Tag Archives: DOJ

Washington DC’s CBS affiliate reports: Brandon Straka’s attorney, Bilal Essayli, and federal prosecutors appeared before U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich on Wednesday for a status hearing to discuss the release last week of a sentencing memo detailing aspects of his cooperation with the government’s investigation into the Capitol riot. “It’s been brought to my attention that Mr. Straka has been …

The Washington Post reports: A Missouri man left a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to prosecutors. Jerod Thomas Bargar, 36, of Centralia, Mo., was arrested Wednesday; he is one of a small group of people accused of illegally carrying guns during the riot. Lawmakers investigating the attack revealed recently …

Yahoo News reports: The Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the former White House official Peter Navarro accusing him of “wrongfully retaining” presidential records “that are the property of the United States.” The DOJ alleged in its lawsuit that Navarro violated the Presidential Records Act, which requires presidents and White House staff to preserve official documents and …

The Associated Press reports: The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a lawsuit that challenges Idaho’s restrictive abortion law, arguing that it conflicts with a federal law requiring doctors to provide pregnant women medically necessary treatment that could include abortion. The federal government brought the lawsuit seeking to invalidate the state’s “criminal prohibition on providing abortions as applied to women suffering …

NBC News reports: A Donald Trump fan from Texas who attempted to storm the U.S. Capitol while armed with a gun was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison on Monday after a judge denied the Justice Department’s request for a “terrorism enhancement” that would have resulted in a lengthier prison sentence. Reffitt’s own son actually tipped off the …

The Insider reports: While searching alleged Oath Keeper Thomas Caldwell’s home following the attack on the US Capitol just three days prior, police found a “death list” that included the name of a Georgia election official and their family member. But in court documents, Caldwell’s lawyer, David Fischer, argued the list is a “doodle pad.” “From the search, law enforcement …

CNN reports: Former Justice Department staffer Ken Klukowski, who worked with Jeffrey Clark at the agency, is cooperating in the DOJ’s January 6 criminal investigation, after investigators searched and copied his electronic records several weeks ago. “We’ve been fully cooperating both with the Department of Justice and the Select Committee, and we’ll continue with that cooperation,” Klukowski’s lawyer Ed Greim …

The Hill reports: The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol has “formalized” a process for sharing information with the DOJ as the department ramps up its own probe into the deadly riot. Chair Bennie Thomspon (D-Miss.) said the DOJ will now be able to obtain copies of depositions from the committee, abandoning an earlier demand …

Media Matters has the transcript: Political speech is not a crime in America. It has never been a crime in America. Even if extremists use your words to justify their violence, you cannot be arrested for their deeds because we have a First Amendment. Political speech is sacrosanct, period. The Supreme Court has ruled on this many times. It’s at …

From the Justice Department: The CEO of Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services Inc. (TBIS) pleaded guilty Friday in the Central District of California for his role in a cryptocurrency fraud scheme involving TBIS’s initial coin offering (ICO) that raised approximately $21 million from investors in the United States and overseas. According to court documents, Michael Alan Stollery, 54, of Reseda, California, …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Cassava Sciences Inc involving whether the biotech company manipulated research results for its experimental Alzheimer’s drug, two people familiar with the inquiry said. The Justice Department personnel conducting the investigation into Austin, Texas-based Cassava specialize in examining whether companies or individuals have misled or defrauded investors, government agencies …

The Associated Press reports: A man who attacked police officers with poles during the riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five years in prison, matching the longest term of imprisonment so far among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions. Mark Ponder, a 56-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., said he “got caught up” in the chaos …

From the Justice Department: A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty today to two charges stemming from attacks on law enforcement officers and a member of the media during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His and others’ actions disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the …

The Hill reports: “If the department were now to take the position that you can’t investigate or indict a former president, then a president becomes above the law. That’s a very dangerous idea that the founders would have never subscribed to,” Rep. Adam Schiff said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “Even more dangerous, I think in the case of Donald …

Penn Live reports: A Lycoming County man awaiting sentencing for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has died. The death Wednesday of Mark R. Aungst, 47, of South Williamsport, was ruled a suicide, Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr. said. Aungst pleaded guilty June 27 in District of Columbia federal court to a charge of demonstrating or parading …

The Washington Post reports: A Pennsylvania woman who entered the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and later recorded herself saying she wanted to shoot House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “in the frigging brain” has been sentenced to 60 days behind bars. Dawn Lee Bancroft, 59, of Doylestown was also sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours of …

From the Justice Department: A 37-year-old Lynnwood, Washington man was arrested yesterday afternoon and is charged in U.S. District Court in Seattle with making interstate threats, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Joey David George will make his initial appearance on the criminal complaint today, Friday July 22nd at 2:00 PM. He is being held at the Federal Detention Center at …

From the Justice Department: A Memphis, Tennessee area man was found guilty today by a jury in the District of Columbia of felony and misdemeanor offenses for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. 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 …

Courthouse News reports: A Southern California pharmacist was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison after a jury convicted him of trying to seek $27 million in pandemic relief loans for companies that had no employees. Robert Benlevi, 53, of Encino was given a 135-month sentence Tuesday. He had been found guilty this past March of multiple counts …

Bloomberg News reports: The Justice Department’s investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results won’t be deterred if the former president declares his intention to run again, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “We’re going to continue to do our job, to follow the facts wherever they go, no matter where they lead, …