Tag Archives: DOJ

CNN reports: The Justice Department formally declined to assert executive privilege for potential testimony of at least some witnesses related to the January 6 Capitol attack, a person briefed on the matter said. The decision paves the way for some former Justice Department officials to testify on what they witnessed in the chaotic days between former President Donald Trump’s November …

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday formally prohibited federal prosecutors from seizing the records of journalists in leak investigations, with limited exceptions, reversing years of department policy. The new policy largely codifies the commitment Garland made in June, when he said the Justice Department would abandon the practice of seizing reporters’ records in leak investigations. It …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A California-licensed homeopathic doctor was arrested today for her alleged scheme to sell homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets and to falsify COVID-19 vaccination cards by making it appear that customers had received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Moderna vaccine. Juli A. Mazi, 41, of Napa, is charged with one count of wire …

Politico reports: The Justice Department has agreed to pay $6.1 million to a technology contractor to create a massive database of videos, photographs, documents and social media posts related to the Capitol riot as part of the process of turning relevant evidence over to defense attorneys for the more than 500 people facing criminal charges in the Jan. 6 events, …

Politico reports: A federal appeals court decision Wednesday could make it more difficult for some of the more than 535 suspects charged in the Capitol Riot to win release from custody while they await trial. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that even defendants not accused of violence against others or destruction of property could be …

NBC News reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered a temporary stop Thursday to scheduling further federal executions. In a memo to senior officials, he said serious concerns have arisen about the arbitrariness of capital punishment, its disparate impact on people of color, and “the troubling number of exonerations” in death penalty cases. “The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone …

Democracy Docket reports: On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will form a criminal task force to investigate threats made against election workers across the country. The task force will put the resources of multiple DOJ divisions, including the Criminal Division, Civil Rights Division and the FBI, behind efforts to protect the workers who …

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department will file a federal lawsuit Friday against the state of Georgia for its efforts to enact new voting restrictions that federal authorities allege discriminate against Black Americans, according to people familiar with the matter. The legal challenge takes aim at Georgia’s Election Integrity Act, which was passed in March by the Republican-led state …

Via press release from the Justice Department: Three Texas men were sentenced yesterday for violent crimes. Michael Atkinson, 28, Pablo Ceniceros-Deleon, 21, and Daryl Henry, 24, were sentenced to prison terms for their involvement in a scheme to target gay men for violent crimes. Atkinson was sentenced to over 11 years in prison, Ceniceros-Deleon was sentenced to 22 years in …

Via press release from Attorney General Merrick Garland: The Department of Justice reached several benchmarks in our investigation into the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. We have now crossed the threshold of 500 arrests, including the 100th arrest of a defendant on charges of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. This morning, we arrested our first defendant on …

Via press release from the Justice Department: James Dale Reed, age 42, of Frederick, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the federal charge of threats to a major candidate for President or Vice President—specifically, making threats against then-former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris. A federal criminal complaint for the same charge was filed against Reed on October 21, …

The Daily Beast reports: According to two people familiar with the matter, Trump had asked advisers and lawyers in early 2019 about what the Federal Communications Commission, the courts systems, and—most confusingly to some Trump lieutenants—the Department of Justice could do to probe or mitigate SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, and other late-night comedy mischief-makers. To those who heard it, Trump’s inquiries …

Via press release from the Justice Department: The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement to resolve a claim that Night and Day Dental Inc. discriminated against a woman with HIV in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Night and Day Dental operates nine dental offices throughout North Carolina. This settlement is part of the …

Law & Crime reports: The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday filed court documents to support two separate lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which argue that recently passed anti-transgender laws in West Virginia and Arkansas violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The filing aligned with a memo put out by the DOJ’s Division …

Axios reports: The Biden administration on Tuesday released the first-ever “National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism,” following a 100-day comprehensive review ordered by President Biden on his first day in office. Why it matters: It’s the first national plan for countering what the White House is calling “the most urgent terrorism threat the United States faces today,” echoing previous assessments …

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday that the Justice Department would beef up its policies for obtaining lawmakers’ records and vowed “strict accountability” for officials who let politics affect their work, issuing a lengthy statement amid a metastasizing controversy over department efforts during the Trump administration to obtain the data of congressmen, journalists and even the …

The New York Times reports: John Demers, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, is expected to step down at the end of next week, according to a person familiar with the matter, a departure that was arranged months ago but now comes amid widespread backlash over investigations into leaks of classified information that began under the Trump …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A man who called a United States Congressman’s office and told a staffer that he was going to find someone to assassinate the Congressman was sentenced today to more than a year in federal prison. Kenneth Brown, age 57, previously living in Cedar Falls, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 4, …

NBC News reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that he plans to double the number of staff within the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division dedicated to protecting voting rights. “There are plenty of things up for debate in America, but the right of all eligible Americans to vote is not one of them,” Garland said. The staffing surge would …

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department in a court filing Tuesday said it can “vigorously” defend a religious exemption from federal civil rights law that allows federally funded religious schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students, a move that surprised some LGBTQ advocates who said the wording went further than just an obligation to defend an existing law. In the …