https://www.scmp.com/rss/524395/feed The latest news and top stories on New York Attorney General, the state's chief legal officer and head of the Department of Law. Its primary mission is to safeguard the legal rights of New Yorkers, organisations and natural resources. Key activities include enforcing laws to protect consumers, civil rights and the environment, coordinating civil and criminal investigations and promoting social justice. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press Federal prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a judge ruled on Friday, foiling the Trump administration’s bid to see him executed for what it called a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”. US District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed a federal murder charge that had enabled prosecutors to seek capital punishment, finding that it was technically flawed. She wrote that she did so to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341899/luigi-mangione-wont-face-death-penalty-after-us-judge-dismisses-murder-charge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341899/luigi-mangione-wont-face-death-penalty-after-us-judge-dismisses-murder-charge?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:13:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his prosecution of Donald Trump on Thursday with Republican critics in the US Congress, citing overwhelming evidence that he led a “criminal scheme” to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Although Smith, who led two failed prosecutions against Trump, never got his day in court, the televised hearing before the House Judiciary Committee provided the opportunity he has long sought to make his case to the American public. A veteran federal... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340901/trump-engaged-criminal-scheme-overturn-election-ex-special-counsel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340901/trump-engaged-criminal-scheme-overturn-election-ex-special-counsel?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:02:11 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Susie Wiles, US President Donald Trump’s understated but influential chief of staff, criticised Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and offered an unvarnished take on her boss and those in his orbit in interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair that sent the West Wing into damage control. The startlingly candid remarks from Wiles, the first woman to ever hold her current post, included describing the president as someone with “an alcoholic’s personality”,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336677/susie-wiles-trumps-chief-staff-talks-retribution-quest-epstein-maduro-vanity-fair?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336677/susie-wiles-trumps-chief-staff-talks-retribution-quest-epstein-maduro-vanity-fair?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 16:00:35 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order (EO) designating illicit fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid driving the US overdose crisis, as a weapon of mass destruction. The EO issued by the White House asserted that “illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic” due to its extreme potency. “Two milligrams, an almost undetectable trace amount equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of table salt, constitutes a lethal dose,” it said. The order highlights the national... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3336550/no-bomb-does-what-doing-trump-calls-fentanyl-weapon-mass-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3336550/no-bomb-does-what-doing-trump-calls-fentanyl-weapon-mass-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 21:49:47 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A grand jury declined for a second time to reindict New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, refusing to resurrect a mortgage fraud prosecution encouraged by US President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter. It is another major blow to the Justice Department after the dismissal of earlier charges against James and another long-time Trump foe, former FBI director James Comey, in a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration’s efforts to prosecute the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336133/us-justice-department-fails-again-reindict-letitia-james-blow-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336133/us-justice-department-fails-again-reindict-letitia-james-blow-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 21:30:28 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The US Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Texas to use redrawn congressional districts for the 2026 midterm elections, boosting the hopes of President Donald Trump’s Republicans to retain control of the House of Representatives. The push by Texas - which carves out five more Republican-friendly districts and came at the behest of Trump - kicked off a series of similar efforts in states around the country. The decision by the conservative-dominated high court stayed a lower ruling which had said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335280/us-supreme-court-allows-texas-use-trump-backed-voting-map-2026-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335280/us-supreme-court-allows-texas-use-trump-backed-voting-map-2026-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Dec 2025 03:53:38 +0000 Reuters Reuters A US federal judge on Monday dismissed criminal charges against two perceived adversaries of US President Donald Trump, former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling the US attorney he hand-picked to prosecute them was unlawfully appointed. The ruling throws out two cases Trump had publicly called for as he pressured Justice Department leaders to move against high-profile figures who had criticised him and led investigations into his conduct. Lindsey... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3334006/judge-dismisses-cases-against-james-comey-and-letitia-james?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3334006/judge-dismisses-cases-against-james-comey-and-letitia-james?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 19:51:02 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysian authorities confirmed the release of controversial Malaysian rapper Namewee from detention on Thursday in connection with the murder probe of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh. Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus said following submissions of investigation papers to the prosecutors’ office, Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, would be released on police bail till November 26. “The investigation papers will be referred again to the Kuala Lumpur Deputy Public Prosecutor’s Office... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3332624/malaysian-rapper-namewee-released-over-probe-taiwanese-influencers-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3332624/malaysian-rapper-namewee-released-over-probe-taiwanese-influencers-death?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 08:20:37 +0000 Reuters Reuters New York Attorney General Letitia James, a long-time critic of US President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Friday to charges related to allegedly lying on mortgage documents. James, a Democrat who last year secured a US$450 million civil fraud judgment against Trump, is one of three perceived enemies that the Republican president’s administration has brought criminal charges against in the past month, along with former FBI director James Comey and former national security... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3330281/trump-foe-letitia-james-pleads-not-guilty-mortgage-fraud-charges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3330281/trump-foe-letitia-james-pleads-not-guilty-mortgage-fraud-charges?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 17:04:25 +0000 Reuters Reuters In a triumph for Donald Trump, a New York state appeal court on Thursday threw out an around half-billion-dollar penalty against the US president, in a fraud case that had been one of his biggest legal setbacks before his return to the White House. The decision by the Appellate Division in Manhattan is a defeat for New York Attorney General Letitia James, who Trump accused of bringing the civil fraud lawsuit to advance a political witch hunt and deny him a second term. A trial judge had ordered... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3322709/trumps-excessive-us515-million-fraud-penalty-dismissed-appeal-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3322709/trumps-excessive-us515-million-fraud-penalty-dismissed-appeal-court?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Aug 2025 15:09:19 +0000