Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn) header
Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn) profile picture

Senior reporter, Department of Justice @BLaw | @UMWallaceHouse alum | [email protected] | Signal at benpenn.06

Washington, DC
Joined October 2010
Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)Photo by Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn)
I went long on a new form of Trump DOJ turmoil: Top Las Vegas prosecutor Sigal Chattah repeatedly bypassed Main Justice recusal orders, pushed cases for ex-clients & friends, targeted political foe & much more. "It's charitable to call it chaos." news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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Update: Subpoenas have been issued, and Calif. Secretary of State is among officials LA First Assistant US Atty Bill Essayli expected to be targeting.
SCOOP: Trump DOJ has directed California's US attorneys to start criminally subpoenaing state & local officials over their roles facilitating allegedly unlawful voting. Prosecutors in LA & elsewhere expected to start issuing grand jury subpoenas today. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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SCOOP: Trump DOJ has directed California's US attorneys to start criminally subpoenaing state & local officials over their roles facilitating allegedly unlawful voting. Prosecutors in LA & elsewhere expected to start issuing grand jury subpoenas today. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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DOJ Civil Rights Division prosecutions of hate crimes and excessive force in policing plummeted after President Donald Trump returned to office, according to Democracy Forward analysis shared exclusively with @BLaw: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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JUST IN: separate DOJ Comey investigation we reported about in April has led to newly unsealed criminal charges just now in DC alleging he leaked defense secrets. Third time’s the charm?
SCOOP: DOJ prosecutors in Virginia are pursuing separate charges against James Comey for allegedly leaking classified info. Blanche's DOJ, not satisfied with just '86 47' case, in recent weeks revived nat sec probe that stalled out last year. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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Ben Penn retweeted
SCOOP: Afghans in immigration detention across the country are being told there is a plan to deport them to Pakistan. Advocates fear those removed, which could include families of US allies, would be in life-threatening danger. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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NEW: Trump's war on fraud beset by downsized law enforcement workforce, as young prosecutors & agents struggle to meet DOJ/White House pressure to surge fraud cases. VP Vance boasts historic progress, but current & former officials describe challenges. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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The judge, a Trump 1 appointee, allegedly refused to manage her docket, recused from 40+ cases since June 1, made “racial insults to judges and court staff,” and sent “copious and bizarre emails to court staff and judges.” Don’t miss weekend scoop from @jacq_thomsen:
NEW: Judge Ada Brown is facing a misconduct proceeding over several claims, including the mishandling of her docket. Her cases were transferred, investigators say "reasonable basis" to believe Brown "suffers from a mental condition" per court docs news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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NEW: Judge Ada Brown is facing a misconduct proceeding over several claims, including the mishandling of her docket. Her cases were transferred, investigators say "reasonable basis" to believe Brown "suffers from a mental condition" per court docs news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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Politically appointed DOJ lawyers have submitted more than a dozen court filings that haven’t been signed by any career attorneys, a move former officials call unusual. @SuzanneMonyak looks into the increased involvement of DOJ's front office in big cases news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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Ben Penn retweeted
SCOOP: Trump DOJ leaders have halted prosecutors' long-running grand jury probe of Meta Platforms over permitting illicit drug sales. Officials intervened just after Meta execs were subpoenaed to testify. Case likely headed for non-criminal resolution. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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SCOOP: Trump DOJ leaders have halted prosecutors' long-running grand jury probe of Meta Platforms over permitting illicit drug sales. Officials intervened just after Meta execs were subpoenaed to testify. Case likely headed for non-criminal resolution. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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EXCLUSIVE: @FBIDirectorKash says the FBI has stepped up its effort against violent crime, but Justice Department data rebuts that claim. The FBI is filing fewer criminal cases than it did during the Biden Administration. But Patel is counting state and local arrests to juice his stats. With @CarolLeonnig
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Per @MitchABlack, at a hearing yesterday in which judge indicated he'll likely disqualify Bill Essayli as LA's top prosecutor, Essayli sat as second chair & told reporters: “The president runs the executive branch & nothing here is going to change that.” news.bloomberglaw.com/litiga…
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Ben Penn retweeted
SCOOP: The Trump administration is offering migrant children $3,000 to voluntarily depart in immigration court. Sometimes the offer comes from ICE attorneys, other times from the immigration judges themselves. The kids are as young as 5. W/@cecelou18 news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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News: The rise of Trump admin's DOJ fraud division has decimated a once elite white collar unit known for convicting market manipulating traders at big banks. Criminal Division is now trying to stop the exodus with unheard of retention bonuses. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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NEW: Lawyers for Olympic canoeist charged with damaging reflecting pool want DOJ IG investigation of US Attorney Jeanine Pirro for her actions in the failed prosecution. They lodge new accusations that Pirro interrogated defense expert mid-inspection. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law…
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