U.S. lawyers are filing AI-generated briefs with fictitious citations at an accelerating pace, court sanctions are setting new records, and the technology is spreading so deeply into legal software that experts say mandatory disclosure rules may already be obsolete.

U.S. lawyers are filing AI-generated briefs with fictitious citations at an accelerating pace, court sanctions are setting new records, and the technology is spreading so deeply into legal software that experts say mandatory disclosure rules may already be obsolete. According to NPR’s April 3 investigation, the volume of court sanctions for AI-generated errors surged through 2025 and has not slowed in 2026 — a pattern that carries direct consequences for any sector, including crypto, whose legal exposure depends on the quality of briefs filed in its defense.

Damien Charlotin, a researcher at HEC Paris who maintains a worldwide tally of court sanctions for AI-generated legal errors, told NPR the pace has not plateaued. “Recently we had 10 cases from 10 different courts on a single day,” he said. “We have this issue because AI is just too good — but not perfect.” The most prominent case of the past cycle was that of the lawyers for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who were fined $3,000 each for filing briefs containing fictitious citations.

A federal court may have set a new record last month when an Oregon-based lawyer was ordered to pay $109,700 in sanctions and costs. State supreme courts have also been drawn in: Nebraska’s high court grilled an Omaha attorney in February over fictitious citations and referred him for discipline, and a similarly public scene unfolded at the Georgia Supreme Court in March. “I am surprised that people are still doing this when it’s been in the news,” said Carla Wale, associate dean of information and technology at the University of Washington School of Law.

Why disclosure rules won’t work

Some courts have responded by requiring lawyers to label any AI-assisted content in their filings. Joe Patrice, senior editor of Above the Law and a lawyer-turned-journalist, told NPR those rules are likely to become unworkable almost immediately. “It’s going to become so integrated into how everything operates that to be diligently complying with the rule, you would have to put on everything you put out, ‘Hey, this is AI assisted,’ at which point it kind of becomes a useless endeavor,” he said. The economics of legal billing are also accelerating adoption rather than slowing it. As AI tools cut drafting time, law firms face pressure to find new billing models — and Patrice suggests the resulting time pressure makes it more tempting for lawyers to accept AI first drafts without adequate verification.

The DOJ’s own shift away from prosecuting crypto developers hinged in part on the argument that code is neutral unless there is criminal intent — a distinction that requires exactly the kind of careful legal reasoning that rushed AI-assisted briefs consistently fail to replicate. A Texas federal court recently dismissed a crypto software liability case partly by citing a DOJ memo on developer prosecution standards, illustrating how the quality of legal reasoning in AI-adjacent cases directly shapes regulatory outcomes for the entire sector.

The OpenAI lawsuit

AI itself has now entered the legal crosshairs beyond the courtroom error problem. In March, OpenAI was sued in federal court in Illinois by Nippon Life Insurance Company of America, which alleged that a woman was using ChatGPT as a legal adviser, receiving guidance that led to frivolous lawsuits against the insurer. The complaint accused OpenAI of practicing law without a license. In a written statement to NPR, OpenAI said: “This complaint lacks any merit whatsoever.” Wale, for her part, rejects both extremes. “I think that lawyers who understand how to effectively and ethically use generative AI replace lawyers who don’t,” she said. “That’s what I think the future is.”

Being hours early is the difference between life changing money and watching others celebrate, and the entry is still open right now. The cardano price prediction shows ADA at $0.24, down 11% and 92% below its $3.09 peak as Protocol 11 governance approaches.

Early ADA holders who entered at $0.02 turned small positions into massive returns by entering one day before the crowd arrived, and the listing is where Pepeto presale holders make the returns everyone else pays more for. Analysts project 100x from a presale that raised more than $8 million during extreme fear.

ADA traded at $0.24 on April 3, down 11% on the week as Protocol 11 governance overhaul approaches per CoinGecko. Developer activity remains strong at 680 weekly commits across 80 repositories.

CaptainAltcoin noted the ADA outlook faces sellers stepping in on every recovery, with resistance at $0.26 capping each attempt while 37 billion circulating tokens weigh on every percentage point gained.

ADA Outlook and the Presale Where Timing Still Favors the Earliest Wallets

Pepeto: Bridge and Risk Scorer Live With 100x Before Binance Listing

Avoiding bad contracts and hidden traps on new tokens requires immediate action, not waiting for price levels to confirm. Pepeto delivers contract checking through the risk scorer, keeping wallets safe from malicious tokens before any position gets opened, the kind of protection that makes a presale entry worth holding through listing. This is exactly why monitoring another ADA forecast update is the wrong approach when the presale fills right now and the Binance listing closes the window permanently.

