Ex-police officer convicted in sexual assault is the first to face tougher new penalty, DOJ says
The Justice Department says a former Oklahoma police officer convicted in the sexual assault of a woman during a traffic stop will become the first to face a heftier penalty under the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
Justice Department announces charges against hundreds of alleged COVID-19 fraudsters
Hundreds of people have been charged with the theft of more than $830 million in COVID-19 emergency aid following a nationwide operation conducted by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.
US says price caps on Russia's oil are cutting revenue nearly in half and weakening its economy
When the Group of Seven nations, the European Union and Australia last year announced a plan to cap the price of Russian oil, U.S. officials said it would deliver a most effective blow to Russiaโs economy, undermining its greatest revenue source.
After yearslong delay, DEA revokes license of wholesale drug distributor over opioid crisis failures
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has stripped one of the nationโs largest pharmaceutical distributors of its license to sell highly addictive painkillers after determining it failed to flag thousands of suspicious, high-volume orders at the height of the opioid crisis.
Garland: Justice Dept.'s civil rights work is key priority
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the early work of the Justice Departmentโs Civil Rights Division meant confronting white supremacists who were intimidating Black voters, and the division's work remains urgent 65 years later amid a surge of hate crimes.
Justice Dept. curtails agents' use of 'no-knock' warrants
The Justice Department is curtailing federal agentsโ use of โno-knockโ warrants โ which allow law enforcement agents to enter a home without announcing their presence โ and would also prohibit its agents from using chokeholds in most circumstances.
Justice Dept. bolsters monitoring of federal inmate accounts
The Justice Department is directing the federal prison system implement new procedures to monitor government-run prison deposit accounts that have at times been used by inmates to shield themselves from paying debts and for suspicious or illegal activity.
Pipeline CEO defends paying ransom amid cyberattack
A pipeline company CEO is making no apologies for his decisions to abruptly halt fuel distribution for much of the East Coast and pay millions to a criminal gang in Russia as he faced down one of the most disruptive ransomware attacks in U.S. history.
US looking at how to weed out extremists in law enforcement
Attorney General Merrick Garland says the Justice Department is looking into how it can weed out any extremists from within federal law enforcement following the arrest of current and former law enforcement officers involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
75 ex-top prosecutors endorse Bidenโs pick for associate AG
FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2021 file photo, Associate Attorney General nominee Vanita Gupta speaks during an event with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. More than 75 former U.S. attorneys are throwing their support behind Gupta for associate attorney general and urging congressional leaders to quickly confirm her to the post. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON โ More than 75 former U.S. attorneys are throwing their support behind President Joe Bidenโs nominee for associate attorney general and urging congressional leaders to quickly confirm her to the post. She was in charge of the Justice Departmentโs civil rights division in the Obama administration. The Senate has scheduled the confirmation hearing for Gupta and Lisa Monaco, Bidenโs nominee for deputy attorney general, for March 9.
Biden marks nation's Covid grief before inauguration pomp
President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden look out at lights during a COVID-19 memorial, with lights placed around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Washington. โTo heal we must remember," the incoming president told the nation at a sunset ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial. โBetween sundown and dusk, let us shine the lights into the darkness ... and remember all who we lost,โ Biden said. Biden at his Delaware farewell, held at the National Guard/Reserve Center named after his late son Beau Biden, paid tribute to his home state. ___This story has been corrected to show that flags on the National Mall represent people who couldn't come, not COVID deaths.
Biden blames Trump for violence at Capitol that's shaken US
President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, to announce key nominees for the Justice Department. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON โ President-elect Joe Biden has denounced the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol as โdomestic terroristsโ and he blamed President Donald Trump for the violence that has shaken the nation's capital and beyond. It was chaos.โThose who massed on Capitol Hill intending to disrupt a joint session of Congress that was certifying Bidenโs election victory over Trump โwerenโt protesters. The remarks came during an event in Wilmington, Delaware, to introduce Biden's Justice Department team, to be led by federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland as attorney general. The Justice Department is expected to dramatically change course during the Biden administration, with a greater focus on civil rights issues and a review of policing policies.
Biden introduces Merrick Garland as attorney general pick
Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland speaks during an event with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. If confirmed by the Senate, which is likely, Garland would take over as the U.S. attorney general at a critical moment for the country and the agency. His confirmation prospects as attorney general were all but ensured when Democrats scored control of the Senate majority by winning both Georgia Senate seats. Biden also introduced three others for senior Justice Department leadership posts on Thursday, including Obama administration homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco as deputy attorney general and former Justice Department civil rights chief Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general, the No. Garland was selected over other finalists including former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.
Biden to name Judge Merrick Garland as attorney general
President-elect Joe Biden is set to name Garland as Attorney General. Biden is expected to announce Garlandโs appointment on Thursday, along with other senior leaders of the department, including former homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco as deputy attorney general and former Justice Department civil rights chief Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general, the No. Garland was selected over other finalists including former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. At the time of the bombing, Garland was 42 and principal associate deputy attorney general, a top lieutenant to Attorney General Janet Reno. Eric Holder, President Barack Obamaโs first attorney general, had also previously been a Superior Court judge in the District of Columbia.
Biden's attorney general search is focused on Jones, Garland
WASHINGTON โ Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland are emerging as the leading contenders to be nominated as President-elect Joe Bidenโs attorney general, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Biden's thinking was described by people with knowledge of the presidential transition's internal thinking who were not authorized to speak publicly. Jones, who is white, has had a long-standing personal relationship with Biden dating back to Bidenโs first presidential campaign in 1988. Jones would not comment Tuesday on the possibility of a nomination as attorney general. The Biden team has also been considering a number of other potential candidates for the post, including former Justice Department official Lisa Monaco.
Barr's special counsel move could tie up his successor
WASHINGTON โ Outgoing Attorney General William Barr's decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate the handling of the Russia probe ensures his successor won't have an easy transition. But the maneuvering over the special counsel is especially significant because it saddles Democrats with an investigation that they've derided as tainted. A special counsel can only be dismissed for cause. The Biden transition did not respond to a request for comment on the special counsel appointment. But Barr's decision could influence whom the president-elect puts forth as a nominee for attorney general.