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The Justice Department accused the Minneapolis Police Department of rampant discrimination, unlawful conduct and systemic mismanagement in a scathing 89-page report released on Friday. The federal investigation, launched in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer, “found that the systemic problems in M.P.D. made what happened to George Floyd possible.”Here are some of the key allegations in the report, which echoes complaints that some Minneapolis residents have made for years, and which could lead to a court-enforced consent decree:

Persons: George Floyd, “ Organizations: Department, Minneapolis Police Department Locations: Minneapolis, M.P.D

Crowd: “No justice, no peace.” Floyd’s death triggered major protests in Minneapolis, and sparked rage across the country. Officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng step out of the car and approach the blue S.U.V. According to the criminal complaints filed against the officers, Floyd says he is claustrophobic and refuses to enter the police car. Her footage shows that despite calls for medical help, Chauvin keeps Floyd pinned down for another seven minutes. Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, according to our review of the video evidence.

Persons: It’s, George Floyd, ”, Derek Chauvin, Floyd, “, Thomas Lane, J, Alexander Kueng, Lane, yanks Floyd, Tou Thao, Thao, Chauvin, Kueng, Darnella Frazier, I’ve, ” Floyd, Bro, They’ve, He’s, “ Floyd, George Floyd’s Organizations: Police, Cup Foods, yanks, Foods, Minneapolis Police Department Locations: Minneapolis, Houston, Floyd, United States

☆ Airman Who Leaked Files Is Indicted on Charges of Mishandling Secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who posted dozens of secret intelligence reports and other sensitive documents on a social media server, on six counts of retaining and transmitting classified national defense information. The filing of criminal charges in Boston federal court against Airman Teixeira, 21, comes about two months after F.B.I. But it was not immediately clear how many of the vaguely described incidents that underlie the charges had been previously disclosed and which ones were being made public for the first time. Airman Teixeira’s disclosures — exposing secrets of the United States, its allies and its adversaries — have bared rifts between the United States and its allies and given Russia information about intelligence-gathering methods, as news organizations have divulged some of the material. And Justice Department lawyers have said the extent of the information he leaked “far exceeds what has been publicly disclosed.”

Persons: Jack Teixeira, Teixeira, —, ” Organizations: Massachusetts Air National, Department Locations: Boston, North Dighton, United States, Russia

The report is expected to be released at a news conference with Attorney General Merrick Garland, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and city officials. The expected announcement was previously reported by Bloomberg Law and KSTP-TV in Minnesota. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has negotiated consent decrees in the past to enforce policing overhauls in Baltimore, Cleveland and Ferguson, Mo., among other cities, after similar investigations. The murder of Mr. Floyd, a Black man, by Officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020 touched off protests and civil unrest across the country and led to calls to fundamentally rethink or defund policing. Mr. Floyd’s death, video of which circulated widely online, brought condemnations from across the political spectrum and criminal convictions for the police officers who were involved, a relatively rare occurrence.

Persons: George Floyd, General Merrick Garland, Vanita Gupta, Ferguson, Floyd, Derek Chauvin, Floyd’s Organizations: Minneapolis Police Department, Bloomberg Law, Civil, Division Locations: Minnesota, Baltimore , Cleveland, Mo

Throughout the inquiry into former President Donald J. Trump’s handling of classified material, his insular world at Mar-a-Lago was rife with intrigue, anxiety and competing motives as investigators sought testimony and evidence from his some of his closest aides, advisers, lawyers and even members of his Secret Service detail. Now, with Mr. Trump under federal indictment and with people who currently, or used to, work for him seen as potential prosecution witnesses, the pressure on those around him — both at Mar-a-Lago in Florida and at his summer residence in Bedminster, N.J. — has only increased. Mr. Trump is in the position of waging a presidential campaign and preparing a defense at the same time. Complicating matters, he has been forbidden from discussing the latter with a number of people who could presumably help him with the former, some of whom are no doubt wondering who is saying what to the government as they go about their jobs. In court in Miami on Tuesday, the federal magistrate judge who handled Mr. Trump’s arraignment ordered the former president not to discuss the case with his co-defendant and personal aide, Walt Nauta, saying that any communications about it would have to go through their lawyers.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, —, Trump’s, Walt Nauta Organizations: Mr, Mar Locations: Lago, Florida, Bedminster, N.J, Miami

Donald Trump was arraigned in Miami yesterday on 37 criminal counts covering seven different violations of federal law, including the handling of classified documents. Three New York Times journalists covered the proceedings: Glenn Thrush was inside the courtroom, Luke Broadwater reported from outside the courthouse, and Maggie Haberman was at Mr. Trump’s home in Bedminster, N.J.

