Eric Tucker, Author at The Rapid City Post

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

What’s known and not yet known about the Justice Department’s scrutiny of Trump-Russia probe origins

August 5, 2025

Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to criminally investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe from the Obama era. This move reopens a highly scrutinized chapter in American history. Bondi has directed President Donald Trump’s Justice Department prosecutors to present evidence to a grand jury. The investigation’s specifics, including which prosecutors are involved and potential charges, remain unclear. The Trump administration has been challenging intelligence community conclusions about Russian interference in the 2016 election. This probe adds to a series of inquiries into Russian interference and the U.S. government’s response, which have revealed significant flaws but no criminal wrongdoing.

FILE - Former CIA Director John Brennan arrives for a meeting at the Capitol in Washington, May 21, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Years later, key figures in Russia investigation face new scrutiny from Trump administration

July 10, 2025

The Justice Department appeared to acknowledge in an unusual statement this week the existence of investigations into former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan. Both officials played key roles in the U.S. government’s response to Russian interference in the 2016 election won by President Donald Trump and have drawn his ire. That the Russia investigation would resurface is hardly surprising given President Donald Trump’s lingering ire over the inquiry and because longtime allies, including Patel and current CIA Director John Ratcliffe, now lead the same agencies whose actions they once lambasted.

President Donald Trump, center, speaking during a cabinet meeting with from l-r., Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of Housing, Eric Scott Turner, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump comes to Bondi’s defense amid uproar from his base over Jeffrey Epstein files flop

July 8, 2025

President Donald Trump is defending Attorney General Pam Bondi as she faces mounting criticism from far-right influencers and conservative internet personalities over the Justice Department’s abrupt refusal to release additional documents from the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. When a reporter attempted to ask Bondi about Epstein at a White House Cabinet meeting, Trump headed off the questions and scolded the journalist: “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years.” The comments appeared to signal continued job security for Bondi and amounted to a striking rebuke of members of Trump’s base.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to the media, Friday, June 27, 2025, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

2 Chinese nationals charged with spying inside the US for Beijing, Justice Department says

July 1, 2025

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with spying inside the United States on behalf of Beijing, including by taking photographs of a naval base and by participating in efforts to recruit members of the military who they thought might be open to working for Chinese intelligence. The case was filed in federal court in San Francisco and unsealed Monday. It’s the latest Justice Department prosecution to target what officials say are active efforts by the Chinese government to secretly collect intelligence about American military capabilities.

FILE - FBI Director Kash Patel testifies during a budget hearing on Capitol Hill, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)

FBI says it plans to move headquarters to different location in Washington

July 1, 2025

The FBI has announced that it planned to move its Washington headquarters several blocks away from its current five-decade-old home. The bureau and the General Services Administration said the Ronald Reagan Building complex had been selected as the new location, the latest development in a yearslong back-and-forth over where the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency should have its headquarters. It was not immediately clear when such a move might take place or what sort of logistical hurdles might need to be cleared in order to accomplish it. FBI Director Kash Patel, who in his first months on the job has presided over a dramatic restructuring of the bureau, called the announcement “a historic moment for the FBI.”

Judge rejects another Trump executive order targeting the legal community

June 27, 2025

A federal judge has struck down another of President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled that the order against the firm of Susman Godfrey was unconstitutional and must be permanently blocked. The order was the latest ruling to reject Trump’s efforts to punish law firms for legal work he does not like and for employing attorneys he perceives as his adversaries. The Susman Godfrey firm suggested that it had drawn Trump’s ire at least in part because it represented Dominion Voting Systems in the voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News over false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election. The suit ended in a massive settlement.

