NEW and BREAKING: Federal prosecutors have opened a corruption investigation into Mayor Muriel E. Bowser of Washington, examining a foreign trip she took with members of her staff that was paid for by Qatar, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

BREAKING: A federal jury found a former DOJ employee not guilty of misdemeanor assault over a viral incident in which he allegedly threw a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer.

NOT GUILTY. Story coming.

Follow @cecelou18 for all the latest sandwich trial developments straight from the courthouse🥪🥪🥪

Happy Thursday from the federal courthouse in DC—where the jury is continuing to deliberate over the misdemeanor charge against the alleged sandwich thrower. 🥪 Any guesses on when we’ll hear a verdict?

Hi from the Federalist Society’s national convention, which is kicking off here in DC. Each seat in the ballroom has a commemorative coin of a significant Supreme Court ruling, I’ve found 4 of the 5 so far

Shroff opened her closing arguments with, "this case is about a sandwich." She asked the jury to question whether the agent was genuinely injured or offended, noting the plush sandwich and "felony footlong" patch the agent's colleagues gifted him. "They're joking about it."

NEWS: Up to four FBI agents who were fired yesterday over Arctic Frost, then reinstated b/c US Attorney Pirro said they're critical to an active public corruption probe, have been re-fired and walked out today.

A sandwich hurler trial update: Attorneys for the former DOJ employee questioned in court whether the impact of the sub was enough to warrant a federal charge. “I could feel the impact through my bulletproof vest,” the CBP agent said. For @BLaw:

RT @BLaw: @cecelou18 is in the courtroom today for the trial of the DC man who went viral for throwing a sandwich at a CBP officer in Augus…

Tariffs, Trump, and furry unicorn yoga balls: Must-read from Greg Stohr on this week's blockbuster action in the US Supreme Court

Scoop: FBI ousts senior official after Kash Patel’s fury over news of his use of government jet to see girlfriend perform. The removed head of critical incident response group was 27-year FBI veteran who oversaw aviation sections.

Bill Essayli lost his title as acting US attorney in LA in a ruling that will have almost no impact on his power and provides little incentive for Trump to stop circumventing the traditional appointments process, legal scholars say. With @maia_spoto:

News: The Texas senators have sent their recommended picks for federal judgeships to the White House. Among the new names: Erin Nealy Cox is up for a seat in Dallas, local judge Chris Wolfe is tapped for Waco, fed prosecutor Rob Jones for McAllen

Lawyers arguing Monday in front of an appeals court panel—including one DOJ attorney—made apparent references to President Donald Trump serving a third term.

New: Community orgs have lodged an eleventh-hour effort to save the Justice Department’s beleaguered “peacemakers” agency, days before it’s set to dissolve as part of the Trump administration’s effort to restructure the department.

Former federal judges are lamenting a new challenge their colleagues on the bench face: government lawyers making false statements in court, @SuzanneMonyak reports

Justice Kavanaugh's assessment that ICE stops are "typically brief" and affected individuals "promptly go free" is at odds with reality for many. @JustinFWise takes a look at "Kavanaugh stops" https://t.co/C5nwXPuJ1L

Federal courts are preparing to furlough some staffers and curb operations as the judiciary prepares to run out of funding amid government shutdown. Impacts will vary by court, w/ some partial closures and furloughs planned. More here w/ @jacq_thomsen

The government shutdown threatens to stress resources for an already strapped criminal defense bar, as the federal judiciary prepares to run out of cash - @SuzanneMonyak