16 Months Since the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol

"Friday, May 6, 2022, marked 16 months since the attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results. The government continues to investigate losses that resulted from the breach of the Capitol, including damage to the Capitol building and grounds, both inside and outside the building. According to a May 2021 estimate by the Architect of the Capitol, the attack caused approximately $1.5 million worth of damage to the U.S. Capitol building.

Under the continued leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the attack continues to move forward at an unprecedented speed and scale. The Department of Justice’s resolve to hold accountable those who committed crimes on Jan. 6, 2021, has not, and will not, wane.

Based on the public court documents, below is a snapshot of the investigation as of Friday, May 6, 2022. Complete versions of most of the public court documents used to compile these statistics are available on the Capitol Breach Investigation Resource Page at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/capitol-breach-cases.

Arrests made: More than 810 defendants have been arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (This includes those charged in both District and Superior Court)..."
Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol 

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Issues New FOIA Guidelines to Favor Disclosure and Transparency

"To mark the start of Sunshine Week, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued comprehensive new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidelines today that strengthen the federal government’s commitments to transparency in government operations and the fair and effective administration of FOIA.

The Attorney General’s guidelines, which were announced in a memorandum, direct the heads of all executive branch departments and agencies to apply a presumption of openness in administering the FOIA and make clear that the Justice Department will not defend nondisclosure decisions that fail to do so. The guidelines also emphasize that the proactive disclosure of information is fundamental to the faithful application of the FOIA and note the Justice Department’s efforts to encourage proactive agency disclosures, including by providing more specific criteria regarding how relevant metrics should be reported in agency Annual FOIA Reports, as the Government Accountability Office recommended.

“At the Justice Department, and across government, our success depends upon the trust of the people we serve. That trust must be earned every day,” said Attorney General Garland. “For more than fifty years, the Freedom of Information Act has been a vital tool for advancing the principles of open government and democratic accountability that are at the heart of who we are as public servants. Together with our partners across the federal government, the Justice Department will work every day to uphold those principles, which are essential to the rule of law.”.."
FOIA 

United States Government Launches First One-Stop Ransomware Resource at StopRansomware.gov

"Today, as part of the ongoing response, agencies across the U.S. government announced new resources and initiatives to protect American businesses and communities from ransomware attacks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), together with federal partners, have launched a new website to combat the threat of ransomware. StopRansomware.gov establishes a one-stop hub for ransomware resources for individuals, businesses, and other organizations. The new StopRansomware.gov is a collaborative effort across the federal government and the first joint website created to help private and public organizations mitigate their ransomware risk.

“As ransomware attacks continue to rise around the world, businesses and other organizations must prioritize their cybersecurity,” said Secretary Mayorkas.  “Cyber criminals have targeted critical infrastructure, small businesses, hospitals, police departments, schools, and more.  These attacks directly impact Americans’ daily lives and the security of our Nation. I urge every organization across our country to use this new resource to learn how to protect themselves from ransomware and reduce their cybersecurity risk.”

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting Americans from the rise in ransomware attacks that we have seen in recent years,” said Attorney General Garland. “Along with our partners in and outside of government, and through our Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force, the Department is working to bring all our tools to bear against these threats.  But we cannot do it alone.  It is critical for business leaders across industries to recognize the threat, prioritize efforts to harden their systems, and work with law enforcement by reporting these attacks promptly.”

StopRansomware.gov is the first central hub consolidating ransomware resources from all federal government agencies. Prior to today, individuals and organizations had to visit a variety of websites to find guidance, latest alerts, updates, and resources, increasing the likelihood of missing important information. StopRansomware.gov reduces the fragmentation of resources, which is especially detrimental for those who have become victims of an attack, by integrating federal ransomware resources into a single platform that includes clear guidance on how to report attacks, and the latest ransomware-related alerts and threats from all participating agencies. StopRansomware.gov includes resources and content from DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.S. Secret Service, the Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Departments of the Treasury and Health and Human Services..."
Ransomware 

