Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Thursday, February 05, 2026

The U.S. Justice Department unit responsible for prosecuting potential wrongdoing by law enforcement, including during the crackdown on illegal immigration in Minneapolis, has lost two-thirds of its prosecutors and is under orders to scale back its investigations of excessive force, people familiar with its work told Reuters.

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... The unit, which typically plays a leading role in reviewing cases nationwide in which law enforcement officers appear to violate people's rights, has lost significant capacity to pursue investigations because of staff departures and new guidance under President Donald Trump's administration curtailing its mandate, according to interviews with seven former lawyers in the section.

The number of trial attorneys in the unit, known as the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, has dropped from roughly 40 before Trump took office a year ago to no more than 13, according to three of the people with knowledge of its staffing. Just two supervisors remain in their roles and have not announced plans to leave. Previously, there have been around seven supervisors in the unit.

The former DOJ lawyers, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation, expressed doubts about the ability of the section to conduct thorough investigations into recent incidents, including the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month.

The DOJ has said it is investigating Pretti's killing but not Good's.

Early in the Trump administration, supervisors in the section told staff that investigations of law enforcement officers would proceed only if there were egregious circumstances, such as a death in custody or sexual assault, three of the former Justice Department lawyers said.

State and local departments would take the lead in most instances, the three lawyers recalled. ...



#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-02-05 11:52 AM | Reply

@#1 ... State and local departments would take the lead in most instances, the three lawyers recalled. ... ...

Except that the DoJ is blocking the state of Minneapolis from collecting evidence or accessing evidence the DoJ has.

Judge dissolves order against feds in Pretti shooting investigation
courthousenews.com

... A judge on Monday rejected a bid by Minnesota state investigators to force federal agencies to preserve evidence related to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. ...

The case was initiated by state officials who claimed federal agents blocked them from the scene of the shooting on Jan. 24, and ignored a state-issued search warrant signed by a Hennepin County judge. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Hennepin County Attorney's Office expressed deep concerns over the handling of the incident, stating they feared evidence of the shooting might be altered, concealed or destroyed. ...

State investigators claimed federal agents departed the scene of the shooting within just a few hours. By abandoning the site so quickly, federal authorities allowed the perimeter to collapse -- leading to a potential loss or spoliation of evidence by bystanders rushing in, according to state investigators. ...



#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-02-05 01:23 PM | Reply

Department of Jerkoffs

#3 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-02-05 03:36 PM | Reply

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