Justice Department Seeking Questionable Expansion of Emergency Powers Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

While the nation is focused on the spread of COVID-19 and the efforts by the government to combat it, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking Congress to expand the department’s emergency powers. According to a Politico report released on Saturday, the DOJ is “quietly” requesting that it be given the authority to compel judges to engage in conduct that could violate the rights of American citizens. Politico reported on documents that detailed the various requests that the DOJ is making to lawmakers. The topics of discussion are asylum claims, the statute of limitations, and, most disturbingly, the implementation of court proceedings. One of the documents suggested that Congress give the attorney general the authority to ask the chief judge of any district to halt court hearings “whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation.”-- More...