Federal Data on Hate Crimes in the United States

"A number of recent and high-profile crimes where the offenders’ actions appeared to be motivated by their bias or animosity towards a particular race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity has contributed to a perception that hate crimes are on the rise in the United States. These incidents might also generate interest among policymakers about how the federal government collects data on hate crimes committed in the United States.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) started its Hate Crime Statistics program pursuant to the requirement in the Hate Crime Statistics Act (HSCA, P.L. 101-275) that the Department of Justice (DOJ) collect and report data on crimes that “manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, including where appropriate the crimes of murder, non-negligent manslaughter; forcible rape; aggravated assault, simple assault, intimidation; arson; and destruction, damage or vandalism of property.” In addition to the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics program, DOJ also collects data on hate crime victimizations through the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS’) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS measures self-reported criminal victimizations including those perceived by victims to be motivated by an offender’s bias against them for belonging to or being associated with a group largely identified by the characteristics outlined in the HSCA.

Scholars, advocates, and members of the media have pointed out that there is a significant disparity between the number of hate crimes reported by the FBI each year and the number of hate crime victimizations reported by BJS. This has led some to criticize the hate crime data published by the FBI as an undercount of the number of hate crimes committed in the United States each year. However, this statistics gap can be partially explained by the different measures and methodologies utilized by the FBI and BJS to collect these data. For example, the FBI only reports on crimes that have been reported to the police, while BJS collects reports of criminal victimizations that may or may not meet the statutory definition of a hate crime and may or may not have been reported to the police. There are a number of reasons why some victims do not report their victimization to the police, including fear of reprisal, not wanting the offender to get in trouble, believing that police would not or could not do anything to help, and believing the crime to be a personal issue or too trivial to report.."
Hate crimes 

Google and Competition: Concerns Beyond the DOJ’s Lawsuit

"On October 20, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 11 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Google LLC under Section 2 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 2). The lawsuit alleges that Google unlawfully maintains “monopolies in the markets for general search services, search advertising, and general search text advertising in the United States through anti competitive and exclusionary practices.” CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10544, The Google Antitrust Lawsuit: Initial Observations, by Jay B. Sykes provides an in-depth discussion of the DOJ lawsuit.
 
The DOJ lawsuit suggests structural relief—potentially involving divestitures of specific operations—as part of the potential remedy for Google’s alleged anti competitive conduct.Because the lawsuit focuses on Google’s conduct in search services and search advertising, any structural remedies would likely focus on these services. For example, if the court finds that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, it could order the separation of Google’s search services and search advertising from its other products or only from specific products, such as the company’s mobile operating system Android and its browser Chrome.
 

 Over the last two years, some Members of Congress have raised broader concerns about Google’s conduct in markets other than search services in congressional hearings and in a report issued by the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets. This In Focus explores some of these additional competition concerns that may not be addressed by the DOJ lawsuit..."
Google 

Federal Government to Resume Capital Punishment After Nearly Two Decade Lapse

"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 BOP, Hugh Hurwitz, to schedule the executions of five death-row inmates convicted of murdering, and in some cases torturing and raping, the most vulnerable in our society—children and the elderly.

“Congress has expressly authorized the death penalty through legislation adopted by the people’s representatives in both houses of Congress and signed by the President,” Attorney General Barr said.  “Under Administrations of both parties, the Department of Justice has sought the death penalty against the worst criminals, including these five murderers, each of whom was convicted by a jury of his peers after a full and fair proceeding.  The Justice Department upholds the rule of law—and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system.”

The Federal Execution Protocol Addendum, which closely mirrors protocols utilized by several states, including currently Georgia, Missouri, and Texas, replaces the three-drug procedure previously used in federal executions with a single drug—pentobarbital.  Since 2010, 14 states have used pentobarbital in over 200 executions, and federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have repeatedly upheld the use of pentobarbital in executions as consistent with the Eighth Amendment..."
Capital punishment

Acting Secretary McAleenan Announces a New Designation of Aliens Subject to Expedited Removal

"On July 23rd, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin K. McAleenan announced a new designation of aliens subject to expedited removal that applies to certain aliens encountered anywhere in the country within two years of illegal entry. Use of expedited removal pursuant to the new designation will help alleviate some of the burden and capacity issues currently faced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) by allowing DHS to more quickly remove certain aliens encountered in the interior.

