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May 11, 2026

3 entries on this date.

Alabama AG Marshall subpoenaed Southern Poverty Law Center's donor and hate-group records in civil probe

On May 11, 2026, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall opened a civil investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center and issued a civil investigative subpoena demanding the group's donor records, its disbursements to informants, and payment records tied to organizations in its "extremist files" and "hate map," with documents due June 1. Marshall invoked Alabama's Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the group's pending federal fraud indictment, saying the office had "always suspected that they were monetizing hate." The subpoena's reach into records connected to SPLC's hate-group designations extended state investigative power into the watchdog's advocacy work.

BIA fast-tracked Mahmoud Khalil's deportation case in 9-day 'unprecedented' turnaround

Internal Department of Justice case-tracking documents obtained by The New York Times and reported publicly on May 11, 2026 reveal that the Board of Immigration Appeals — an appellate body housed within the DOJ — fast-tracked the deportation case of Palestinian Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil along a procedural track that a former BIA member called "unprecedented." Per the internal documents, the case was flagged high-priority before the board officially received it; a staff note instructed handling Khalil's case as if he were still in detention even though he had been released several days earlier; the BIA's April 9, 2026 decision authorizing Khalil's deportation came just nine days after paperwork was submitted; and at least three judges recused themselves from the proceedings.

DOJ subpoenas Wall Street Journal reporters' records over Iran-war leaks after Trump hands acting AG Blanche stack of articles marked 'Treason'

On May 11, 2026, The Wall Street Journal publicly disclosed that the Justice Department had issued grand jury subpoenas for its reporters' records, tied to a February 23, 2026 WSJ article — five days before the Iran war began — that reported on Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and other Pentagon officials warning President Trump about the risks of an extended military campaign against Iran. CNN reported the same day that Trump personally pushed the DOJ to issue the subpoenas, delivering the directive to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at a White House meeting in the form of a stack of printed articles topped by a sticky note reading "Treason" in Sharpie. CNN further reported that other news outlets have also received DOJ subpoenas in recent months.