Tag Archives: DOJ

ABC News reports: Paul Manafort, the former chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has agreed to pay $3.15 million to settle a civil case filed by the Justice Department over undeclared foreign bank accounts. When the civil case was filed in April 2022, prosecutors alleged that Manafort had failed to disclose more than 20 offshore bank accounts he ordered …

Congress Minutes reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland is set to testify before the Judiciary Committee today, in what marks his first trip to Capitol Hill this year. The hearing will broadly cover oversight of the Justice Department. But expect Republicans to grill the AG on his oversight of multiple special counsel investigations, along with the DOJ’s probe of classified documents …

The Hill reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland is scheduled to appear on Capitol Hill this week for the first time in the 118th Congress, testifying before a Senate panel as the Justice Department continues its investigations into the current and former presidents. The Senate Judiciary Committee has released little information regarding the hearing, which is titled “Oversight of the Department …

NBC News reports: A Jan. 6 rioter who threatened Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on social media after participating in the attack on the Capitol was sentenced Wednesday to 38 months in prison. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 48 months in prison for Garret Miller, an unemployed Texan who, they noted, was wearing a T-shirt bearing former President Donald Trump’s …

From the Justice Department: U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced that Tye Braxton Stiger, age 35, of Jonesville, made his initial appearance in the Western District of Michigan on February 14, 2023. A federal grand jury previously returned an indictment charging him with two counts of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and one count of possession of …

From the Justice Department: A federal jury convicted a Montana man of hate and firearms crimes for firing an AK-style assault rifle at the residence of a woman, who identified as lesbian, and was home at the time. After a four-day trial that began on Feb. 14, the jury found John Russell Howald, 46, of Basin, Montana, guilty of hate …

The Associated Press reports: Justice Department officials in Washington have taken over the corruption investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, removing the case from the hands of the federal prosecutors in Texas who’d long been leading the probe. The move was disclosed in a statement by state prosecutors handling their own case against Paxton. It’s the latest development in …

The New York Times reports: Prosecutors have sought approval from a federal judge to invoke what is known as the crime-fraud exception, which allows them to work around attorney-client privilege when they have reason to believe that legal advice or legal services have been used in furthering a crime. The fact that prosecutors invoked the exception in a sealed motion …

Harrisburg’s ABC affiliate reports: Prosecutors say they will seek a sentence of more than seven years in jail for Riley Williams, the Pennsylvania woman once accused of stealing Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the January 6 riot. In the government’s sentencing memorandum, the government requested 87 months’ incarceration, at the upper end of the applicable sentencing range, three years of supervised …

The Associated Press reports: Lawyers for former President Donald Trump voluntarily turned over to federal investigators additional papers marked as classified as well as a laptop belonging to a Trump aide, a person familiar with the situation said Friday night. The legal team also provided an empty folder with classified markings, according to the person, who spoke on condition of …

From the Justice Department: A Texas man has been arrested on felony charges, including assaulting a law enforcement officer, for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential …

From the Justice Department: Daniela Rendon, 31, of Miami made her appearance in federal magistrate court today and was charged with fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief loans and grants under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Relief Program. According to the indictment, Rendon submitted fraudulent applications seeking COVID-19 relief funds from the Small Business Administration and PPP. …

Law & Crime reports: The Jan. 6th rioter photographed kicking his foot up on a desk in then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office wants to overturn his convictions on charges that could put him away for 46 years. Richard “Bigo” Barnett claims that the 950,000-volt stun gun seen at his hip was “non-dangerous.” The packaging for that weapon, a Zap Hike N’ …

From the Justice Department: Joshua Dillon Haynes, 40, of Covington, Virginia, was sentenced to 32 months in prison. Haynes pleaded guilty on October 28, 2022, in the District of Columbia, to obstruction of an official proceeding and destruction of property. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan ordered restitution, to be determined at a …

The Guardian reports: US officials have offered to provide a closed-door briefing to congressional leaders about their review of about 300 classified-marked documents retrieved from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort last year, sources familiar with the matter said. The precise nature of the briefing remains unclear. The offer from the justice department and the Office of the Director for National Intelligence …

Politico reports: A Jan. 6 defendant’s boast in an interview this week that he had no regrets about his role in the Capitol riot — just days after he acknowledged his guilt in a federal courtroom — may upend the man’s efforts to resolve the criminal case against him. U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta issued an order Friday instructing …

From the Justice Department: Joseph F. Morelli, 51, of Endicott, New York pled guilty today to making threatening phone calls from his home in Endicott, New York to the voicemail in the office of a member of Congress in Washington, D.C. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of …

Law & Crime reports: A Michigan couple who drove to Washington, D.C., from New York were forced to take a bus back home after losing track of their car while allegedly participating in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Isaac Thomas, 20, and Christina Legros, 22, were arrested in Michigan on multiple charges related to the incident, the …

From the Justice Department: Five members and associates of a white supremacist gang were sentenced in Alaska this week to life in prison without the possibility of parole for racketeering, including murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping, and other offenses. The person formerly known as Timothy Lobdell, 46, who legally changed his name to “Filthy Fuhrer” (Lobdell); Roy Naughton, aka …

From the Justice Department: Chance Seneca, 21, of Lafayette, Louisiana, was sentenced today to 45 years in federal prison for kidnapping and attempting to murder a gay man as part of a months-long scheme to kidnap and murder gay men. The court rested its sentence on many factors, including its determination that the defendant intentionally targeted the victim and other …