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USA Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a memo to its civil rights division, ordering to freeze all ongoing litigation stemming from the Biden administration and halting the pursuit of new cases or settlements, according to reports.
He Washington Post first reported that a memo sent to Kathleen Wolfe, the division’s temporary head appointed by the Trump administration, ordered her to ensure that lawyers did not file “new complaints, motions to intervene, pretrial detention agreements, amicus curiae briefs or statements”. of interest.”
As to how long the freeze will last, the memo is silent, though it virtually ends the division until President donald trump The Senate confirms the nomination to head the department, Harmeet Dhillon.
The publication also reported that the freeze was “consistent with the Department’s goal of ensuring that the Federal Government speaks with one voice in its opinion on the law and ensuring that appointees or appointees of the President have the opportunity to decide whether to initiate new cases”. “
The Department of Justice in Washington, DC (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A source familiar with the memo confirmed its contents to Fox News.
The Justice Department had no comment.
Wolfe was also told in another memo that the division must inform the Justice Department chief of staff of any consent decrees finalized by the division during the past 90 days.
WATCHDOG SEEKS TO STOP 11TH HOUR DOJ’S EFFORT TO ‘HANDCUFF’ KY POLICE OVER BREONNA TAYLOR INCIDENT
President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Earlier this month, a Kentucky judge refused to immediately sign a consent decree for police reform falsified by the Department of Justice and the city of Louisville during a hearing that one participant in the courtroom described as a rushed attempt by of the Biden administration to paralyze incoming President Trump.
But federal Judge Benjamin Beaton refused to be a “rubber stamp” for a 240-page reform plan prompted by the 2020 police-involved shooting of Breonna Taylor, according to Oversight Project attorney Kyle Brosnan. .
Taylor was killed in a hail of police gunfire after Louisville officers attempted to serve her with a drug warrant. boyfriend Kenneth Walker home. Walker fired a “warning shot” through the door, hitting Officer Jonathan Mattingly in the leg.
A photo of Breonna Taylor shared at the 2022 March for Black Women at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Frontline Action Hub)
A consent decree, Brosnan noted, differs from other legal agreements in that it cannot be revoked simply by presidential order or a change of mind by one of the parties involved.
The consent decree alleged a pattern or practice of racial bias in Louisville policing, including traffic stops, sexual assault investigations or use of force.
There are at least two other police reform consent decrees in the legal process, one in Maryland and one in Minnesota.
On January 6, the Justice Department reached a settlement with Minneapolis, which still requires judicial approval, to reform the department’s “unconstitutional and illegal practices” allegedly contrary to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 14th Amendment.
In October 2024, the feds sued the Maryland State Police Department alleging violations of the Civil Rights Act.
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“The United States asserts that the MDSP violated Title VII when it used a certain physical fitness test and a certain written test to hire entry-level soldiers because the tests disqualified more female and African-American applicants than others and were not job-related.” said a court. document states.
Maryland police dispute the allegations.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
