Trump's Justice Department pushes a spate of politically sensitive cases as midterm elections near

With a closely watched midterm election days away, the Justice Department under President Donald Trump has taken a run of politically charged steps that defense lawyers, Democrats and other critics view as timed and aimed for political effect, the Associated Press reports in PBS NewsHour. Federal agents searched the home of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who is on the ballot Tuesday, took her phone and issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas over her immigration paperwork. Prosecutors also charged two former FBI officials with lying to Congress about a laptop tied to Hunter Biden, revived an effort to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey, and failed to win an indictment of a former White House aide who testified about Trump's attempts to reverse the 2020 result. In Washington, filings against Comey and the ex-officials bypassed grand juries.

The department says it follows facts and law rather than a political calendar, and describes its avoidance of overt action within 60 days of an election as an informal practice focused on purpose, not proximity. Attorney General Todd Blanche denies the Omar search was election-driven. David Laufman, a former senior department official, called the conduct unprecedented in modern times.

Summarized by PolitiKool from PBS NewsHour’s reporting. Read the full story at PBS NewsHour →