The math explains the conviction clearly. More than $8 million entered at $0.000000186 during extreme fear while the Fear and Greed Index sat at 12, and analysts project 100x before the Binance listing opens trading. That means presale capital converts into returns the ADA forecast ceiling of 2x to $0.50 cannot come close to matching over any timeline.

This setup is why wallets are leaving the ADA forecast debate for the Pepeto presale entry. The cross chain bridge moves tokens between networks at zero cost keeping capital whole, and PepetoSwap processes zero fee trades so every dollar entering stays at full weight. The platform condenses research into clear results in seconds through a clean interface where switching tools takes no time.

The cofounder who created the original Pepe coin turned zero products into $11 billion, SolidProof audited every contract, and a former Binance expert drives the listing forward. Staking at 189% APY compounds returns while the listing approaches, and every round filling means fewer entries remain at this price for wallets that have not moved.

Cardano Price Prediction: $0.24 With $0.33 Target and Protocol 11 Catalyst

ADA trades at $0.24 per CoinMarketCap. Protocol 11 and the Midnight privacy sidechain with Google and MoneyGram validators add near term catalysts.

Support at $0.22, resistance at $0.26. CoinCodex targets $0.33 average for 2026. Even $0.50 delivers 2x from $0.24 but 37 billion tokens make every gain expensive. The cardano price prediction for 2026 stays range bound while presale entries at millionths of a cent multiply past that entire ceiling before listing day.

Conclusion: What the Cardano Price Prediction Confirms About Getting the Timing Right

The presale fills right now, making this the best time to enter before the price increases. Watching the cardano price prediction grind will not change the outcome. Early ADA holders turned small entries at $0.02 into massive returns by acting one day before the crowd, and the Binance listing is where presale holders collect what everyone else pays a premium for afterward.

The Pepeto official website shows the presale narrowing as the listing approaches, and being hours early on this entry is the only gap between life changing returns and watching others celebrate when the listing confirms what the capital already proved.

Click to be early enough at Pepeto before the listing closes the window.

FAQs

What is the cardano price prediction, and what levels matter?

ADA holds $0.24 with $0.26 resistance and Protocol 11 as catalyst. Wallets seeking 100x enter Pepeto before the listing through the Pepeto official website.

Why enter Pepeto over the cardano price prediction?

ADA targets 2x to $0.50 while Pepeto offers 100x from one listing. The timing difference separates life changing returns from modest gains.

Can presale timing outperform the cardano price prediction?

ADA grinds slowly while Pepeto analysts project 100x from listing, making presale timing the entry the cardano price prediction cannot offer.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

Cloud mining platforms gain traction as users seek simpler, passive entry into Bitcoin mining in 2026.

As crypto mining becomes increasingly industrialized in 2026, most beginners are no longer interested in buying ASIC machines, managing cooling systems, or calculating complex electricity costs. Instead, they are looking for a simpler path: a platform that lowers the technical barrier, makes contracts easier to understand, and provides a more passive way to participate in Bitcoin mining. That is why cloud mining platforms and hashrate marketplaces continue to attract attention this year.

However, not every platform is equally suitable for beginners. Some are designed more for experienced users and emphasize flexibility and market-based operation, while others focus on clear plan structures, fixed-term contracts, and easier onboarding. Based on publicly available platform information, the following five platforms stand out as the most relevant options for beginner miners in 2026.

1. YIMiner — Best for beginners who want a simple, intuitive contract model

For first-time cloud mining users, YIMiner’s biggest advantage is the way it presents its products in a highly direct and accessible format. Its official website prominently highlights a $15 registration bonus, a $0.75 daily check-in reward, and team commission incentives of up to 4.5%. More importantly, it makes contracts easy to understand by showing the price, duration, daily revenue, and total net profit together, while also emphasizing that the principal is returned at maturity.

YIMiner’s FAQ describes the service as a managed cloud mining platform designed to reduce technical barriers and provide a smoother participation experience. The website also publicly lists contact information and a Colorado Springs address, which makes it appear more transparent than many smaller platforms with limited disclosure.

• Contracts are easy to read and compare at a glance.
• Bonus and check-in incentives lower the entry barrier.
• The daily earnings display better matches passive income expectations.
• According to the platform’s own description, users do not need to manage any hardware themselves.

