WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's new Justice Department leadership has put a freeze on civil rights litigation and suggested it may reconsider police reform agreements negotiated by the Biden administration, according to two memos obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
Attorneys in the department's Civil Rights Division were ordered not to file any new complaints, amicus briefs or other certain court papers “until further notice," one of the memos said.
Another memo directed attorneys to notify leadership of any settlements or consent decrees — court-enforceable agreements to reform police agencies — that were finalized by the Biden administration within the last 90 days.
It said the new administration “may wish to reconsider” such agreements, raising the prospect that it may abandon two consent decrees finalized in the final weeks of the Biden administration in Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Those agreements, reached after investigations found police engaged in civil rights violations, still need to be approved by a judge. They were among 12 investigations into law enforcement agencies launched by the Civil Rights Division under Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The Minneapolis City Council earlier this month approved the agreement to overhaul the city’s police training and use-of-force policies in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
The Justice Department announced last month it had reached the agreement with Louisville to reform the city’s police force after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020 and police treatment of protesters.
The memos, sent by new chief of staff Chad Mizelle, is a sign of major changes expected in the Civil Rights Division under Trump. His pick to lead the division is Harmeet Dhillon, a well-known conservative attorney who last year made an unsuccessful bid for Republican National Committee chair.
The Justice Department under the first Trump administration curtailed the use of consent decrees, and the Republican was expected to again radically reshape the department’s priorities around civil rights.
It's unclear how long the “litigation freeze” may last. The memo said the move was necessary to ensure “that the federal government speaks with one voice in its view of the law and to ensure that the President’s appointees or designees have the opportunity to decide whether to initiate new cases.”
FILE - The logo for the Justice Department is seen before a news conference at the Department of Justice, Aug. 23, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Three Israeli men held hostage in the Gaza Strip are set to be released on Saturday in exchange for more than 300 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
It's the latest indication that the fragile ceasefire deal, which teetered in recent days, will hold. Nearly all the 73 remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers, and about half are believed to be dead.
The two sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19, freeing 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners so far during the first phase of the truce. The war could resume if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages captured in Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and an indefinite extension of the truce.
Here's the latest:
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — The vehicles will transport the three hostages to Israeli forces.
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Dozens of masked and armed Hamas fighters have gathered in the southern Gaza Strip for the release of three Israeli hostages.
As with previous exchanges, a stage was set up and the area was festooned with Palestinian flags and the banners of militant factions. Nearby was the shell of a heavily damaged multistory building.
The militants are expected to parade the hostages before crowds and cameras before handing them over to the Red Cross.
All three hostages set to be released are men who were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where some 80 of roughly 400 residents were taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack.
Iair Horn, 46, is a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina. He was abducted along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who was staying with him at the time. Eitan remains in captivity.
Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, is an American-Israeli had was working outside when militants stormed the kibbutz. His wife hid in a safe room with their two daughters. She gave birth to their third daughter two months later.
Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship, was taken hostage along with his grandmother, mother and girlfriend. The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanov’s father was killed in the Oct. 7 attack.
Among the most prominent of the more than 300 Palestinian prisoners set to be released is Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide of militant leader and iconic Palestinian political figure Marwan Barghouti.
Israel sentenced Ahmed Barghouti to life on charges that he dispatched suicide bombers during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was arrested alongside Marwan Barghouti in 2002.
The ceasefire appeared dangerously close to collapse in recent days.
Hamas said it would delay the release of the hostages after accusing Israel of not adhering to their agreement by not allowing in enough shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble, while Israel said it would resume fighting Saturday unless hostages were freed.
Trump’s proposal to remove some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region threw the truce’s future into further doubt. Trump has proposed that once the fighting ends, Israel would transfer control of Gaza to the United States, which would then redevelop it as the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The idea has been welcomed by Israel’s government, whose far-right members are already calling for a resumption of the war after the first phase with the goal of destroying Hamas and implementing Trump’s plan. But it has been strongly rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, and human rights groups say it could amount to a war crime under international law.
Hamas may be unwilling to release any more hostages if it believes the war will resume. The captives are among the only bargaining chips it has left.
A demonstrator holding photos of freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi before and after his captivity blocks a highway during a protest demanding all hostages release from Hamas captivity, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israeli captive Eli Sharabi, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians gather to attend the Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Graffiti on Israel's separation barrier depicts the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Palestinians gather to attend Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
People holding posters with photos of Israelis hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, react at the so-called "hostages square" as they watch their release live on a television screen in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
