams Department of Justice FBI U.S. Secret Service +2 more kleptocracy sanctions asset-recovery doj russia +3 more
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Obama Nominates Merrick Garland to Supreme Court, McConnell and Senate Republicans Refuse to Hold Hearings or Vote

| Importance: 9/10

On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick B. Garland, the widely respected Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death one month earlier. Garland was considered a …

Barack Obama Merrick Garland Mitch McConnell Chuck Grassley Supreme Court Judicial Appointments Obstruction Institutional Corruption
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