A National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin issued by the Department of Homeland Security warning of a "heightened threat environment" following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, is photographed June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

As US cities heighten security, Iran’s history of reprisal points to murder-for-hire plots

June 23, 2025

The Department of Homeland Security is warning of a heightened threat environment following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The deputy FBI director says the bureau’s “assets are fully engaged” to prevent retaliatory violence, and local law enforcement agencies in major cities like New York are on high alert. No credible threats to the homeland have surfaced publicly in the hours since the stealth American attack, and it’s unclear what bearing a potential ceasefire announced by the U.S. between Israel and Iran might have on potential threats or how lasting such an arrangement might be. But the potential for reprisal is no idle concern. Rather than planning acts of mass violence, Iran’s most common tactic has been murder-for-hire plots.

FILE - Christine Levinson, center, wife of Robert Levinson, and her children, Dan Levinson, right, and Samantha Levinson talk to reporters in New York, Jan. 18, 2016. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Family of ex-FBI agent presumed dead in Iran hopes talks with US can lead to return of his remains

June 20, 2025

The family of a retired FBI agent presumed dead after vanishing in Iran 18 years ago is calling for any deal between the United States and Iran to include the return of his remains. The U.S. government in 2020 said that it had concluded that Robert Levinson had died while in the custody of Iran. Daniel Levinson, one of Levinson’s sons, said that as President Donald Trump signals an interest in diplomacy over Tehran’s nuclear program that could avert direct U.S. military involvement in Iran’s war with Israel, now is the time for Washington to use its “leverage to hold them responsible.”

President Donald Trump talks with reporters as he meets with members of the Juventus soccer club in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate 2020 election, reviving longstanding grievance

June 20, 2025

President Donald Trump is calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden, repeating his baseless claim the contest was marred by widespread fraud. Friday’s social media post by the Republican president was made as his White House is consumed by a hugely substantial foreign policy decision on whether to get directly involved in the Israel-Iran war. Trump’s call for a special prosecutor is part of his amped-up effort to undermine the legitimacy of Biden’s presidency. Earlier this month, Trump directed his administration to investigate Biden’s actions as president, alleging aides masked Biden’s “cognitive decline.” Biden has dismissed the investigation as “a mere distraction.”

FILE - FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference at the Manassas FBI Field Office, March 27, 2025, in Manassas, VA. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, File)

Under Patel, FBI heightens focus on violent crime, illegal immigration. Other threats abound, too

June 8, 2025

The FBI under the leadership of Director Kash Patel has made fighting violent crime and illegal immigration top priorities. That effort brings the bureau into alignment with the vision of President Donald Trump, who has made a crackdown on illegal immigration, cartels and transnational gangs a cornerstone of his administration. The FBI said in a statement that its dedication to investigating terrorism had not changed but acknowledged that it “continuously analyzes the threat landscape” and makes adjustments as necessary. Yet some are concerned the heightened focus on violent crime and immigration risks diverting attention from some of the complicated criminal and national security threats for which the bureau has long borne primary responsibility for investigating.

President Donald Trump speaks during the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump’s campaign against law firms dealt another setback as judge blocks executive order

May 27, 2025

President Donald Trump’s campaign against the legal profession has hit another setback as a federal judge struck down yet another executive order that sought to sanction one of the country’s most prestigious law firms. The order on Tuesday in favor of WilmerHale marks the third time this month that a federal judge in Washington has deemed Trump’s series of law firm executive orders to be unconstitutional and has permanently barred their enforcement. The ruling was similar to one from Friday by a different judge that rejected a Trump edict against the firm of Jenner & Block and another one from earlier in the month in favor of the firm Perkins Coie.

Judge blocks another Trump executive order targeting a major law firm

May 23, 2025

A federal judge has permanently blocked another of President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting a major law firm, calling it unconstitutional retaliation designed to punish lawyers for their legal work that the White House does not like. The ruling from U.S. District Judge John Bates in favor of Jenner & Block marks the second time this month that a judge has struck down a Trump executive order against a prominent firm. The spate of executive orders announced by Trump sought to impose the same consequences against the targeted firms, including suspending security clearances of attorneys and barring employees from federal buildings.

Eric Tucker.