Persons: Donald Trump, Glenn Thrush, Luke Broadwater, Maggie Haberman, Trump’s Organizations: New York Times Locations: Miami, Bedminster, N.J

Donald J. Trump, twice impeached as president and now twice indicted since leaving the White House, surrendered to federal authorities in Miami on Tuesday and was arraigned on charges that he had put national security secrets at risk and obstructed investigators. Mr. Trump was booked, fingerprinted and led to a courtroom on the 13th floor of the Federal District Court, where his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Sitting among the spectators about 20 feet away was Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the investigation that led to the 38-count indictment of Mr. Trump and his personal aide, Walt Nauta, who was also present for the proceedings but did not enter a plea. Mr. Trump, who spent much of the arraignment with his arms folded and a grim expression, and Mr. Smith, a flinty former war crimes prosecutor rarely seen in public since taking charge of the case, did not talk to each other at the hearing, or even exchange glances.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, fingerprinted, Jack Smith, Mr, Walt Nauta, Smith Organizations: White, Federal, Court Locations: Miami

☆ A Grim Donald Trump, President No Longer, Is Humbled in the Courtroom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first-ever arraignment of a former president on federal charges coincided with the first public encounter between the two men, Mr. Trump and Mr. Smith, at the center of the Mar-a-Lago documents case. But these most dissimilar of adversaries are locked in a legal battle with immense political and legal implications for a polarized nation. Mr. Trump, who has denounced his indictment as a witch hunt and called Mr. Smith a “thug,” did not say a word at the hearing. Mr. Trump has promised to have more to say later. While Mr. Kise absorbed himself in paperwork, Mr. Trump and Mr. Blanche leaned in close to whisper in each other’s ears, one or twice sharing a laugh.

Persons: Trump, Smith, ”, Jonathan Goodman, Christopher M, Kise, Todd Blanche, Judge Goodman, Blanche

During his arraignment, Mr. Trump is expected to be advised of his rights, and a judge will assess whether he has legal representation. The case against Mr. Trump is the second criminal prosecution against the former president this year. Mr. Trump was already arraigned in April in a New York courthouse on state charges that he falsified business records. In the case that has brought him to Miami, Mr. Trump has been charged with 37 counts of unauthorized retention of national security information. After the court appearance, Mr. Trump is expected to fly to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., to give remarks defending himself in the evening.

Persons: Wilkie, Ferguson Jr, Donald J, Trump, Francis X, Suarez, Mr, We’re, James, John Rowley —, Todd Blanche, Christopher M, Jay I, Bratt, Julie Edelstein, Manny Morales, Morales, “, ”, that’s, ” Adam Goldman, Alan Feuer, Charlie Savage Organizations: Mr, Trump, Suarez of Miami, Republican, United States Supreme, Justice Department’s, Trump National Golf Club, Capitol, Miami police Locations: Miami, United States, New York, Florida, Bedminster, N.J, MIAMI

☆ Kaczynski Died by Suicide in Prison, Sources Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Theodore J. Kaczynski, the “Unabomber,” who killed three people and injured 23 in a bombing spree stretching from 1978 to 1995, died by suicide at a federal prison medical center in North Carolina early Saturday, according to three people familiar with the situation. Emergency workers were called to Mr. Kaczynski’s cell at 12:23 a.m. at the Federal Medical Center, Butner, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Attempts to revive him in the prison and in an ambulance were unsuccessful, and he was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, officials said. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina confirmed in an email that it conducts autopsies of deaths at the federal medical center in Butner, but offered no timetable for when one might be completed for Mr. Kaczynski. The circumstances of his suicide are unclear, and it is uncertain whether prison officials could have done more to ensure his safety.

