Jeff Mordock

Fate of Hunter Biden probe prosecutor a ‘personnel decision’: Biden spokeswoman

President-elect Joseph R. Biden is promising to stay out of the federal investigation of his son Hunter Biden but will not pledge to protect the U.S. attorney leading the probe.

December 20, 2020

Hunter Biden probe must continue in the Biden administration: Republicans

Pressure is mounting from Republicans to protect a federal investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes and business dealings with China, with fears his father, President-elect Joseph R. Biden, will shut it down when he takes office in January.

December 19, 2020

Cory Johnson, death row inmate, tests positive for coronavirus

A second federal inmate set to be executed next month has tested positive for the coronavirus, his lawyer said Friday.

December 18, 2020

Crime victim rights groups say Carter Page should speak at sentencing for FBI lawyer

A coalition of crime victim rights groups on Friday said Carter Page, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, should be allowed to speak at the sentencing hearing for an ex-FBI agent who falsified an email to justify surveillance of Mr. Page.

December 18, 2020

Dustin Higgs, federal Inmate set for execution, has coronavirus

A federal inmate scheduled to be executed in the final days of the Trump administration has tested positive for coronavirus, his lawyer said Thursday.

December 17, 2020

FBI lacks comprehensive strategy to combat darknet activity, DOJ watchdog says

The FBI is dropping the ball on investigations into illegal darknet activity, including the sale of opioids and distribution of child pornography, a Justice Department watchdog said Thursday.

December 17, 2020

Joe Biden says he’s ‘confident’ son Hunter did nothing wrong

President-elect Joseph R. Biden on Wednesday said he's confident his son, Hunter Biden, did nothing wrong amid a federal investigation and increasing calls for a special counsel to probe the younger Biden's business dealings.

December 16, 2020

Cholo Abdi Abdullah, Kenyan man with ties to terror group, accused of 9/11-style plot on U.S.

A Kenyan man who spent years training in the Philippines to conduct a 9/11-style attack against the United States now faces terror charges, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.

December 16, 2020

Federal government executed more inmates in 2020 than all states combined, says watchdog group

The federal government executed more inmates this year than all of the U.S. states combined, a death penalty watchdog group said in a study released Wednesday.

December 16, 2020

William Barr probes of Obama-era officials reveal nothing

Attorney General William P. Barr will exit the Justice Department leaving behind a string of probes into misconduct by Obama-era officials that have mostly come up empty and sorely disappointed President Trump and his allies.

December 15, 2020

Cory Johnson case: Lawyers for Virginia gang member on death row say he’s intellectually disabled

Lawyers for a Virginia gang member asked a federal judge Tuesday to stop his execution, saying he is intellectually disabled and therefore legally ineligible for the death penalty.

December 15, 2020

Donald Trump self-pardon constitutionality in question as left-leaning prosecutors loom

Washington is abuzz with talk that President Trump may spend his last days in office on a pardon spree, preemptively absolving everyone including close associates, family members and even himself.

December 14, 2020

William Barr, attorney general, resigns, Donald Trump says

Attorney General William P. Barr on Monday resigned from the Trump administration, ending his controversial second stint as the nation's top cop.

December 14, 2020

Bo Mao, Chinese professor, sentenced to time served in Huawei theft case

A Chinese professor accused of stealing technology for Huawei Technologies Co. was sentenced Monday to time served, bringing a disappointing close to the much-hyped Justice Department investigation.

December 14, 2020

Alfred Bourgeois executed; second federal execution in two days

A Louisiana man who molested, tortured and beat to death his 2-year-old daughter was put to death Friday night, becoming the 10th federal inmate executed this year -- the most ever in a single year. Alfred Bourgeois, 56, was pronounced dead after getting a lethal injection at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was the second federal execution in as many days.

December 11, 2020

DOJ says Michigan shutdown of Catholic schools is unconstitutional, joins schools in lawsuit

The Justice Department on Friday sided with a group of Catholic high schools in Michigan suing the state over an emergency health order banning in-person classes at religious schools.

December 11, 2020

Alfred Bourgeois, who killed 2-year-old daughter, set to be 10th inmate executed this year

A Louisiana man who killed his 2-year-old daughter is scheduled to be executed Friday, making him the 10th federal inmate to be put to death this year, barring any last-minute intervention.

December 11, 2020

WIlliam Barr hid two Hunter Biden probes from public for months: Report

Attorney General William Barr reportedly hid two federal investigations into Hunter Biden for months and worked to keep the probes secret from lawmakers and the public ahead of the November presidential election.

December 11, 2020

Brandon Bernard executed despite appeals from Kim Kardashian West, Democrats

A Texas man convicted of killing married youth ministers before setting their car on fire while they were inside was executed Thursday night, despite last-minute appeals from Democratic officials and Kim Kardashian West.

December 10, 2020

Federal appeals court denies emergency request to halt Brandon Bernard execution

A federal appeals court Thursday denied an last-minute emergency request to halt the execution of Brandon Bernard, clearing the way for the ninth inmate death sentence carried out this year by the Trump administration.

December 10, 2020