Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has told lawmakers in a closed-door interview his team “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” President Donald Trump criminally conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss.

President Donald Trump said House Republicans should vote to release the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case, a startling reversal after previously fighting the proposal as a growing number of those in his own party supported it.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are requesting that Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel, appear for an interview.

The Senate passed a six-month spending bill on Friday, hours before a government shutdown, overcoming sharp Democratic opposition to the measure and sending it to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.

Rep. Jerry Nadler says that he will be stepping down as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee next year.

A transgender woman’s use of the women’s locker room at a suburban St. Louis gym is prompting protests and calls for an investigation.

President Joe Biden is calling longtime U_S_ Rep_ Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas “a towering figure in our politics.”.

The House Ethics Committee is reviewing separate accusations against two Republican congressmen from Texas that allege they violated ethics rules by using campaign funds to pay membership dues at private social clubs.

New details are emerging in the ethics investigation into Florida Republican Matt Gaetz.

The House has voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case.

Merrick Garland is the third attorney general in U.S. history to be held in contempt of Congress.

Attorney General Merrick Garland is forcefully rebuking what he describes as “unprecedented” attacks on the Justice Department.

Two House committees have moved ahead with contempt charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for refusing to turn over audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel.

House Republicans are moving forward with holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Elon Musk over a settlement with securities regulators that requires him to get approval in advance of some social media posts that relate to Tesla, the electric vehicle company he leads.

A U.S. congressional committee has released confidential Brazilian court orders to suspend accounts on the social media platform X.

Kansas is poised to require internet pornography sites to verify that visitors are adults.

House Republicans have filed a lawsuit seeking to force two Justice Department lawyers to testify about the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden as part of the chamber’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

House Republicans are demanding that Hunter Biden appear this month for a closed-door deposition, rejecting his offer to testify publicly while pledging to release a transcript of the private interview for transparency.

The prosecutor overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation has testified for nearly seven hours before congressional investigators, saying he had ultimate authority over the yearslong case.

Watch live coverage as the House of Representatives holds a vote to elect a new speaker. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was removed from the speakership after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., filed a motion to vacate against him.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is calling on Republicans to work with Democrats to elect a speaker.

Republicans have chosen firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump.

House Republicans have clashed with Attorney General Merrick Garland, accusing him of the “weaponization” of its work under President Joe Biden.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faced a barrage of criticism by House Republicans who, in recent months, have floated impeaching the cabinet official over what they see as his dereliction of duty in securing the southern border.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is being threatened with contempt of Congress.

The lead prosecutor in the case against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter says he is willing to testify publicly this fall.

Congressman Adam Schiff’s Senate campaign says the California Democrat raised $8.1 million over the past three months, a period that includes his recent censure by the Republican-led House.

Former President Donald Trump’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents is set to play out in federal court in Florida.

Several FBI employees have accused the bureau of politicization in congressional testimony, a day after the agency announced two of them had seen their security clearances revoked over concerns about how their views of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack affected their work.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has agreed to let Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee question an ex-prosecutor about the criminal case against former President Donald Trump.

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked House Republicans from questioning a former Manhattan prosecutor about the criminal case against ex-President Donald Trump, the latest twist in a legal battle between Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office and the House Judiciary Committee.

Republicans upset with Donald Trump’s indictment are escalating their war on the prosecutor who charged him.

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Elon Musk’s mass layoffs at Twitter and trying to obtain his internal communications as part of ongoing oversight into the social media company’s privacy and cybersecurity practices, according to documents described in a congressional report.

West Virginia lawmakers have approved a bill that would allow people with concealed carry permits to bring firearms on state college and university campuses.

Subpoenas have been sent to the chief executives of the five largest tech companies as congressional Republicans moved to investigate what they assert is widespread corporate censorship of conservative voices.

Former Twitter executives conceded to Congress that they made a mistake by blocking a story about Hunter Biden, the president’s son, from the social media platform in the run-up to the 2020 election.

