Attorney General Merrick Garland established Task Force KleptoCapture, an unprecedented interagency law enforcement unit dedicated to enforcing sanctions and seizing assets of Russian kleptocrats following the Ukraine invasion. The initiative represents a major expansion of US anti-corruption …
Merrick GarlandAndrew AdamsDepartment of JusticeFBIU.S. Secret Service+2 morekleptocracysanctionsasset-recoverydojrussia+3 more
The National Archives retrieved 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago containing 184 classified documents
totaling 700 pages, including 25 marked “top secret,” 92 “secret,” and 67 “confidential.”
Documents included CIA, FBI, and NSA materials on national security topics, some …
Donald TrumpNational ArchivesDepartment of Justiceclassified-documentsmar-a-lagonational-archivesobstruction-of-justicepresidential-records
Steve Bannon was indicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack. He was charged for failing to appear for a deposition and refusing to produce requested documents, which the …
Steve BannonHouse Select Committee on January 6Department of Justicejanuary-6congressional-investigationlegal-accountabilitytrump-administrationpolitical-obstruction
Former Air Force intelligence analyst and NSA contractor Daniel Everette Hale was sentenced to 45 months in federal prison for leaking classified documents that exposed the devastating civilian toll of the U.S. drone warfare program. His disclosures revealed that nearly 90 percent of people killed …
Daniel HaleNSAThe InterceptDepartment of JusticeBiden Administrationwhistleblower-prosecutionespionage-actdroneswar-crimesafghanistan
The Department of Justice charged Boeing with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with the 737 MAX evaluation and entered a deferred prosecution agreement requiring Boeing to pay $2.5 billion in penalties. Despite evidence that Boeing executives knowingly deceived the …
Department of JusticeBoeing346 crash victimsVictims' familiesCriminal Division Fraud Sectionboeingdeferred-prosecutioncorporate-crimeimpunity737-max+2 more
DOJ official Jeffrey Clark sent Signal messages to Rep. Scott Perry admitting that a highly classified briefing on foreign election interference “yielded nothing” to support stolen election claims, writing “Bottom line is there is nothing helpful to P” (referring to the …
Jeffrey ClarkScott PerryDonald TrumpDepartment of Justicejeffrey-clarkscott-perrysignal-messagesjanuary-6doj-corruption+2 more
Environmental lawyer Jeffrey Clark attempted to use the Department of Justice to overturn the 2020 election by sending false fraud letters to swing states. Clark drafted a letter falsely claiming DOJ had identified ‘significant concerns’ about the election and urging Georgia to convene a …
Jeffrey ClarkDonald TrumpJeffrey RosenRichard DonoghueDepartment of Justiceconstitutional-crisisinstitutional-capturecoup-attemptjanuary-6kleptocracy+6 more
After nearly a decade of systematic fraud, multiple investigations, Congressional hearings, and billions in penalties, the Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal concludes with a stark scorecard that defines two-tiered justice in American finance: 3.5 million fraudulent accounts affecting millions of …
Wells FargoJohn StumpfCarrie TolstedtDepartment of Justicecorporate-fraudwells-fargotwo-tiered-justicecorporate-accountabilitysystemic-analysis
In a phone call with Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and Deputy AG Richard Donoghue, Trump pressured them to declare the 2020 election corrupt despite no evidence of fraud. Trump stated “just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.” …
Donald TrumpJeffrey RosenRichard DonoghueDepartment of Justicedonald-trumpjeffrey-rosenrichard-donoghuedoj-corruptionelection-fraud+2 more
On October 20, 2020, the United States Department of Justice, joined by eleven state Attorneys General, filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Google LLC for illegally monopolizing search and search advertising markets. The case represented the federal government’s most significant …
Department of JusticeGoogleSundar PichaiAppleTim Cook+3 moregoogledojantitrustsearch-monopolyapple-deal+3 more
On April 3, 2020, Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation (UTC) completed a $135 billion merger creating Raytheon Technologies, the world’s second-largest aerospace and defense company behind only Boeing. The merger combined Raytheon’s weapons systems—including the Patriot …
RaytheonUnited Technologies CorporationGreg HayesDepartment of JusticeBAE Systemsraytheondefense-contractorsantitrustmonopolizationmergers+1 more
Wells Fargo agrees to pay $3 billion to resolve criminal and civil investigations by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission into sales practices that created millions of unauthorized accounts between 2002 and 2016. In a deferred prosecution agreement, Wells Fargo formally …
Wells FargoDepartment of JusticeSecurities and Exchange Commissioncorporate-fraudwells-fargodojdeferred-prosecution
The Department of Justice announces it will not bring criminal charges against any Wells Fargo executives for their roles in the fake accounts scandal, instead accepting a deferred prosecution agreement with the corporation. Despite Wells Fargo’s admission that “top Community Bank …
Department of JusticeWilliam BarrWells Fargocorporate-fraudwells-fargodojprosecutorial-discretiontwo-tiered-justice