Sample Contracts

Naturally, this kind of fixed-term, fixed-return structure is more attractive to users who prefer a predictable income model.

From a usability and first-impression standpoint, YIMiner remains one of the easiest platforms for beginners to understand quickly.

2. BitFuFu

BitFuFu is one of the better-known names in the industry. Its website positions it as a standardized crypto mining platform endorsed by Bitmain, and it also provides public investor disclosures, which gives it a more institutional image overall.

3. NiceHash

NiceHash remains one of the most recognizable brands in crypto mining. This distinction matters because NiceHash is not just a traditional fixed-contract cloud mining platform — it is more like a complete hashrate marketplace and mining ecosystem, which also means it can be more complex for new users.

4. Binance Pool

Binance Pool is a strong option for users who are already inside the Binance ecosystem. Binance says its mining pool offers real-time hashrate visibility, secure account infrastructure, and fast settlement. Binance’s own mining education materials also explain that payout-model selection is essentially a matter of risk management, which can help beginners better understand mining products.

5. ECOS

ECOS continues to position itself as a cloud mining platform that allows users to participate without hardware. Its official materials emphasize secure mining tools and a relatively mature platform ecosystem, which may appeal to users looking for an integrated experience.

Which platform is best for beginner miners in 2026?

If the goal is to get started more easily, use a simple and transparent contract structure, and enter the market through a more passive BTC income model, then YIMiner is the most suitable option in this group. Its homepage is built around exactly the points beginners care about most: incentive-based onboarding, visible contracts, daily earnings, and an easy-to-understand managed cloud mining model.

Final conclusion

For most beginner miners in 2026, the best cloud mining platform is not necessarily the one with the most features — it is the one that is easiest to understand.That is why YIMiner ranks first in this review. It combines beginner-oriented registration rewards, intuitive contract presentation, a daily earnings mechanism, and a managed cloud mining model.

For users who do not want to handle mining machines or learn complex technical details, but still want more passive exposure to BTC income, it is clearly one of the most appealing choices. Of course, all users should read the terms carefully before participating, but within this comparison, YIMiner currently stands out as the strongest option.

Bitget’s VIP Fast Track ditches static balance thresholds, rewarding traders with fee offsets and perks based on futures, spot, and position activity across its UEX platform.

Bitget has introduced its VIP Fast Track Program, positioning it as an “industry‑first” attempt to break centralized exchanges’ reliance on fixed balance thresholds and turn VIP access into something users earn through actual trading behavior.

Rather than one monolithic ladder, the scheme opens three distinct promotion routes — one each for contracts, spot trading and overall positions — allowing different trading profiles to progress along paths that reflect how they actually use the platform. According to Bitget’s announcement, the new framework is also the opening phase of its broader UEX VIP season, the latest evolution of the Universal Exchange model it has pushed since revamping VIP benefits in late 2025.

The heart of the Fast Track design is a settlement‑based reward mechanism attached to each upgrade node. Once a user hits a defined trading or position milestone — for example, a specified notional futures volume or average wealth‑management balance over a set period — Bitget settles a reward that can immediately be applied to offset trading costs as the user climbs toward the next tier. Recent VIP wealth‑management campaigns have dangled up to 10% USDT interest or bonus coupon rates for qualifying positions, alongside extras like a ¥1,000 JD.com gift card for users who successfully advance from VIP1–2 to VIP3 within the event window.

This approach builds on the platform’s broader VIP revamp, which, according to a December 2025 release, targets fee discounts of up to 67% versus core competitors at comparable volume levels and consolidates airdrops and token incentive programs into clearer monthly and seasonal tracks. Official VIPs can tap recurring benefits including at least the equivalent of 200 USDT in Bitget’s native BGB token each month, plus access to structured “Premier Wealth Hub” earn products aimed at larger accounts.

To make Fast Track legible, Bitget has added a VIP progress detail page inside its app that surfaces where a user sits in the ladder, what metrics they still need to hit, and what specific fee cuts, airdrop rights, or other perks unlock at the next level. The redesigned hub uses clearer badges and cards to display status and extends across spot, futures, tokenized stocks and other products inside the Universal Exchange framework, which Bitget sums up with the motto “Maximum perks. Minimum fees.”