“The new designation adds one more tool for DHS—utilizing specific authority from Congress—to confront the ongoing security and humanitarian crisis on the Southwest border and throughout the country,” said Acting Secretary McAleenan. “We are past the breaking point and must take all appropriate action to enforce the law, along the U.S. borders and within the country’s interior. This designation makes it clear that if you have no legal right to be here, we will remove you.”

The Immigration and Nationality Act gives the Acting Secretary “sole and unreviewable discretion” to designate certain aliens as subject to expedited removal pursuant to a 1996 law. This authority has been used many times, including in a 2002 notice that applied the full scope of expedited removal to certain aliens encountered anywhere in the United States for up to two years after arrival by sea. The new designation harmonizes expedited removal for aliens arriving by land with the longstanding process for aliens arriving by sea, and applies to certain aliens encountered between 14 days and two years of entry within 100 miles of the border, or within two years of entry anywhere in the United States. The new designation is separate from, but complements, a 2004 designation that applies to aliens encountered within 14 days of entry and within 100 miles of the border..."
Aliens subject to removal

The Special Counsel Investigation After the Attorney General’s Resignation

"Recent Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership changes have raised questions about their impact on the special counsel investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election and related matters. Who will oversee the investigation? How do personnel changes affect the investigation? What are Congress’s possible roles in this matter? Before his resignation, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself from the inquiry with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein serving as Acting Attorney General for the investigation. With President Trump’s designation of Matthew G. Whitaker as Acting Attorney General pending Senate consideration of his nominee for Attorney General, supervision of the special counsel investigation may change in the coming months, possibly impacting ongoing litigation regarding the special counsel’s authority. This Sidebar examines how DOJ leadership changes may interplay with the special counsel investigation.

Authority to Oversee the Special Counsel’s Investigation.

In 1999, pursuant to its general authority to promulgate departmental regulations, DOJ issued the current special counsel regulations, which expressly vest authority to initiate special counsel investigations in “[t]he Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney General is recused, the Acting Attorney General.” Thus, as the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has affirmed, the Attorney General has authority over special counsel investigations but, if he recuses, the Acting Attorney General has authority. That authority includes review of particular aspects of the investigation; review and approval of the special counsel’s annual budget requests; and sole authority to discipline or remove the special counsel for “good cause.”
Special Counsel Investigation

DOJ and DHS Issue New Asylum Rule: Applies President’s authority to suspend entry to asylum

"Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen today announced an Interim Final Rule declaring that those aliens who contravene a presidential suspension or limitation on entry into the United States through the southern border with Mexico issued under section 212(f) or 215(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) will be rendered ineligible for asylum. 

The Acting Attorney General and the Secretary issued the following joint statement:

“Consistent with our immigration laws, the President has the broad authority to suspend or restrict the entry of aliens into the United States if he determines it to be in the national interest to do so. Today's rule applies this important principle to aliens who violate such a suspension or restriction regarding the southern border imposed by the President by invoking an express authority provided by Congress to restrict eligibility for asylum.  Our asylum system is overwhelmed with too many meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to expeditiously grant asylum to those who truly deserve it.  Today, we are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a Presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility.”

Section 212(f) of the Immigration and INA states that “[w]henever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.”

Further, Section 215(a) of the INA states that it is “unlawful…for any alien to depart from or enter or attempt to depart from or enter the United States except under such reasonable rules, regulations, and orders, and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may prescribe.”..."
Asylum Rule

Justice Department Releases Update on Hate Crimes Prosecutions and Announces Launch of New Hate Crimes Website

"The Department today released an update on hate crimes and announced the launch of a new comprehensive hate crimes website designed to provide a centralized portal for the Department’s hate crimes resources for law enforcement, media, researchers, victims, advocacy groups, and other related organizations and individuals. The resources include training materials, technical assistance, videos, research reports, statistics, and other helpful information from all of the Department components working on hate crimes.