Attorney General Bill Barr personally intervened to reduce sentencing recommendations for Trump allies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, causing four career prosecutors to withdraw from Stone’s case in protest and one to resign from DOJ entirely. After prosecutors recommended 7-9 years for …
Bill BarrRoger StoneMichael FlynnDonald TrumpDepartment of Justiceobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerrule-of-lawcorruptionpoliticization
Boeing released hundreds of internal messages to Congressional investigators and the FAA on January 9, 2020, revealing that employees knew the 737 MAX was unsafe, mocked regulators, and conspired to deceive certification authorities. In one April 2017 exchange, just before the aircraft’s first …
Boeing employeesFederal Aviation AdministrationDepartment of JusticeHouse Transportation CommitteeSenator Richard Blumenthalboeing737-maxinternal-communicationsregulatory-capturefraud+1 more
Edward Snowden published his memoir “Permanent Record” on September 17, 2019 (Constitution Day), through Metropolitan Books, an imprint of Henry Holt and Company. The book provided Snowden’s first-person account of his life, his work in the intelligence community, his decision to …
Edward SnowdenDepartment of JusticeACLUedward-snowdenwhistleblowingmemoirdoj-lawsuitnsa-surveillance+1 more
The Commerce Department Inspector General found that Secretary Wilbur Ross lied to Congress about multiple issues, including the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census and his divestment of Navigator Holdings stock. Ross twice told Congress the addition of the citizenship question was …
Wilbur RossDepartment of JusticeCabinet CorruptionEthics ViolationsWilbur RossInspector GeneralPerjury+2 more
A U.S. grand jury added 17 counts under the Espionage Act to the federal indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, marking the first time in American history that the government used the 1917 anti-spying law to prosecute a publisher for receiving and publishing truthful classified …
Julian AssangeWikiLeaksDepartment of JusticeTrump Administrationespionage-actpress-freedomwikileaksfirst-amendmentextradition
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan sentenced Maria Butina to 18 months in federal prison on April 26, 2019 for conspiring to act as a Russian agent without registering with the Justice Department. The sentencing took place in Washington, D.C. federal court. Butina had been in custody since her arrest …
Maria ButinaTanya ChutkanDepartment of JusticeNational Rifle Associationrussian-influencesentencingforeign-agentsnrafara-violations+2 more
William Barr’s confirmation as Attorney General represents the systematic implementation of WHIG template for crisis-accelerated institutional capture, transforming the Department of Justice from independent law enforcement into executive political weapon for constitutional crisis …
William BarrDonald TrumpSenate Judiciary CommitteeDepartment of JusticeTrump Administration+5 moredoj-politicizationwhig-template-implementationsystematic-institutional-capturecrisis-accelerated-captureexecutive-immunity-institutionalization+4 more
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation agreed to pay $5.2 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it fraudulently billed the United States Postal Service for personnel who lacked the required education and experience qualifications specified in their contract labor categories. The …
Northrop GrummanDepartment of JusticeU.S. Postal ServiceUSPS Office of Inspector GeneralDefense ContractorsFraudFalse Claims ActContractor AbuseAccountability+1 more
Maria Butina pleaded guilty in federal court on December 13, 2018 to one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation without registering with the U.S. government, while the original charge of failing to register as a foreign agent was dropped. She became the first Russian …
Maria ButinaAlexander TorshinDepartment of JusticePaul EricksonNational Rifle Associationrussian-influenceguilty-pleasforeign-agentsnrafara-violations+3 more
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation agreed to pay $31.65 million to settle civil and criminal charges for systematically defrauding the U.S. Air Force by overbilling labor hours on battlefield communications contracts between January 2011 and October 2013. The settlement included $27.45 million for …
Northrop GrummanDepartment of JusticeU.S. Air ForceDefense Criminal Investigative ServiceFBI+1 moreDefense ContractorsFraudMilitary-Industrial ComplexFalse Claims ActPentagon Contracts+2 more
The FBI arrested Maria Butina in Washington, D.C. on July 15, 2018, charging her with acting in the United States as an agent of the Russian government without prior notification to the Attorney General, and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. The arrest came after an 18-month …
Maria ButinaFBIAlexander TorshinDepartment of JusticeNational Rifle Associationrussian-influencearrestsforeign-agentsnrafara-violations+3 more
Former Air Force veteran and NSA contractor Reality Leigh Winner was arrested for leaking a classified intelligence report documenting Russian cyberattacks on U.S. election infrastructure. Her case would result in the longest prison sentence ever imposed for an unauthorized release of government …
Reality WinnerNSAThe InterceptDepartment of JusticeTrump Administrationwhistleblower-prosecutionespionage-actrussiaelection-interferencepress-freedom