As Bitget’s CEO Gracy Chen put it in a recent VIP update, the goal is to combine “lower fees and clearer privileges with the access and tools serious traders rely on,” so that high‑intensity users can manage portfolios and climb VIP tiers “through one unified UEX platform” rather than juggling fragmented schemes. In that light, the Fast Track rollout looks less like a cosmetic promotion and more like the next step in turning Bitget’s VIP structure into a dynamic, data‑driven rewards engine tightly wired into how people actually trade.

ICE detention deaths are running at a record pace in 2026, and the United States’ largest immigration detention center — a sprawling tent facility on a Texas Army base — has logged three deaths, 49 regulatory violations, and allegations of guards betting on which detainee would die next.

ICE detention deaths are running at a record pace in 2026, and the United States’ largest immigration detention center — a sprawling tent facility on a Texas Army base — has logged three deaths, 49 regulatory violations, and allegations of guards betting on which detainee would die next. Camp East Montana, located on the grounds of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, was opened in August 2025 and currently houses around 3,000 immigrants with capacity for 2,000 more. According to NPR’s April 3 investigation, it is both the country’s largest detention center and one of its deadliest.

Out of 25 people who have died in ICE detention since October, three were held at Camp East Montana. The first, Francisco Gaspar-Andres, a Guatemalan national, died of kidney failure in December after two weeks of hospitalization. A month later, Cuban national Geraldo Luna Campos died while in detention, with DHS initially citing “medical distress.” The third death occurred on January 14, when Victor Manuel Diaz, a Nicaraguan national, died by suicide according to DHS. His family disputes the circumstances. “When we talked to Victor after he had been detained by ICE in Minnesota and brought to Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, we were not worried because Victor would just be returned to Nicaragua to us,” the family said in a statement to NPR. “Little did we know it was the last time we would ever hear his voice.”

In February, ICE inspectors documented 49 violations of federal detention standards at the facility — including inadequate medical care and failure by staff to “accurately document required checks to prevent significant self-harm and suicide.”

The private contractor problem

Acquisition Logistics LLC — a company with no prior experience running a detention facility — secured a $1.3 billion federal contract to manage Camp East Montana. It did not respond to NPR’s questions about detainee conditions or its management of the facility. DHS said in a statement that it inherited the contract from the Department of War. The same DHS that is being positioned to receive and cross-reference sensitive voter data through its SAVE system is also the agency overseeing ICE, and the 49 violations at Camp East Montana raise direct questions about whether the department has the operational capacity to responsibly manage the data and human oversight obligations it is accumulating simultaneously.

Former detainee Owen Ramsingh, speaking from the Netherlands after being deported in March, told NPR he personally witnessed guards betting on which detainee would die by suicide. “This is so screwed up that you’re trying to bet on our lives, you know, with these other officers thinking this s- – – is funny,” he said.

A transparency failure with documented consequences

More than 45 people interviewed by the ACLU at Camp East Montana described “alarming conditions of confinement and repeated instances of coercion, physical force, and threats,” the civil liberties group said in a December letter to ICE. DHS said in response that “staff abides by strict prevention and intervention protocol” when signs of self-harm are detected.

The gap between that statement and the 49 violations documented by federal inspectors in February represents exactly the kind of institutional opacity that critics argue becomes systemic when government agencies — and the private contractors they empower — operate without meaningful accountability for how personal data and human custody are managed. The record death pace at Camp East Montana has not yet produced any public disciplinary action against Acquisition Logistics or the facility’s current operators.

The Ethereum Foundation has completed its 70,000 ETH staking mission, depositing approximately 45,000 ETH worth around $93 million in a single on-chain session on April 3

The Ethereum (ETH) Foundation has completed its 70,000 ETH staking target, depositing approximately 45,000 ETH worth around $93 million in a single on-chain session on April 3, according to tracking data from Arkham Intelligence. The final deposit brings the nonprofit’s total staked ether to the full threshold it committed to in February, valuing the completed program at approximately $143 million at current prices.

The foundation’s staking initiative began on February 24, when it made an initial deposit of 2,016 ETH and publicly committed to staking approximately 70,000 ETH in total, with all staking rewards directed back into the treasury. The move followed a 2025 treasury policy update designed to generate yield and reduce dependence on ETH sales to fund operations. Data showed the foundation making what was then its largest single-day allocation — 22,517 ETH worth over $46 million transferred to the Ethereum Beacon Deposit Contract. The April 3 session eclipsed it, completing the target in one final move.

