Southern Poverty Law Center facing DOJ probe over use of paid informants
The Justice Department is investigating the Southern Poverty Law Center in connection with a now-defunct program that used paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.
Watch CBS News
Sarah N. Lynch is the senior Justice Department reporter for CBS News. She previously worked as the Justice Department correspondent at Reuters in Washington where she covered everything from the criminal cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to former special counsel Jack Smith's investigations into Donald Trump for his retention of classified records and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Lynch has covered a variety of high-profile trials of public figures including Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro. In 2025, she documented the Trump administration's dismantling of its Public Integrity Section tasked with prosecuting public corruption, and the massive shift in the mission of the Civil Rights Division, leading to the exodus of approximately 75% of its staff. Prior to covering the Justice Department, Lynch covered the Securities and Exchange Commission and Wall Street regulations at both Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. The collapse of Lehman Brothers took place two weeks into her tenure at the Wall Street Journal, and she worked on a reporting team covering bank bailouts, the role that over-the-counter derivatives played in the housing crisis, and the passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.
Lynch holds a bachelor's degree from Barnard College and a Master's Degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she studied investigative reporting at the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism. She enjoys running, biking, lifting weights, cooking, theatre, music of all kinds and film. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, their daughter and their dog Chewbacca.
The Justice Department is investigating the Southern Poverty Law Center in connection with a now-defunct program that used paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.
The subpoenas went out shortly after the Justice Department appointed conservative Trump ally Joe DiGenova to formally take over the criminal investigation into John 91³Ô¹ÏÍø.
FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic, saying a recent story about his alleged frequent drinking and absences included "false and obviously fabricated" claims.
Joseph DiGenova, a conservative attorney, is being tapped by the U.S. Justice Department to lead an ongoing criminal investigation into former CIA Director John 91³Ô¹ÏÍø.
Maria Medetis Long, who was overseeing a criminal investigation into whether former CIA Director John 91³Ô¹ÏÍø lied to Congress is no longer assigned to the case.
The decision from U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy marks the Justice Department's fifth loss in its attempts to access states' voter registration lists.
The renovations at the Federal Reserve are the subject of a months-long criminal investigation.
Mark Meadows is asking the Justice Dept. to reimburse him for legal fees he incurred in multiple federal and state investigations of President Trump, sources said.
The report claims the Justice Department under Merrick Garland "violated the rights of Americans" by only applying the law to support those in support of abortion rights, not those who worked at anti-abortion rights facilities.
Among those fired is Sanjay Patel, a longtime federal prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division's criminal section who was placed on administrative leave last month, sources told CBS News at the time.
A politically connected nonprofit animal shelter helped steer Bondi on DOJ's approach on animal cruelty crimes and their prosecution.
The NFL is being investigated for practices that allegedly harm consumers for licensing games to multiple platforms — paid streaming platforms, paid cable networks, and others, sources said.
"It's the greatest honor of a lifetime, and if President Trump chooses to keep me as acting, that's an honor," Blanche said. "If he chooses to nominate me, that's an honor."
The changes were likely to affect Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the No. 3 official at the Justice Department and Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.
A federal judge on Friday rejected efforts by the Justice Department to revive two subpoenas it served to the Federal Reserve.