House Republicans are promising aggressive oversight of the Biden administration once they assume the majority next year.

A ban on certain semi-automatic weapons is moving forward in the House.

New York’s political landscape for the next decade is being quickly retooled by a rural judge and out-of-state expert after a court ruled Democrats controlling New York's legislature bungled the job.

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida says he will not seek reelection in the fall.

A federal appeals court is directing the Justice Department to disclose certain redacted passages from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report that relate to individuals who were investigated by prosecutors but not ultimately charged.

A House panel is pushing ahead with ambitious legislation that could curb the market power of Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple and force them to sever their dominant platforms from their other lines of business.

Apple informed former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn and his wife that the Justice Department had subpoenaed information about accounts that belonged to them in 2018.

FBI Director Christopher Wray says the bureau discourages ransomware payments to hacking groups even as major companies in the past month have participated in multimillion-dollar transactions aimed at getting their systems back online.

Former White House counsel Don McGahn will answer questions in private from the House Judiciary Committee in an apparent resolution of a longstanding dispute over his testimony, according to a court document filed Wednesday evening.

Before Matt Gaetz rose to national prominence as an ardent backer of Donald Trump, the now-Florida congressman carved out an unusual reputation as a Republican state lawmaker who wanted to liberalize marijuana laws.

The Democratic-led House has passed legislation to constrain a president’s power to limit entry to the U.S. The vote Wednesday was a response to former President Donald Trump’s travel ban covering five Muslim-majority countries.

A House panel has advanced a decades-long effort to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves, approving legislation Wednesday night that would create a commission to study the issue.

An associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz's is working toward a plea deal with federal prosecutors investigating a sex trafficking operation, potentially escalating the legal and political jeopardy facing the Florida congressman.

Rep. Matt Gaetz is facing accusations of a sexual relationship with an underage girl, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says if the claims are true, then the Florida Republican should at a minimum be removed from the House Judiciary Committee.

Democrats called for him to step aside from the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department. AdDuring that time, he has remained on both the House Armed Services Committee and on the Judiciary Committee, which has congressional oversight of the Justice Department. The Justice Department has also been looking into whether Gaetz, 38, may have also been involved in relationships with other underage girls, the people said. Gaetz said the allegations were part of an extortion plot by a former Justice Department official, whom he identified as David McGee. The Justice Department did not comment.

FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2019, file photo, Robyn Thomas, executive director of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, at Capitol Hill in Washington. Waiting periods are required in just 10 states and the District of Columbia, although several states are considering legislation this year to impose them. Against that backdrop, lawmakers in at least four states — Arizona, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont — have proposed creating or expanding waiting periods. If there’s a problem, let it surface, we’ll sort it out.”Gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association, oppose waiting periods. They also argue that waiting periods create a delay for people buying legally, while leaving illegal weapons transfers unaffected.

The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act passed 244-172 with 29 Republicans joining Democrats in supporting the legislation. The White House announced its support earlier Wednesday for reauthorizing VAWA, which aims to reduce domestic and sexual violence and improve the response to it through a variety of grant programs. AdPresident Joe Biden introduced the original Violence Against Women Act in June 1990 when serving as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. A subsequent version was eventually included in a sweeping crime bill that President Bill Clinton would sign into law four years later. Congress has reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act three times since.

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court is putting off upcoming arguments about whether Congress should have access to secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives had asked the court to put off arguments scheduled for Dec. 2, and the court on Friday agreed, removing the case from its calendar. Letter noted that President Donald Trump’s defeat in his bid for reelection could affect the committee’s decision. The material initially was sought in the summer of 2019 as part of the committee’s investigation of possible misconduct by Trump, including whether he obstructed Mueller’s investigation. By the time of the appellate ruling, Trump had been impeached by the House for his efforts to get Ukraine to announce an investigation of Democrat Joe Biden, and acquitted by the Senate.