Persons: Theodore J . Kaczynski, ”, Kaczynski, Jeffrey Epstein Organizations: Federal Medical Center, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Mr Locations: North Carolina, Butner, Manhattan

Indictments against former President Donald J. Trump and a personal aide, Walt Nauta, unsealed Friday reveal a host of embarrassing and potentially devastating new details about a yearlong investigation previously cloaked in secrecy. and grand jury. Here are some of the most significant, and startling, allegations:Mr. Trump and Mr. Nauta are accused of conspiring to obstruct justice. Prosecutors say they have assembled evidence showing that Mr. Trump willfully ignored a May 2022 subpoena requiring him to return everything belonging to the National Archives — and took extraordinary steps to obstruct the F.B.I. In the hours before Mr. Trump’s lawyer visited his Mar-a-Lago estate to search for documents in a storage room — an attempt to comply with the subpoena — Mr. Trump directed Mr. Nauta, his co-defendant, to move 64 of the boxes out of the storage room because he maintained they were his property.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Walt Nauta, Nauta, National Archives —, Trump’s Organizations: White, Prosecutors, National Archives

He urged Americans read the indictment to understand the “scope and gravity” of the charges, which he said were necessary to preserve “bedrock” democratic principles. “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” he said. The investigation had been conducted with utmost integrity, he added, and, in an implicit nod to the election calendar — Mr. Trump remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — promised to seek a speedy trial. Mr. Trump and his allies continued their effort to portray the prosecution as politically motivated and unjustified, with House Republicans rallying behind him and arguing that President Biden had weaponized the Justice Department against his potential rival in 2024. Mr. Biden stuck to his calculated silence about the prosecution, judging it best not to provide ammunition to Republicans who are trying to convince voters that he was behind the decision to charge Mr. Trump.

Persons: Trump, ” Jack Smith, ”, —, Biden, Mr Organizations: Justice Department, House Republicans, Republicans Locations: Washington

The indictment gives the clearest picture yet of the files that Mr. Trump took with him when he left the White House. Mr. Trump is expected to appear in Federal District Court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Trump continued to rail against the indictment on Friday, calling it the “greatest witch hunt of all time,” in a Truth Social post. Two lawyers, James Trusty and John Rowley, have left Mr. Trump’s legal team, and will no longer represent him in the documents case. “I will be represented by Todd Blanche, Esq., and a firm to be named later,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Jack Smith, “, ”, Waltine, —, Nauta, Trump’s, FVEY, Aileen M, Cannon, Judge Cannon, Biden, James, John Rowley, Todd Blanche, ” Mr, Charlie Savage, Nicholas Nehamas Organizations: White, “ United, Prosecutors, Mr, Court, General Services Administration Locations: “ United States, United States, Florida, Iran, Bedminster, N.J, U.S, Britain , New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Miami, White, Mar, Esq

The judge, Aileen M. Cannon, who Mr. Trump appointed to the bench in 2020, is scheduled — at least for now — to preside over the former president’s first appearance in Federal District Court in Miami on Tuesday, the people said. But it was not clear whether Judge Cannon would remain assigned for the entirety of Mr. Trump’s case. Judge Cannon’s involvement was earlier reported by ABC News. The chances that Judge Cannon would randomly receive the assignment were low. There are 15 active Federal District Court judges in South Florida, along with 11 on senior status who are still assigned to hear cases but at a reduced workload.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Aileen M, Cannon, Judge Cannon’s, Angela Noble Organizations: Mr, Court, ABC News, Southern, Southern District of, The New York Times Locations: Miami, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, South Florida

Federal prosecutors unsealed indictments on Friday against former President Donald J. Trump and one of his personal aides, Walt Nauta, revealing devastating new details about a more than yearlong investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of classified material. The 49-page indictment, containing 38 counts and seven separate charges, gave the clearest picture yet of the files that Mr. Trump took with him when he left the White House. It said he had illegally kept documents concerning “United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”“The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collections methods,” the indictment said. The indictment described Mr. Trump as willfully hanging onto documents that were called by some aides “his papers.” It detailed how Mr. Trump suggested to one of his lawyers that it was possible to tell prosecutors that “we don’t have anything here” after a grand jury subpoena had been issued for all remaining classified material in his possession.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Walt Nauta, ”, “ Organizations: White, “ United, United States Locations: “ United States, United States