In recent years, the Department has ramped up its hate crimes prosecution program and increased training of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers to ensure that hate crimes are identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. The Department of Justice Law Enforcement Roundtable on Improving the Identification and Reporting of Hate Crimes being conducted today and tomorrow through the Department’s Hate Crimes Enforcement and Prevention Initiative is an example of ongoing efforts to spur communication and cohesion among those in the field working on hate crimes..."
Hate crimes

Alien Incarceration Report Fiscal Year 2018, Quarter 1

"This report includes data on known or suspected aliens under the custody of BOP or USMS, and limited data regarding immigration status of convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States. Future reports will also provide information regarding immigration status of aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers.
Summary of Findings

A total of 57,820 known or suspected aliens were in DOJ custody for a range of offenses at the end of the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) (see Figure 1). Of those, 34,834 were confirmed aliens with orders of removal, 15,536 were still under investigation by ICE to determine alienage, 4,410 were aliens who were illegally present and undergoing removal proceedings, and 2,871 were legally present and undergoing removal proceedings. A total of 169 aliens in DOJ custody had been granted relief or protection from removal.."
Alien incarceration

Grand Jury Indicts Thirteen Russian Individuals and Three Russian Companies for Scheme to Interfere in the United States Political System

"The Department of Justice announced that a grand jury in the District of Columbia today returned an indictment presented by the Special Counsel’s Office. The indictment charges thirteen Russian nationals and three Russian companies for committing federal crimes while seeking to interfere in the United States political system, including the 2016 Presidential election. The defendants allegedly conducted what they called “information warfare against the United States,” with the stated goal of “spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general.”  

“This indictment serves as a reminder that people are not always who they appear to be on the Internet,” said Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein. “The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy. We must not allow them to succeed. The Department of Justice will continue to work cooperatively with other law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and with the Congress, to defend our nation against similar current and future schemes. I want to thank the federal agents and prosecutors working on this case for their exceptional service. And we received exceptional cooperation from private sector companies like Facebook, Oath, PayPal, and Twitter.”

According to the allegations in the indictment, twelve of the individual defendants worked at various times for Internet Research Agency LLC, a Russian company based in St. Petersburg, Russia. The other individual defendant, Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, funded the conspiracy through companies known as Concord Management and Consulting LLC, Concord Catering, and many subsidiaries and affiliates. The conspiracy was part of a larger operation called “Project Lakhta.” Project Lakhta included multiple components, some involving domestic audiences within the Russian Federation and others targeting foreign audiences in multiple countries..."  
Federal Grand Jury Indictment of Russians

New Requirements for FOIA Response Letters, Including Affording Ninety Days to file an Administrative Appeal, and New Notification Requirement for Notices Extending FOIA’s Time Limits Due to Unusual Circumstances

"On June 30, 2016, President Obama signed into law the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, Pub. L. No. 114-185, 130 Stat. 538, which contains several substantive and procedural amendments to the FOIA.   OIP has prepared a summary of the amendments as well as a redlined version of the statute which shows the changes made by the amendments.  The new provisions apply to any request made after the date of enactment, which was June 30, 2016.  OIP will be issuing guidance on various aspects of the amendments on a rolling basis.   Agencies are encouraged to contact OIP with any questions they might have on implementation of the new provisions. 

Among the changes to the law are several new requirements for agency response letters and for notices to requesters extending the FOIA’s time limits due to unusual circumstances.  For response letters agencies must notify requesters of their right to seek assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison and, if the response is adverse, they must also notify the requester of their right to seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), within the National Archives and Records Administration.   Additionally, agencies must now afford requesters a minimum of ninety days to file an administrative appeal.  When invoking unusual circumstances to extend the FOIA’s time limits, agencies already were required to make their FOIA Public Liaison available, but now they must also notify the requester of the availability of dispute resolution services offered by OGIS.  The guidance below details these new requirements and the attached implementation checklist provides sample language for agencies to use..."
FOIA

Attorney General’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence

"This Task Force is part of the Attorney General’s Defending Childhood Initiative, a project that addresses the epidemic levels of exposure to violence faced by our nation’s children. Based on the testimony at four public hearings, on comprehensive research, and on extensive input from experts, advocates, and impacted families and communities nationwide, the Defending Childhood Task Force will issue a final report to the Attorney General presenting its findings and comprehensive policy recommendations in the fall of 2012. The report will serve as a blueprint for preventing children’s exposure to violence and for reducing the negative effects experienced by children exposed to violence across the United States..."