In this June 29, 2020 file photo, the Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON – The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is asking the Supreme Court to put off upcoming arguments about whether Congress should have access to secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The material initially was sought in the summer of 2019 as part of the committee's investigation of possible misconduct by Trump, including whether he obstructed Mueller's investigation. The Supreme Court effectively kept the grand jury documents secret through the election in a series of orders in the spring and early summer. But it's unclear how many new, or incendiary, revelations might be contained in the grand jury transcripts.

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2019, file photo, Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., gives her opening statement during a House Judiciary Committee markup of the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington. Demings is among the women Joe Biden is considering for his vice presidential running mate. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON The Office of Congressional Ethics has recommended no further action against a Florida congressman who is paying a donor and former legal client $5,000 a month to rent space for his district office. The independent office has ended a preliminary investigation after finding insufficient evidence to continue the case against Rep. Matt Gaetz. The two-term lawmaker has said he did nothing wrong and that the lease is at or below market rate.The Office of Congressional Ethics opened the inquiry after news reports about the leasing arrangement surfaced in April. The office is a nonpartisan entity that reviews allegations of misconduct against House members, officers and staff, and makes recommendation to the House Ethics Committee. Merrill owns Empire Partners, L.L.C, the company that has billed him for the rent since Gaetz took office in 2017.

Berman's office is looking into the business dealings of Rudy Giuliani, Trumps personal lawyer and a former New York mayor. Berman, a Republican lawyer and donor to Trump, was tapped by the administration in 2018 as the U.S. attorney for SDNY. He reportedly met with Trump before being assigned as the top federal prosecutor job in Manhattan. Trump told reporters it was all up to the attorney general. At the time, Trump added: I wasnt involved.It's not the first ouster of a U.S. attorney from the SDNY. Preet Bahara, a former federal prosecutor appointed by President Barack Obama, announced that he was fired in March 2017, shortly after Trump took office.

WASHINGTON The ousted former U.S. attorney for Manhattan will sit down with the House Judiciary Committee next week for a closed-door interview as the panel investigates politicization in the Justice Department. Berman left his job last month after an extraordinary standoff in which he refused to resign until Trump himself fired him. Attorney General William Barr had attempted to force him to resign under pressure, but he refused to go. The Judiciary Committee is investigating the politicization and is scheduled to hear from Barr himself at the end of the month. The White House nominated Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, a well-connected Wall Street lawyer with virtually no experience as a federal prosecutor, to replace Berman.

WASHINGTON House Democrats have subpoenaed two Justice Department lawyers to testify before the Judiciary Committee about the politicization of the agency in the Trump administration, the committees chairman said Tuesday. The subpoenas set up a potential showdown between Congress and Attorney General William Barr about whether the prosecutors would be allowed to appear before the committee and what they would be permitted to discuss. Barr told the AP last year that the Justice Department would seek to block any attempt by Congress to subpoena members of the special counsels team. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the subpoenas. A former official Donald Ayer, who served as deputy attorney general under President George H.W.

Philonise Floyd, a brother of George Floyd, arrives to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on proposed changes to police practices and accountability on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 10, 2020, in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON Philonise Floyd, a brother of George Floyd, says he's testifying to Congress because he wants his brother's death to be "more than another name on a growing list of those killed during interactions with police. If his death ends up changing the world for the better. Then he died as he lived, Philonise Floyd says, according to an advance copy of his remarks. Im tired of the pain Im feeling now and Im tired of the pain I feel every time another black person is killed for no reason," Floyd said.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Watch live coverage as members of the House Judiciary Committee debate on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Watch live here:

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would legalize marijuana at the federal level. The bill has a high chance of approval in the full House, where Democrats have control. The proposal would be less likely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., opposes marijuana legalization. President Donald Trump has expressed that he wants to leave the decision of marijuana legalization up to the states. Two-thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization, according to Pew data released this month.