☆ Who Is Jack Smith, the Special Counsel Who Indicted Trump?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jack Smith, appointed in November to investigate former President Donald J. Trump, is a hard-driving, flinty former prosecutor chosen for his experience in bringing high-stakes cases against politicians in the United States and abroad. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland tasked him with overseeing two investigations into Mr. Trump: one into his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, including the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and the other into Mr. Trump’s retention of classified materials at his residence in Florida. “The right choice to complete these matters in an evenhanded and urgent manner,” Mr. Garland said in announcing the appointment of Mr. Smith, who had been serving as the top prosecutor investigating war crimes in Kosovo at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans have accused the Justice Department of pursuing a politically motivated investigation intended to destroy Mr. Trump’s chances of retaking the White House, including by leaking details of the case. But department officials have said Mr. Smith, 54, is intent on conducting a fair investigation in secrecy — and Mr. Smith has refused to even acknowledge the questions of reporters who have approached him outside his office in northeast Washington.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald J, Trump, General Merrick B, Garland, Trump’s, “, Mr, Smith Organizations: Capitol, Criminal, Mr, Justice Department Locations: United States, Florida, Kosovo, The Hague, Washington

Once he was sworn in as president, Mr. Trump reimbursed Mr. Cohen. Rather than publish her account, the tabloid suppressed it in cooperation with Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen, prosecutors say. Legal experts say that Mr. Trump and others appear to be at “substantial risk” of prosecution for violating a number Georgia statutes, including the state’s racketeering law. But if she were to prevail at trial, a judge could impose steep financial penalties on Mr. Trump and restrict his business operations in New York. Ms. James’s investigators questioned Mr. Trump under oath in April, and a trial is scheduled for October.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Jack Smith, Alvin L, Bragg, Stormy Daniels, Michael D, Cohen, Daniels, Karen McDougal, McDougal, Brad Raffensperger, Biden’s, —, Emily Kohrs, “ You’re, ”, “, Willis, Jan, Mr . Biden, Smith, Mike Pence, Mark Meadows, Letitia James, Mr, James, Donald Jr, Eric, Jonah E, Rebecca Davis O’Brien, Michael Gold, Michael Rothfeld, Ed Shanahan, Richard Fausset, Ashley Wong Organizations: Capitol, Manhattan, National Enquirer, Mr, ., The New York Times, Justice Department, Trump, Prosecutors, White House, Trump White House, New York, Civil, New Locations: Manhattan, Georgia, . Georgia, Fulton County, United States, Washington, Trump’s, New, New York, Bromwich

☆ Justice Dept. Reaches Cleanup Deal With Houston After Civil Rights Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with the City of Houston to improve trash removal and environmental monitoring after an investigation into the widespread dumping of garbage, including human bodies, in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods. The pact, announced on Tuesday, was the result of a yearlong inquiry by the department’s civil rights division into dozens of complaints from residents. It includes a commitment by Mayor Sylvester Turner to fund cleanup projects, under the supervision of federal officials for three years. The agreement, which followed weeks of negotiation between department officials and municipal leaders in Houston, is part of the Biden administration’s larger environmental justice agenda, which seeks to redress the disproportional impact of waste, air and water pollution on communities of color around the country. “No one should have to live next to discarded tires, bags of trash, rotting carcasses, infected soils and contaminated groundwater, all caused by illegal dumping,” Alamdar S. Hamdani, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said on Tuesday during a news conference in Houston.

Persons: Sylvester Turner Organizations: Department, City, Biden, Southern, Southern District of Locations: Houston, Black, U.S, Southern District, Southern District of Texas

☆ U.S. Can’t Bar Man Convicted of Nonviolent Crime From Owning Gun, Court Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that a man who committed a nonviolent crime cannot be legally prevented from owning a firearm — a potential setback to gun regulations spurred by a Supreme Court ruling last year that vastly expanded the right to bear arms. In an 11-to-4 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia overturned decisions by lower courts that had prevented Bryan Range, a Pennsylvania resident who had sued the state after being blocked from buying a shotgun for hunting and self-protection over a conviction for lying on a benefits application in the 1990s. In a majority opinion, Judge Thomas M. Hardiman repeatedly cited the Supreme Court ruling last June, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, in which the majority established a new standard that dictated that gun laws conform to “historical traditions” dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. “In sum, we reject the government’s contention that only ‘law-abiding, responsible citizens’ are counted among ‘the people’ protected by the Second Amendment,” wrote Judge Hardiman, a George W. Bush appointee who was on former President Donald J. Trump’s short list to serve on the Supreme Court after the death of Antonin Scalia in 2016.

