Sean O'Driscoll
Senior Crime and Courts Reporter
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. He has covered human rights and extremism extensively. Sean joined Newsweek in 2023 and previously worked for The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC, Vice and others from the Middle East. He specialized in human rights issues in the Arabian Gulf and conducted a three-month investigation into labor rights abuses for The New York Times. He was previously based in New York for 10 years. He is a graduate of Dublin City University and is a qualified New York attorney and Irish solicitor. You can get in touch with Sean by emailing s.odriscoll@newsweek.com. Languages: English and French.
Trump tells Supreme Court it gave him "unrestricted power" to fire people
The Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity is now being used by the Trump administration.
Judge Chutkan calls Presidents Day hearing in DOGE case
Fourteen states are trying to stop the firing of civil rights officers, among many federal cuts.
Judge hits Donald Trump with legal setback: "unconstitutional"
A Washington state judge has blocked Trump's executive order on transgender care.
Donald Trump wins right to sue Pulitzer Prize board in Florida
Trump claims he was defamed by the Pulitzer Prize board following statements about alleged links between Russia and his campaign.
Judge Amir Ali, one of Biden's final appointments, thwarts Donald Trump
Ali has placed a temporary injunction on President Donald Trump's order to defund USAID.
Judge orders Trump administration to stop deleting January 6 videos
Trump officials have been deleting large numbers of videos of the 2021 Capitol riot from government websites.
Donald Trump fires Biden-appointed US attorneys
The White House has not coordinated the terminations with the Justice Department office that oversees the attorneys.
Judge blocks Trump, compares him to bull in china shop
President Donald Trump fired a special counsel with a single-line email.
Chlamydia outbreak warning issued after Trump removes STD info
A federal judge said that a doctor needs CDC datasets to fight a localized STD outbreak in Illinois.
Elon Musk's DOGE given ability to modify payments—what we know
Following the discovery of racist posts, a DOGE official resigned a day after he was wrongly granted the power to alter Treasury's payment system.
Elon Musk demands judge be fired for ridiculing Trump's legal argument
A judge has ordered that thousands of pages of medical advice by restored on federal government websites.
States strike back at Trump with "smart litigation strategy": Attorney
President Donald Trump is determined to cut the National Institutes of Health's $35 billion annual budget for medical research.
Three key Supreme Court rulings on birthright citizenship
Those seeking to undo Donald Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship are looking at past legal cases
Elon Musk's words used against him in court
Musk's claims that the deep state is harboring people's personal information were read out in a federal court
"Big Brains" behind "Big Balls" Legal firebrands powering Musk's DOGE
Some of the new government department's lawyers have Supreme Court experience that could prove crucial going forward.
Congress could abolish government agencies to help clear Trump's path
The president needs Congress to approve his radical cost-cutting agenda.
Trump fights back after DOGE blocked from accessing files
A government official has claimed that the world's economy could be affected by a federal judge's restraining order over access.
Playboy sues over alleged counterfeits
Counterfeiters are lodging large amounts of money into Chinese bank accounts, Playboy has claimed in court
Can Pam Bondi reverse Donald Trump's conviction? Experts weigh in
Bondi has ordered a report into Trump's conviction in the Stormy Daniels payments case
Elon Musk's DOGE dealt new legal blow
The Department of Labor has agreed not to release any information to DOGE ahead of a court case on Friday.
FBI agents' lawsuit against Trump 'harbinger' of legal battles: attorney
Trump wants the name of every agent who worked on the January 6 investigation.
Congress could save federal agencies from Trump. Here's how
President Donald Trump has 90 days to present a plan to Congress if he wants to scrap a federal agency.
Judge rebukes lawyer over "outrageous" request to keep witness in US
Judge says he has never seen anything like it.
Jay-Z changes tack in Sean Combs lawsuit
A New York judge had sharply rebuked Jay-Z's lawyer for his personal attacks on an opposing attorney.
'Proud Boys' name now belongs to Black church they vandalized
Proud Boy members destroyed a Black Lives Matter sign on the church grounds during a pro-Trump 'Stop The Steal' event.
Justin Baldoni releases Blake Lively texts: five biggest bombshells
Baldoni was allegedly afraid of an intimacy scene with Lively, given the number of complaints she had raised.
Donald Trump administration hit with slew of legal challenges
States, cities and NGOs across the U.S are taking legal action against Trump's orders.
Target sued over DEI
A police pension fund claims that it lost money because of backlash to Target's diversity policies
Supreme Court justices could back Trump's birthright citizenship move
The Supreme Court will likely hear the case after several states teamed to try to stop Trump's birthright executive order.