(CNN) - Congress is concerned about Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency, and one committee wants to question the folks in charge: Both Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg have been asked to testify before the House Financial Services Committee about Facebook's plans for Libra. Facebook has said Libra will be governed by an independent, third-party organization, the Libra Association, though many of that group's member companies have ties to Facebook. Facebook and the Libra Association have promised not to launch Libra until these regulatory concerns are addressed. Marcus is also among the few initial leaders of the Libra Association. That same month, privacy regulators from around the world including FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra sent a letter to the Libra Association companies asking how Libra users' privacy will be protected.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Justice Department told lawmakers Friday that Jeffrey Epstein had been placed on suicide watch in July, but was later removed after a psychologist at the Metropolitan Correctional Center determined it "was no longer warranted." CNN has reported that Epstein was placed on suicide watch in July after being found in his cell with bruises on his neck. He was removed from suicide watch later in the month, a person familiar with the matter said. The FBI and the Justice Department inspector general are investigating the circumstances of the death. The department also explained that after being moved out of suicide watch, inmates "are returned to regular custody placement, which may include the Special Housing Unit (SHU)."

Impeachment inquiry shiftsPreviously, however, Nadler privately pushed Pelosi to support opening a formal impeachment inquiry, making the argument that doing so would improve the House's chances in court. Up until this past month, Nadler had mostly avoided answering questions about whether he backed an impeachment inquiry. The committee's lawsuit said explicitly that it was conducting its investigation to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment, and Nadler said it was "in effect" an impeachment inquiry. "If you said that an impeachment inquiry is when you're considering only impeachment, that's not what we're doing. More than half of Democrats now back impeachment inquiryThe committee's argument that it's effectively conducting an impeachment inquiry already comes after months of House Democrats slowly growing in numbers backing the formal opening of an impeachment inquiry.

After weeks of negotiations, twists and turns over Mueller's appearance and a pair of subpoenas, the former special counsel will testify publicly at 8:30 a.m. Mueller will deliver an opening statement, but his written statement he's giving to the committees is simply the report itself. In his investigation, Mueller said he relied on the Justice Department guidelines that a sitting President cannot be indicted. At first, Democrats pushed to gain access to the full, unredacted Mueller report and underlying evidence. But after the Justice Department resisted that endeavor, they turned their sights on the special counsel.

The California Democrat added: "Up until now, they've only had the Mueller report filtered through people like (Attorney General) Bill Barr, who misrepresented it. Trump has claimed vindication from the Mueller report, frequently saying and tweeting: "no collusion, no obstruction." Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, has not commented to CNN and others about the Mueller report. Judiciary Committee Democrats met for dinner at Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon's home on Wednesday evening for an informal discussion about their momentous week ahead. "I've been involved in 100 hearings, and we've never prepared for one the way we have prepared for this one," said one Judiciary Committee aide.

Retired New York Police Department detective and 9/11 first responder Luis Alvarez testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on reauthorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund on Capitol Hill on June 11, 2019, in(CNN) - A funeral for first responder Luis Alvarez will be held Wednesday, just days after his powerful congressional testimony on compensating individuals with health problems related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Alvarez, 53, died Saturday from complications of cancer linked to the time he spent with other first responders at Ground Zero. "Detective Alvarez lost his fight against cancer, but his fight for 9/11 responders and survivors continues. A group of 9/11 first responders met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell this month to push for the passage of a measure to extend compensation funding. The fund Alvarez and other responders fought for was created months after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

WASHINGTON - Special counsel Robert Mueller will testify publicly before House panels July 17 after being subpoenaed. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., tweeted Tuesday that the House Judiciary and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence issued subpoenas and that Mueller agreed to testify before both committees. I am pleased to announce that @HouseJudiciary and House Intel will have Special Counsel Robert Mueller testify in open session on July 17, pursuant to a subpoena issued this evening. https://t.co/wR0CEVqpJCWe look forward to having Mr. Mueller testify, as do all Americans. pic.twitter.com/UEKihMEYXI (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) June 26, 2019Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.