OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department’s to-do list is always intense. And now two very different legal controversies — insurrection cases and tribal lands disputes — are threatening to swamp a department already flooded with pandemic-delayed cases. Together, the unprecedented investigation into the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection and court decisions giving the federal government jurisdiction over crimes on Native American lands have put enormous pressure on the Justice Department. It’s created an immediate challenge for new Attorney General Merrick Garland. And defendants could be waiting a long time – some of them behind bars – for their day in court.
