Department of Justice

Rule Changes

Secured criminal conviction and sentencing

OxyContin launched in 1996 with marketing that downplayed addiction risk. Thirty years and hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths later, the company that made it no longer exists. On May 1, 2026, Purdue Pharma was dissolved and substantially all of its assets transferred to Knoa Pharma, a newly formed nonprofit owned by an independent foundation and mandated to supply opioid use disorder treatments and overdose-reversal drugs without maximizing profit.

Updated May 1

Rule Changes

Prosecuting the case from the District of Maryland

A federal grand jury indicted Dr. David Morens, the longest-serving senior adviser to Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), on five counts including conspiracy against the United States and destruction of federal records. Morens, 78, allegedly used a personal Gmail account to route official COVID-19 business outside the reach of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The indictment also details an alleged gratuity: two bottles of Napa Valley wine sent to Morens' home by the then-president of EcoHealth Alliance, with a note thanking him for 'behind-the-scenes shenanigans.' In exchange, Morens allegedly co-authored a commentary in a major medical journal arguing that COVID-19 had natural — not laboratory — origins.

Updated Apr 29

Force in Play

Lead prosecuting authority

A Secret Service officer's ballistic vest stopped a shotgun round at the Washington Hilton on the evening of April 25. Two days later, federal prosecutors charged the shooter, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, with attempting to assassinate President Trump. Allen had traveled three days by Amtrak from Los Angeles, checked into the hotel as a paying guest, and walked a long gun through a magnetometer before opening fire near the entrance to the ballroom where Trump was expected to speak. Investigators have since linked Allen to thousands of archived social media posts — on X under the handle 'CForce3000' and on Bluesky — documenting a shift from video-game commentary to political rage: comparisons of Trump to Adolf Hitler, encouragement to buy guns, and reposts claiming the 2024 Butler rally shooting was staged.

Updated Apr 28

Rule Changes

Signaled intent to seek further review after DC Circuit loss

For 45 years, the Refugee Act of 1980 has guaranteed that anyone reaching US soil—however they got there—can ask for asylum. On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed a proclamation declaring an 'invasion' at the southern border and suspending that right. A federal appeals court just ruled he cannot.

Updated Apr 24