A federal grand jury on Tuesday declined to go along with an effort by the Trump Justice Department to indict Democratic lawmakers involved in a November video reminding members of the US military of their duty to refuse illegal orders, a message that came as President Donald Trump deployed troops to major American cities. The failed attempt to indict the six Democratic lawmakers was led by…
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As the nation staggers toward the 2026 round of midterm elections, the threats to the integrity of U.S. democracy — already a veritable hailstorm of partisan contention — have escalated dramatically under the second Trump administration, attaining something like hurricane force. Owing to the fevered narratives proliferating across right-wing media, many have come to believe that the nation faces a…
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As Minnesota residents and people across the U.S. were reeling from the killing of protester Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents on Saturday — the second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents in the city in less than three weeks — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Governor Tim Walz, telling him it is in his power to “restore the rule of law” in his state.
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As his administration continues dragging its feet in releasing the Epstein files, President Donald Trump is pushing to keep another potentially damning set of Justice Department documents hidden from the public. On Tuesday, Trump filed a 19-page motion requesting that the US District Court of the Southern District of Florida step in to prohibit the DOJ’s planned release of Volume II of the…
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The Department of Justice is investigating Minnesota leaders including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, alleging that they are conspiring to impede federal immigration agents due to their outspoken criticism of the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to the Twin Cities. The investigation, first reported by CBS News on Friday…
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This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Jan. 12, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
The US Department of Justice’s decision to open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has ignited a major backlash that even has some Republican senators drawing a line in the sand.
Shortly after Powell released a video on Sunday accusing the Department of Justice (DOJ) of waging an “intimidation” campaign against him on behalf of President Donald Trump, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) blasted the administration, accusing them of trying to compromise the independence of America’s central bank.
“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” said Tillis, who further vowed to “oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved.”
On Monday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) backed up Tillis’ pledge to oppose any nominees for the Federal Reserve until the criminal probe of Powell, whose term as Fed chair is due to end in May, has been resolved.
Murkowski also revealed that she spoke with Powell and determined that “it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion” aimed at affecting his decisions on US monetary policy.
“The stakes are too high to look the other way,” Murkowski emphasized. “If the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer.”
Trump can only afford to lose the support of four Republican senators in a vote for a new Fed chair, which means Tillis and Murkowski’s vows not to support any nominee until the case