Persons: Bryan, Judge Thomas M, Hardiman, Clarence Thomas, ’, ”, George W, Bush, Donald J, Antonin Scalia Organizations: U.S ., Appeals, Third Circuit Locations: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

personnel conducted this investigation,” Mr. Parlatore said. Along with the classified documents case, prosecutors under Mr. Smith are also scrutinizing efforts by Mr. Trump and his aides to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The letter to Mr. Garland was an abbreviated version of a longer one that contained a more detail account of the concerns by Mr. Trump’s lawyers, according to two people familiar with the matter. The legal team’s visit to the Justice Department came amid indications that Mr. Smith is approaching the end of his investigation into the documents case and could soon make a decision about whether to seek charges. The initial letter to Mr. Garland was directly confrontational, accusing officials at the Justice Department of showing favoritism to President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who is under criminal investigation by the department.

Persons: “, ” Mr, Parlatore, that’s, Peter Carr, Smith, Garland, Trump, Biden, Hunter Biden Organizations: Justice Department, Mr, Capitol, Justice

☆ Pence Won’t Face Charges in Documents Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Maggie Haberman | Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department has declined to pursue charges against former Vice President Mike Pence in connection with his retention of classified documents at his home in Indiana, informing him in a brief letter on Thursday night, according to three people familiar with the situation. Word that the case would be closed came days before Mr. Pence was set to announce his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in Iowa. and the Justice Department’s national security division conducted an investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, the department wrote to Mr. Pence’s lawyer, according to a person who had read the letter. Based on the results of that investigation, “no criminal charges will be sought,” according to that person. In January, a lawyer for Mr. Pence searched the former vice president’s house for documents after aides to President Biden discovered a trove of sensitive material at an office he had once occupied in Delaware.

Persons: Mike Pence, Pence, Pence’s, “, Biden Organizations: Republican, Justice Department’s Locations: Indiana, Iowa, Delaware

☆ Hunter Biden’s Lawyers Cite Landmark Gun Ruling in Bid to Stave Off Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Michael S. Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Biden is under investigation for several potential offenses, including whether he had lied on a federal firearms application in 2018 when asked if he was addicted to drugs. It is unclear if Mr. Weiss is receptive to that suggestion. A spokeswoman for Mr. Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time, Mr. Biden was struggling to remain sober. But such federal prosecutions are relatively rare, and seldom pursued as stand-alone charges.

Persons: Biden, Christopher Clark, Weiss, Hunter Biden, Bryan David Range, Hunter Biden’s Organizations: U.S ., Appeals, Third Circuit, Department, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives Locations: U.S, Delaware, Pennsylvania

☆ Airman to Remain Detained as He Awaits Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Alicia Napierkowski | Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal magistrate ruled on Friday that Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air Force National Guardsman accused of posting scores of secret documents to an online gaming platform, will remain behind bars pending his trial because he poses a continuing threat to national security. The judge, David H. Hennessy, cited Airman Teixeira’s history of seeking out, gaining access to and posting classified intelligence materials, in defiance of superiors at an Air Force base on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, in denying the airman’s request to be released on bond into the custody of his father. Airman Teixeira’s actions were “a profound breach” of the oath he took to protect sensitive information when he was given his security clearance, Judge Hennessy said during a custody hearing at the federal courthouse in Worcester, Mass. His ruling came after the government introduced evidence that the airman continued to have access to sensitive intelligence months after his superiors noted his suspicious behavior. The decision was a victory for the government, which is seeking to send the strongest possible message to potential leakers after a humiliating disclosure of national security secrets that appears to have been pulled off by a boastful young man trying to impress his online friends.

☆ Military Caught Airman Mishandling Secrets Before Arrest but Left Him in Job
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Robin Stein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Air Force officials caught Airman Jack Teixeira taking notes and conducting deep-dive searches for classified material months before he was charged with leaking a vast trove of government secrets, but did not remove him from his job, according to a Justice Department filing on Wednesday. On two occasions in September and October 2022, Airman Teixeira’s superiors in the Massachusetts Air National Guard admonished him after reports that he had taken “concerning actions” while handling classified information. Those included stuffing a note into his pocket after reviewing secret information inside his unit, according to a court filing ahead of a hearing before a federal magistrate judge in Worcester, Mass., on Friday to determine whether he should be released on bail. Airman Teixeira — who until March shared secrets with scores of online friends from around the world on Discord, a social media platform popular with gamers — “was instructed to no longer take notes in any form on classified intelligence information,” lawyers with the department’s national security division wrote in an 11-page memo arguing for his indefinite detention. The airman’s superiors also ordered him to “cease and desist on any deep dives into classified intelligence information,” although it is not clear how, or if, they enforced that directive.

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