Private prison companies CoreCivic and GEO Group saw their stock prices surge 100% and 98% respectively after donating nearly $2.8 million to Trump’s campaign and inauguration. Attorney General Jeff Sessions immediately reversed Obama’s order to phase out private prisons, declaring …
President Barack Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, reducing her 35-year prison term to seven years served with a release date of May 17, 2017. The commutation came after Manning attempted suicide twice in 2016 while serving her sentence as a transgender woman in a men’s military …
Barack ObamaChelsea ManningDepartment of Justicewhistleblower-prosecutionclemencylgbtqtortureaccountability
A federal magistrate judge ordered Apple to create special software to bypass security features on an iPhone 5C used by San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook, triggering the most public battle over encryption in U.S. history. The FBI sought to unlock the device after the December 2015 attack …
AppleTim CookFBIJames ComeyDepartment of Justiceencryptionprivacy-rightstech-resistanceapplefbi+2 more
Northrop Grumman Corporation paid the United States $11.4 million to settle government claims that it violated a 2002 settlement agreement with the Defense Contract Management Agency by improperly charging federal contracts for deferred compensation awards to key executives, demonstrating how …
Northrop GrummanDepartment of JusticeDefense Contract Management AgencyDefense Contract Audit AgencyDefense ContractorsFraudFalse Claims ActExecutive CompensationContractor Abuse+2 more
Human Rights Watch released a comprehensive 214-page report documenting that many high-profile FBI terrorism prosecutions were “an illusion” based on aggressive sting operations that entrapped vulnerable individuals who posed no genuine threat. The report analyzed decades of terrorism …
FBIHuman Rights WatchDepartment of Justicefbi-abuseentrapmentterrorism-prosecutioncivil-libertiesaccountability
Following Edward Snowden’s revelations about NSA surveillance, major tech companies began publishing transparency reports disclosing limited information about government data requests, marking the first time companies could publicly acknowledge FISA court orders. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, …
Microsoft and Google filed federal lawsuits challenging government gag orders that prohibited them from disclosing details about Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requests and National Security Letters (NSLs) they receive for customer data. The companies argued these blanket nondisclosure …
MicrosoftGoogleBrad SmithDepartment of JusticeNSAnsa-surveillancetransparencytech-resistancefisa-requestsfirst-amendment+1 more
U.S. Army Private Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years in military prison for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks that exposed war crimes and civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. The sentence was the longest ever imposed on a whistleblower under the Espionage Act and sparked …
Chelsea ManningU.S. ArmyDepartment of JusticeObama Administrationwhistleblower-prosecutionespionage-actwikileaksmilitary-justicewar-crimes
On June 21, 2013, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake approved a deal reducing former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s prison sentence from 24 years to 14 years—a 10-year reduction that symbolized the erosion of corporate accountability in the decade following the Enron prosecutions. The sentence …
Jeffrey SkillingDepartment of JusticeSim Lakecorporate-fraudenroncriminal-prosecutionaccountability-erosionlegal-outcome
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden on June 14, 2013, charging him with three felonies: unauthorized communication of national defense information, willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized …
Edward SnowdenDepartment of JusticeEric Holderedward-snowdenespionage-actwhistleblowingcriminal-chargesnsa-surveillance
Former CIA officer Jeffrey Alexander Sterling was indicted on espionage charges for allegedly revealing details about Operation Merlin—a botched covert operation to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program—to New York Times journalist James Risen. The case became a flashpoint in the conflict between …
Jeffrey SterlingJames RisenCIAObama AdministrationDepartment of Justicewhistleblower-prosecutionespionage-actpress-freedomiranaccountability
HSBC paid $1.9 billion for laundering money for Mexican drug cartels and violating sanctions against Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Cuba, but no executives faced criminal charges despite overwhelming evidence of intentional wrongdoing. The bank laundered at least $881 million for the Sinaloa and Norte del …
HSBCLanny BreuerDepartment of JusticeMexican Drug CartelsEric Holder+1 moremoney-launderingtoo-big-to-jaildrug-cartelsfinancial-crimeimpunity
BP reached a landmark $4.5 billion criminal settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, pleading guilty to 14 criminal charges including 11 felony counts of misconduct or negligent homicide related to the deaths of the 11 workers in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The settlement included $4 …
BP (British Petroleum)Department of JusticeSecurities and Exchange CommissionDonald VidrineRobert Kaluza+3 morecriminal-settlementcorporate-prosecutionenvironmental-crimedeepwater-horizondoj-enforcement
