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Judge Appoints Special Master to Determine if Trump Officials Lied in Golf Course Suit

Judge Ana C. Reyes said an outside investigator would help determine whether parks officials or Justice Department lawyers withheld plans for Washington’s East Potomac Park.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

A federal judge on Friday called for an investigation into whether the Trump administration concealed its plans to renovate a public golf course at East Potomac Park.
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The Justice Department’s Unusual Election-Year Activity

Federal prosecutors have targeted President Trump’s political opponents and sued states over election administration just before the midterms. Devlin Barrett, a reporter for The New York Times, explains how this activity is compared with the Justice Department’s usual election-year behavior.
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Trump Administration Pressures California With Expanded Voter Fraud Investigation

The department has issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials as part of a widening effort to prove unsubstantiated claims about large numbers of illegal voters in the state.

© Philip Cheung for The New York Times

Voters casting their ballots in Los Angeles in June. At least two employees of Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office received grand jury subpoenas last week.
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Judge Orders Trump Officials to Outline Election Demands Sent to States

A federal judge gave the government until noon on Friday to share which states had received letters trying to enlist them in an effort to find evidence of voter fraud.

© Madison Swart for The New York Times

Early voting in New York City last week.
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Judge Rejects Trump Officials’ Bid to Set Aside California Ballots

The judge ruled that no immediate action was necessary, dealing another setback to the administration as it moves to target voting by noncitizens.

© Mike Blake/Reuters

Election workers process mail-in ballots in San Diego.
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Cabinet Officials on the Campaign Trail? Ethics Experts Say Some Are Breaking the Law.

As Trump officials stump for Republican candidates facing difficult races, ethics experts say they are being lax about complying with the Hatch Act, a federal anti-corruption law.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a campaign rally in North Carolina this month.
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Justice Dept. Declines to Unseal Warrant for Search of Ilhan Omar’s Home

More than a dozen news organizations have asked a federal judge to unseal documents related to a search warrant executed at Ms. Omar’s home this month.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Rep. Ilhan Omar at the Capitol in January.
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Judge Questions Trump Administration’s Need to Target Noncitizen Voters

In the legal tangle between the Justice Department and California, a federal judge on Tuesday deferred a ruling but said the government already had a remedy it could use after the election.

© Philip Cheung for The New York Times

The Trump administration has pressed an effort to disqualify people it says are noncitizens from voting on Nov. 3.
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White House Has Tight Grip Over FBI in Pursuing Trump Targets, Agent Says

In court testimony, the agent outlined the willingness of Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, to take orders from President Trump to investigate his perceived enemies.

© Alex Kent/The New York Times

Bryan Witt, an F.B.I. agent, said the inquiry mandated by Kash Patel, the bureau’s director, was generally viewed inside his office as a “witch hunt.”
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Grand Jury Declines to Bring Charges Against Cassidy Hutchinson

The rejection of the indictment was the latest extraordinary setback in President Trump’s wide-ranging campaign to go after his political opponents.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

The investigation of Cassidy Hutchinson was directed to the Justice Department’s civil rights division, which normally focuses on issues like police violence and election integrity.
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Alex Pretti’s Parents Say Federal Government Is Silent on Investigation

The parents of the Minneapolis nurse who was fatally shot by federal agents in January said on Tuesday that the government had ignored and misled them.

© Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times

Steven Schleicher, a lawyer for Michael and Susan Pretti, Alex Pretti’s parents, appeared with them at a news conference in Minneapolis.
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Election Officials Fear Trump Administration’s Interference in Midterms Voting

State and local plans for Election Day include how to react to potential ICE raids, misbehavior by federal election monitors and attempts to seize votes or machines.

© John Locher/Associated Press

State and local election officials across the country have been redoubling training efforts to prepare for the potential for federal interference.
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Judge Temporarily Blocks Further Alterations at D.C.’s East Potomac Park

A federal judge stopped the Trump administration from cutting trees and prohibited other changes at the park where the president has sought to overhaul a golf course.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Trees that have been cut down at East Potomac Golf Links are seen earlier this month in Washington. The Trump administration and the National Park Service moved to cut down up to 529 trees at East Potomac Golf Links.
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Appeals Court Declines to Intervene in California Ballot Lawsuit

By a 2-1 vote, a federal appeals court panel denied the Trump administration’s request that it immediately order the state to set aside 20,000 mail-in ballots.

© Philip Cheung for The New York Times

Ballots being processed in City of Industry, Calif., during last year’s election.
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Justice Dept. Brings More Charges Against Comey, Accusing Him of Leaks

Lawyers for James B. Comey said the case centered on an issue that had already been investigated and had not led to charges, of a purported leak of national security information to The Times in October 2016.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017.
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Trump’s Election Attacks Enter New Pre-emptive Phase

A lawsuit by the Justice Department challenging a potential narrow loss by the GOP Senate incumbent in Alaska reflects a new tactic by the president to try to shape the election results.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

President Trump at a midterm election campaign rally in Guardian Centers in Perry, Ga., on Saturday.
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In Alaska, Some Early Voting Sites in Rural Villages Have Not Yet Opened

“There is no legal excuse” for the failure of 18 polling sites to open for early voting, a state lawmaker said.

© Kerry Tasker/Reuters

Senator Dan Sullivan finished second in the primary to Representative Mary Peltola and has trailed her in polls since.
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