The infrastructure behind it

The staking setup uses open-source tools from Attestant — including Dirk and Vouch — with a focus on distributed signing, minority clients, and multi-jurisdiction validator infrastructure. The foundation has emphasized that this approach is designed not only to generate yield but to actively strengthen Ethereum’s proof-of-stake security by adding a well-resourced, transparent validator to the network.

“We are excited to take this important step, which helps secure the Ethereum network and at the same time fund the EF’s core operations and activities, including protocol R&D, ecosystem development, community grant funding and more,” the foundation said in its February announcement post on X.

Why this matters for ETH

The completion of the staking program arrives at a moment of meaningful strategic context. The foundation has faced persistent criticism over the past year for periodically selling ETH from its treasury — moves that generated operational cash but weighed on market sentiment. Staking the treasury, rather than liquidating it, directly addresses that criticism and aligns the foundation’s economic interests with Ethereum’s long-term network health. At $2,055 per ETH and approximately 3–4% annualized staking yield, the 70,000 ETH position could generate around $4–6 million annually for the foundation’s operations without requiring further token sales.

More than 3 million pages of Epstein files have been released, prosecutors have brought no new charges against anyone in his network, and five legal experts have now laid out in precise terms why the evidentiary gap between public scandal and criminal conviction is nearly impossible to close.

More than 3 million pages of Epstein files have been released in the months since Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which forced the Justice Department to make all Epstein-related documents public. Yet no new arrests have been made in the United States — a gap that has drawn bipartisan frustration and generated intense public confusion. NPR asked five legal experts — four former federal prosecutors and one retired law enforcement officer — to explain exactly why.

The documents include accusations from alleged victims, thousands of emails, photographs placing Epstein alongside prominent figures in business, politics, and entertainment, and FBI network diagrams tracing his alleged abuse. The files confirm that many individuals maintained contact with Epstein long after his 2008 guilty plea on sex crimes involving minors. But as experts are clear to note: appearing in the documents is not evidence of criminal wrongdoing. In a statement to NPR, DOJ spokesperson Katie Kenlein was direct: “There have not been additional prosecutions beyond Epstein and Maxwell because there has not been credible evidence that their activities extended to Epstein’s network. However, if prosecutable evidence comes forward, the Department of Justice will of course act on it.”

The five legal barriers

Barbara McQuade, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and former U.S. attorney, led with the foundational standard: prosecutors must prove every charge beyond a reasonable doubt — a bar that cannot be met by association or proximity alone. Jessica Roth, a Cardozo School of Law professor and former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, explained that conspiracy charges require individually proving criminal intent for each named defendant.

FBI documents in the files do use the term “co-conspirator” for certain individuals, but Ankush Khardori, a former federal prosecutor writing for Politico, told NPR those designations are interim investigative labels, not formal legal accusations. “The FBI does not determine who is a co-conspirator,” Khardori said. “That is a legal judgment that prosecutors make.” McQuade added that any potential criminal tax charges against Epstein associates have likely passed their statute of limitations. Retired police lieutenant Diane Goldstein, executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, pointed to victim reluctance as a structural barrier, noting that many survivors fear retaliation or do not believe law enforcement can help.

The context problem — and the political fallout

Roth told NPR the documents present a fundamental comprehension problem. Released in batches and heavily redacted, they appear in “isolation,” stripped of the investigative context that would explain what prosecutors already reviewed, pursued, and closed. “We’ll see an individual photograph that looks perhaps incriminating,” she said. The political consequences have been severe regardless. Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2 — the same day the NPR story published — with the Epstein files handling cited among the core frustrations driving the White House decision. The same Justice Department that disbanded its crypto enforcement unit under Deputy AG Todd Blanche in April 2025, declaring it would no longer pursue “regulation by prosecution,” now faces pressure from both parties over what critics describe as an equally selective approach to accountability in the Epstein case. In the U.K., where investigators pursued corruption rather than sexual abuse charges, two former government officials were arrested. Democrats who criticized the DOJ’s enforcement gaps in the crypto space now find themselves raising structurally identical arguments about the Epstein investigation — raising questions about whether the department’s reduced enforcement posture extends well beyond digital assets.

Ethereum trades near $2,000 as Coinglass data show $801m in shorts above $2,149 and $739m in longs below $1,960, primed for a violent liquidation cascade.

Ethereum’s (ETH) derivatives market is sitting on a knife edge as fresh Coinglass data show that “if ETH breaks through $2,149, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $801 million,” while “if ETH falls below $1,960, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $739 million.” These liquidation bands bracket a spot market that has kept Ethereum pinned close to $2,000 in recent sessions, turning every $100 move into a potential trigger for hundreds of millions of dollars in forced flows.

