The Latest News about The Department of Justice

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Asia Siddiqui and Noelle Velentzas, both citizens of the United States and residents of Queens, pleaded guilty to teaching and distributing information pertaining to the making and use of an explosive, destructive device, and weapon of mass destruction, intending that it be used to commit a federal crime of violence.  The guilty ...

A researcher at the University of Kansas (KU) was indicted today on federal charges of hiding the fact he was working full time for a Chinese university while doing research at KU funded by the U.S. government. Feng “Franklin” Tao, 47, of Lawrence, Kansas, an associate professor at KU’s Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC), is charged with one count ...

Attorney General Bill Barr appointed two new officials to lead the Federal Bureau of Prisons following the suspicious death of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died while in federal custody. The leadership change follows the removal of the warden of the Manhattan Correction Center where Epstein had been held. Attorney General William P. Barr today announced he will appoint ...

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said he expects the inspector general’s report into FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign will be “ugly and damning” for the agency and the Department of Justice. In an interview on Fox News, Graham also said that he wants to find out what role the CIA played in the intelligence-gathering operation against the Trump campaign. ...

The Trump administration is backing a coalition of Second Amendment activists challenging New York City’s gun transportation regulations before the Supreme Court. The Department of Justice has asked the Court to appear in support of the activists during oral arguments in New York City Rifle and Pistol Association v. New York City. The government has already filed an amicus (or ...

The Department of Justice announced today the FBI-led recovery or identification of 103 child victims and the arrest of 67 sex traffickers through Operation Independence Day.  This initiative — a revamping of a previously successful program — was executed during the month of July through 161 operations conducted nationwide. Operation Independence Day relied on the 86 FBI-led Child Exploitation and ...

The Justice Department will release FBI documents early next week related to Bruce Ohr, the Justice Department official who met with dossier author Christopher Steele. In a court filing submitted last Thursday, Justice Department lawyers said the agency will provide FBI notes of interviews conducted with Ohr to Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group that sued for the records last ...

A Texas man was convicted today by a federal jury in Washington D.C. of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets. Following a nine-day trial, Shan Shi, 54, of Houston, Texas, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets.  Shi was originally indicted in June 2017 for conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, and ...

Delowar Mohammed Hossain was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in Queens, New York. Hossain was charged in a criminal Complaint today with attempting to provide material support for acts of terrorism, specifically in support of killing U.S. nationals located overseas.  Hossain was presented today before Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron in Manhattan federal court. “As ...

President Donald Trump today signed into law H.R. 1327, The Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) (VCF Permanent Authorization Act).  The Act extends the VCF’s claim filing deadline from Dec. 18, 2020, to Oct. 1, 2090, and appropriates such funds as may be necessary to ...

Attorney General William P. Barr has directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to adopt a proposed Addendum to the Federal Execution Protocol—clearing the way for the federal government to resume capital punishment after a nearly two decade lapse, and bringing justice to victims of the most horrific crimes.  The Attorney General has further directed the Acting Director of the ...

The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a settlement that requires Facebook to implement a comprehensive, multi-faceted set of compliance measures designed to improve user privacy and provide additional protections for user information. The settlement also requires Facebook to pay an unprecedented $5 billion civil penalty — the most ever imposed in an FTC ...

The new rule uses the authority delegated by Congress in section 208(b)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to enhance the integrity of the asylum process by placing further restrictions or limitations on eligibility for aliens who seek asylum in the United States. Specifically, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are revising 8 C.F.R. § 208.13(c) and 8 C.F.R. ...

A federal grand jury has charged brothers Moyad Dannon, 21, and Mahde Dannon, 20, both of Fishers, Indiana, with multiple firearms charges and one count of attempting to provide material support and resources, including firearms, to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B. The defendants are also ...

Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 21, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was arrested today based on a federal complaint charging him with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and two counts of distributing information relating to an explosive, destructive device, or weapon of mass ...