• Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Financial markets have become volatile during an ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (Craig Ruttle/AP)
    Insider trading by members of Congress may be difficult to prove

    There are two different provisions of law that could apply to the trading activity of senators and congressional staff. Members of Congress and staff could run afoul of either or both of these laws. But proving a violation and convicting them is not likely.

  • An FBI employee works in a computer forensics lab at the field office in New Orleans. (Gerald Herbert/AP)
    Watchdog finds new problems with FBI wiretap applications

    The findings are on top of problems identified last year by the inspector general’s office, which concluded that FBI agents had made significant errors and omissions in applications to eavesdrop on a former Trump campaign adviser.

  • There is no indication that Sen. Richard Burr, whose six-year term ends in 2023 and who does not plan to run for reelection, was acting on inside information when he recently sold stocks — an act the FBI is investigating. (Alex Brandon/AP)
    FBI reaches out to Sen. Burr over stock sales tied to virus

    The outreach suggests federal law enforcement officials may be looking to determine whether the North Carolina Republican exploited advance information when he dumped as much as $1.7 million in stocks in the days before COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the economy.

  • A Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional complex is seen April 1, 2014, in Butner, N.C. (Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)
    Federal prisons struggle to combat growing COVID-19 fears

    Health officials have been warning for more than a decade about the dangers of epidemics in jails and prisons, which are ideal environments for virus outbreaks

  • U.S. jails and prisons are on high alert in response to the threat of the new coronavirus. (Susan Walsh/AP)
    Barr creating task force on prison misconduct

    The Justice Department is creating a special task force to address criminal misconduct by federal Bureau of Prison officers at several correctional facilities.

  • In this July 4, 2017, photo, Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin is shown prior to a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The Justice Department is moving to drop charges against some Russian companies that were accused of funding a social media campaign to sway American public opinion during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP)
    Feds dropping case for 2 Russian companies in troll probe

    Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering were among three companies and 13 individuals charged in 2018 by special counsel Robert Mueller in a conspiracy to spread disinformation on social media during the 2016 presidential race.