According to analytics platform Coinglass, its liquidation heatmap “helps estimate price ranges where large‑scale liquidation events may occur,” effectively marking out the zones where over‑levered traders become involuntary buyers or sellers. At current levels, Ethereum’s market capitalization sits around $247 billion with a 24‑hour trading volume above $13 billion, underscoring how tightly coiled derivatives positioning has become relative to underlying spot liquidity. In a recent crypto.news story on ETH liquidation bands, Coinglass data relayed by ChainCatcher similarly warned that “if ETH breaks through $2,057, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $928 million,” highlighting how quickly these bands can shift as open interest redistributes.

Coinglass’ maps have increasingly become the de‑facto risk framework for leveraged traders, with the firm noting that “liquidations play a crucial role in the cryptocurrency market, often causing sharp price movements and significantly impacting traders’ positions.” A March report from crypto.news on Ethereum liquidation walls at $2,057–$1,863 described the market as “coiled tight,” where a “clean break above $2,057 would not only squeeze late bears but could mechanically add up to $928 million in forced ETH buying across major centralized exchanges.” Another analysis, “Ethereum derivatives flash red as $1.39b long liquidation wall looms,” found that longs worth roughly $1.389 billion were stacked just below $2,210, while shorts faced about $1.061 billion in potential liquidations above $2,441, framing ETH as a two‑sided “pain trade” for both bulls and bears.

Today’s $2,149 and $1,960 thresholds extend that same structure: a break higher risks triggering up to $801 million in short‑side liquidations, while a flush lower could dump as much as $739 million in longs, amplifying any move far beyond spot supply‑demand. For traders, the message is blunt: with Ethereum hovering around the $2,000 mark on the ETH price page, they are no longer just trading direction, but the timing and speed of potential liquidation cascades anchored by Coinglass’ maps and the broader derivatives complex tracked in recent crypto.news coverage of liquidation bands, derivatives stress, and price squeezes.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division privacy officer has quietly resigned as the DOJ moves to share sensitive voter registration data — including partial Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers — with the Department of Homeland Security, without issuing the public privacy notices required by federal law.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division privacy officer has quietly resigned as the DOJ moves to share sensitive voter registration data — including partial Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers — with the Department of Homeland Security, without issuing the public privacy notices required by federal law. The resignation of Kilian Kagle — the division’s chief FOIA officer and senior component official for privacy — was first reported by NPR on April 3.

For nearly a year, the Justice Department has been making unprecedented demands for voter registration data from most U.S. states, in some cases extending to party affiliation and voting history. The agency has said it needs the data to ensure states are removing ineligible registrants from voter rolls, and has sued more than two dozen states that have not complied. So far, 17 mostly Republican-led states have handed over their voter rolls.

The DOJ’s voting section chief, Eric Neff, said at a hearing in Rhode Island that the department intends to share the data with DHS and run it through a federal system called SAVE — an immigration status verification database — to flag noncitizens and deceased individuals.

The Privacy Act problem

Federal law requires agencies to issue public notices and privacy assessments before collecting or disseminating personally identifiable information for a new purpose. The DOJ has issued neither. The growing U.S. government appetite for aggregating citizen data across agencies — a concern that has already drawn scrutiny in financial markets, including the digital asset sector — is now moving into voter data in a way that legal experts say crosses a statutory line. Neff himself acknowledged the compliance gap, saying DOJ has “still a couple steps we have to go through” before being comfortable “representing to this court that we’re in full compliance with the Privacy Act.” Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University and former deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, told NPR the situation is already past that threshold. He said each of the 17 state voter rolls collected “represents a criminal violation” of the Privacy Act, given the absence of any public process or privacy assessment.

The broader implications

The resignation of Kagle — whose last published privacy assessment was dated March 20, just two weeks before his departure — removes the official within the Civil Rights Division whose job it was to produce exactly the kind of documentation the DOJ has skipped. Privacy rights advocates have long argued that financial surveillance and personal data collection by government agencies represent interconnected threats to individual liberty, a position the SEC’s own crypto task force engaged with directly in 2025. The voter data collection comes as the Trump administration continues to elevate claims about election fraud that courts and independent researchers have repeatedly rejected. Whether the data-sharing plan survives legal challenge will depend on how quickly advocacy groups and affected states move to enforce Privacy Act requirements the DOJ has not yet met.