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The USA Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a memo to its civil rights division, ordering a freeze on all ongoing litigation originating from the Biden administration and halting the pursuit of new cases or settlements, according to reports.
The Washington Post first reported that a memo sent to Kathleen Wolfe, the interim head of the division appointed by the Trump administration, directed her to ensure that lawyers do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, plea agreements , amicus briefs or declarations”. of interest”.
How long the freeze will last, the memo doesn’t say, though it pretty much leaves the division open until the president Donald Trump’s The nomination to head the department, Harmeet Dhillon, is confirmed by the Senate.
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 view of the law and ensuring that those appointed or appointed by 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 DOJ had no comment on the matter.
Wolfe was also told in another memo that the division must report to the DOJ chief of staff on any consent decrees finalized by the division within the past 90 days.
President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Earlier this month, a Kentucky judge refused to immediately sign a police reform consent decree forged by the DOJ and the city of Louisville during a hearing that one courtroom participant described as a hasty attempt by the Biden administration to surprise President Trump by entering.
But federal judge Benjamin Beaton refused to be a “rubber stamp” for a 240-page reform plan sparked by the 2020 police-involved shooting of Breonna Taylor, according to Oversight Project attorney Kyle Brosnan.
Taylor was killed in a police shooting after Louisville officers tried to serve him on a drug warrant. the boyfriend of Kenneth Walker house Walker fired a “warning shot” through the door, striking Officer Jonathan Mattingly in the leg.
CHICAGO POLICE RESOURCE CUT PROPOSAL COULD LAND CITY IN COURT WITH CONSENT DECREE, OFFICIALS WARN
A photo of Breonna Taylor shared at the 2022 Defend Black Women March at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Frontline Action Hub)
A consent decree, Brosnan noted, is different from other legal agreements because it cannot be revoked simply by presidential order or a change of heart by one of the parties involved.
The consent decree alleged a pattern or practice of racial bias by Louisville police, including traffic stops, sexual assault probes 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 DOJ reached a settlement with Minneapolis, which it still requires court approval, to reform the department’s “unconstitutional and illegal practices” allegedly in violation of 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 claims that MDSP violated Title VII when it used a certain physical fitness test and a certain written test to hire entry-level troopers because the tests disqualified more female and African-American applicants than others and were not work-related”, a court. document states.
Maryland police dispute the allegations.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
