Trump Administration Halts Criminal Probe of Senator's Coal Companies: Report
Officials said the case was dropped as civil enforcement, even though prosecutors had gathered evidence and believed they had a strong criminal case.
- Earlier this year, Trump administration officials terminated a federal criminal investigation into the coal empire owned by Senator Jim Justice, a West Virginia Republican and close ally of the president.
- The aborted probe involved a joint effort by the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice to determine if incessant Clean Water Act violations at Southern Coal mining operations constituted criminal behavior.
- As prosecutors fought for records, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, headed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, ordered staff to put "pencils down," shutting the investigation.
- Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington claimed the office determined the case was inconsistent with administration priorities and more appropriate to resolve through the civil process.
- Former federal prosecutor Rick Mountcastle criticized the intervention, noting he had "never heard of that happening before" and warning against creating an "untouchables list" of people immune from enforcement.
8 Articles
8 Articles
Trump Administration killed criminal investigation of Justice's coal companies
Trump administration officials in 2026 killed a federal criminal investigation into the coal empire owned by Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., and a close ally of the president’s. The investigation examined potential criminal violations of the Clean Water Act by the multistate mining operations largely run by Justice’s son, Jay, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter. The criminal probe was a significant escalation in the ye…
'Pencils down': Trump official called off investigation into MAGA senator
Trump administration officials earlier this year killed a federal criminal investigation into the coal empire owned by Sen. Jim Justice, a Republican from West Virginia and a close ally of the president’s.The investigation examined potential criminal violations of the Clean Water Act by the multistate mining operations largely run by Justice’s son, Jay, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter.The criminal probe was a s…
DOJ Killed Criminal Probe Into Senator's Coal Empire
ProPublica reports: Trump administration officials earlier this year killed a federal criminal investigation into the coal empire owned by Sen. Jim Justice, a Republican from West Virginia and a close ally of the president’s. The investigation examined potential criminal violations of the Clean Water Act by the multistate mining operations largely run by Justice’s son, Jay, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter. The …
ProPublica
Trump Administration Killed Criminal Investigation of GOP Senator’s Coal Companies
EPA and Justice Department officials were looking into potential criminal violations by the vast coal empire owned by Sen. Jim Justice. Then the Office of the Deputy Attorney General told them “pencils down.”
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