Attorney General Merrick Garland announces on Aug. 11, 2023, that he has appointed a special counsel to handle the investigations into Hunter Biden.
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Special counsels can help presidential administrations avoid the perception of bias, but they are not as independent as the independent counsels of the past.
Former President Donald Trump makes his way to the stage during a rally in Erie, Pa., on July 29, 2023.
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A key element in proving Trump’s guilt or innocence is determining the former president’s state of mind and whether he has shown a consciousness of guilt before and after the alleged crimes.
Biden could face trying to win an election against an opponent being prosecuted by the government he leads. This is uncharted territory for a US president.
Former President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail in early June 2023, as an investigation continued that led to his indictment on federal charges.
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Spy cases are rare. More typically, as in the Trump indictment, the act applies to the unauthorized gathering, possessing or transmitting of certain sensitive government information.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in New Hampshire on April 27, 2023.
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If a person – in this case, the former president of the United States – is charged by federal and state prosecutors, or prosecutors in different states, at the same time, which case goes first?
A department rule advises federal law enforcement officials to refrain from making public comments about ongoing investigations that may impact an election in the 60 days leading up to that election.
Former President Donald Trump, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Aug. 6, 2022, in Dallas.
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Two national security law experts explain how the Espionage Act isn’t only about international intrigue, and share other important points about the law that was invoked in a search of Trump’s estate.
The gate to former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 8, 2022.
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A presidential scholar sets the history and context for the battle over President Trump’s official records – and says it isn’t the first records battle between the government and a former president.
In this photograph, former President Donald Trump appears on a video screen above members of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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Sara Kamali, University of California, Santa Barbara
A former Oath Keepers member testified during a congressional hearing that it was time to stop mincing words about the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol: ‘It was an armed revolution.’
A man protesting in New York City one year after the violent insurrection in Washington, D.C.
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Criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot could spark political consequences – not only for Trump, but for US democracy.
Political pressure is focusing on the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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New members are joining and some are leaving – as right-wing groups reorganize, scholars of the movement foresee increased polarization, with a risk of more violence.
Pro-Trump rioters trying to enter Capitol building. A recent poll showed that up to one-fifth of Americans supported the assault on the Capitol.
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To repair the public’s dwindling trust in the federal government, politicians must recommit to the impartial cooperation that bolsters political institutions.
Attorney general nominee Merrick Garland speaks during an event with President-elect Joe Biden.
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History shows that attorneys general who are picked by – and serve at the pleasure of – the president are not as independent as they may be expected to be.
As the nation mourns Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a partisan fight over her replacement begins.
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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death has sparked a battle over the future of the Supreme Court. Against that backdrop, a nominee faces prescribed steps towards a confirmation vote in the Senate.