April 11, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is putting a halt to both independent and internal Justice Department work designed to improve the reliability of police testimony. Sessions announced Monday that he would end the federally-funded National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS). The Department also said the same day that it would “suspend” a broad review of FBI crime scene analysis techniques, according to The Washington Post. In justifying his decisions, Sessions leaned heavy on federalist language, saying: “the vast majority of forensic science is practiced by state…

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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has agreed to a request from Democratic lawmakers to review President Trump’s transition for possible conflicts of interest and unusual foreign contacts. The GAO’s fact-finding mission will focus on how public funds were managed during the period before the President took office, if the proper financial disclosures of transition officials were made, and whether national security protocols were followed with overseas communications. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) formally requested the GAO investigation last November. “Mr. Trump’s…

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