BP reached a landmark $4.5 billion criminal settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, pleading guilty to 14 criminal charges including 11 felony counts of misconduct or negligent homicide related to the deaths of the 11 workers in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The settlement included $4 …
BP (British Petroleum)Department of JusticeSecurities and Exchange CommissionDonald VidrineRobert Kaluza+3 morecriminal-settlementcorporate-prosecutionenvironmental-crimedeepwater-horizondoj-enforcement
Former CIA officer John Kiriakou pleaded guilty to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act after being indicted under the Espionage Act for publicly confirming that waterboarding was official U.S. government policy. In a profound miscarriage of justice, Kiriakou became the only person …
John KiriakouCIAObama AdministrationDepartment of Justicewhistleblower-prosecutiontortureespionage-actaccountabilitywar-crimes
FBI agents executed coordinated early-morning raids on the homes and offices of anti-war and international solidarity activists in Minneapolis, Chicago, and other cities, seizing computers, phones, documents, and political materials. The raids targeted activists organizing against the Iraq and …
FBIDepartment of JusticeAnti-war activistsGrand juryfbi-abusesurveillanceprotest-suppressionfirst-amendmentpolitical-repression
Former NSA senior executive Thomas Drake was indicted on ten felony counts, including five under the Espionage Act of 1917, marking the Obama administration’s aggressive prosecution of national security whistleblowers. Drake faced up to 35 years in prison for allegedly retaining classified …
Thomas DrakeNSAObama AdministrationDepartment of Justicewhistleblower-prosecutionespionage-actsurveillanceaccountabilitypress-freedom
Four men from Newburgh, New York—James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams, and Laguerre Payen—were arrested in an FBI sting operation in which a paid government informant conceived the plot, provided all the means, and coerced economically desperate men into participating. A federal judge …
FBIShahed HussainJames CromitieDepartment of Justicefbi-abuseentrapmentinformantsterrorism-prosecutioncivil-liberties
Northrop Grumman Corporation and its predecessor TRW Inc. agreed to pay $325 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that they provided and billed the National Reconnaissance Office for defective microelectronic parts used in classified spy satellites over a decade-long period from 1992 to …
Northrop GrummanTRW Inc.Department of JusticeNational Reconnaissance OfficeRobert Ferro+1 moreDefense ContractorsFraudFalse Claims ActWhistleblowersIntelligence Agencies+3 more
During a critical congressional testimony, Attorney General Eric Holder revealed the Department of Justice’s emerging doctrine of ’too big to jail’, acknowledging that prosecuting certain financial institutions could potentially destabilize the national and global economy. This …
Eric HolderDepartment of JusticeJPMorgan ChaseBank of AmericaCitigroup+2 moreinstitutional-captureregulatory-capturecorruptionfinancial-crisisbank-prosecution+3 more
Despite widespread evidence of fraud in the 2008 financial crisis, the Obama administration prosecuted zero major Wall Street executives, contrasting starkly with the Savings and Loan crisis when 1,706 bankers were sent to prison. Instead, the DOJ pursued civil settlements totaling tens of billions, …
Eric HolderDepartment of JusticeWall Street BanksLanny BreuerCovington & Burlingfinancial-crisiswall-streetimpunityrevolving-doortoo-big-to-fail
Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $23,134,695 in restitution for his role in the massive congressional corruption scandal. This Washington D.C. sentencing was for conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, honest services fraud involving …
Jack AbramoffMichael ScanlonNative American TribesU.S. District CourtDepartment of Justice+4 morecorruptionlobbyingabramoffsentencingrestitution+2 more
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court issues classified ruling finding NSA’s warrantless surveillance programs violated the Fourth Amendment and FISA statute on a systematic basis. The court documented that intelligence agencies had misled judges about the scope and nature of surveillance …
FISA CourtNSADepartment of JusticeMichael HaydenKeith Alexander+1 morefisa-court-rulingconstitutional-violationnsa-surveillancewarrantless-surveillancefourth-amendment
Investigative reporter Vicky Ward wrote in 2019 that, during Donald Trump’s transition vetting, Alexander Acosta explained he had been told to ‘back off’ because Jeffrey Epstein ‘belonged to intelligence.’ No U.S. government review has substantiated intelligence ties; …
Alexander AcostaJeffrey EpsteinUS Intelligence (unnamed)Department of Justiceepstein-intelligenceacosta-admissionabove-paygradesweetheart-dealintelligence-protection+1 more
FISA Court Judge Roger Vinson delivered a significant rebuke to the Bush administration by rejecting the government’s attempt to rewrite FISA statutes to permit expanded warrantless surveillance inside the United States. The government sought to stretch FISA’s definition of a …
Roger VinsonFISA CourtNSABush AdministrationDepartment of Justicefisa-courtjudicial-rebukewarrantless-surveillancefourth-amendmentconstitutional-law+1 more