LISA MONACO

Every division that prosecutes corporate crime must now develop programs to incentivize companies to report misconduct, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech at New York University Law School. The Justice Department's top priority is prosecuting individuals who commit corporate crime, she said. She pointed to companies like Theranos, whose disgraced CEO Elizabeth Holmes was convicted on felony counts earlier this year. “We will hold those who break the law accountable, regardless of their position, status, or seniority,” Monaco said. “Corporate prosecutions are still declining,” he said.

Every division that prosecutes corporate crime must now develop programs to incentivize companies to report misconduct, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech at New York University Law School. The Justice Department's top priority is prosecuting individuals who commit corporate crime, she said. She pointed to companies like Theranos, whose disgraced CEO Elizabeth Holmes was convicted on felony counts earlier this year. “We will hold those who break the law accountable, regardless of their position, status, or seniority,” Monaco said. “Corporate prosecutions are still declining,” he said.

Every division that prosecutes corporate crime must now develop programs to incentivize companies to report misconduct, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech at New York University Law School. The Justice Department's top priority is prosecuting individuals who commit corporate crime, she said. She pointed to companies like Theranos, whose disgraced CEO Elizabeth Holmes was convicted on felony counts earlier this year. “We will hold those who break the law accountable, regardless of their position, status, or seniority,” Monaco said. “Corporate prosecutions are still declining,” he said.

The federal Bureau of Prisons is keeping its former director on the payroll as an adviser to his successor, at least for a short time.

Federal Prisons Colette Peters, director of the federal Bureau of Prisons, speaks after being sworn in at BOP headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP) (Evelyn Hockstein)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland swore in the new director of the federal Bureau of Prisons Tuesday as the Biden administration looks to reform the beleaguered agency. Peters said during her swearing in that she was “humbled, honored and proud to serve” in the position. Peters is only the second director in the agency's history with no prior experience in the federal prisons system. Attorney General Merrick Garland said he had “full confidence” in Peters’ ability to innovate, reform and lead the Bureau of Prisons.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has sworn in the new director of the federal Bureau of Prisons, as the Biden administration looks to reform the beleaguered agency.

Biden Abortion FILE - President Joe Biden signs an executive order on abortion access during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, July 8, 2022, in Washington as Vice President Kamala Harris, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco watch. Lawyers will work to “encourage robust legal representation of those seeking reproductive care services,” the White House said in announcing the event. Garland was accompanied by White House counsel Stuart Delery and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. "Over the past month, states across our nation have taken steps to impose abortion bans and other restrictions on access. Also Friday, Biden said he would nominate to a federal appeals court the abortion rights lawyer who argued unsuccessfully for the preservation of Roe at the Supreme Court.

Attorney General Merrick Garland headlined a White House event bringing together pro bono lawyers, bar associations and public interest groups to discuss how best to offer legal services and protections for women seeking abortions.

The FBI and Justice Department recently disrupted the activities of a hacking group that was sponsored by the North Korean government and that targeted U.S. hospitals with ransomware, ultimately recovering half a million dollars in ransom payments, Monaco said Tuesday, July 19. The FBI ultimately recovered half a million dollars, including the entire ransom payment from the hospital. Though the pace of such large-scale, front-page attacks seems to have slowed, smaller targets — such as hospitals — continue to be affected. This particular variant of ransomware, known as “Maui,” specifically targeted hospitals and public health organizations around the country. Companies, she said, invariably ask why they should cooperate with law enforcement and what is in it for them.

The FBI and Justice Department recently disrupted the activities of a hacking group that was sponsored by the North Korean government and that targeted U.S. hospitals with ransomware.

Federal Prisons FILE - Colette Peters, the director of Oregon's prison system, poses for a photo in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 31, 2012. The Justice Department on Tuesday named Peters, the director of Oregon’s prison system, to run the federal Bureau of Prisons, turning to a reform-minded outsider as it seeks to rebuild the beleaguered agency. Peters, who championed steeply reducing the state's inmate population in the last decade, will inherit a federal agency plagued by myriad scandals. And that comes with opportunity for accountability.”At the Justice Department, Monaco has been focused on reforming the Bureau of Prisons and addressing allegations of serious staff misconduct. Monaco said she sees leadership as a main crux of reforming the Bureau of Prisons as the agency moves forward.

The Justice Department has named the director of Oregon’s prison system to run the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Biden Abortion President Joe Biden signs an executive order on abortion access during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, July 8, 2022, in Washington. The actions he outlined are intended to mitigate some potential penalties women seeking abortion may face after the ruling but are limited in their ability to safeguard access to abortion nationwide. Biden formalized instructions to the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to push back on efforts to limit the ability of women to access federally approved abortion medication or to travel across state lines to access clinical abortion services. The decision by the court is expected to make abortion illegal in over a dozen states and severely restricted in others. ___For AP's full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, go to https://apnews.com/hub/abortion.

Colette Peters, who runs Oregon’s prison system, has emerged as the leading contender to run the federal prison system.

Garland's remarks come as the devastation at the Uvalde, Texas, school has put intense scrutiny on how police on the scene responded to the mass shooting.

The Deputy Attorney General told Congress last year that prosecutors would review new evidence about FBI failures in the investigation of Larry Nassar.

The former director of the Ohio state prison system has emerged as a leading contender to run the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons.

Federal Prisons FILE - The Federal Correctional Institution is shown in Dublin, Calif., July 20, 2006. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File) (Ben Margot)WASHINGTON — (AP) — A national criminal justice advocacy group is pushing the Justice Department to support the release of women who were sexually abused by staff at a federal women’s prison in California. The letter is the latest effort by advocacy groups and members of Congress to ratchet down oversight of the beleaguered federal prison system and push for action at the top levels of the Justice Department. Monaco and other Justice Department officials have been prioritizing reforming the Bureau of Prisons and put in a new warden at Dublin. A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

A prominent national criminal justice advocacy groups is pushing the Justice Department to support the release of women who were sexually abused by staff at a federal women’s prison in California.

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland wants to do more than just put a bandage on a crisis that she says has been decades in the making.

The seizure of Suleiman Kerimov's superyacht is part of a broader effort to take the assets of sanctioned oligarchs as Russia invades Ukraine.

The director of the federal Bureau of Prisons and a task force of senior agency officials traveled recently to a federal women's prison in California.

Justice Department's number two says the Russians pose a "serious and persistent threat."

Garland, 69, is fully vaccinated and boosted.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Biden administration charged a Russian oligarch linked to the Kremlin with violating U.S. government sanctions and disrupted a cybercrime operation launched by a Russian military intelligence agency, officials said Wednesday. FBI and Justice Department officials announced the moves as the U.S. separately revealed sanctions against the two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and toughened penalties against Russian banks. Wednesday's announcements came two days after U.S. officials seized a huge yacht in Spain belonging to a Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, with close ties to Russian President Putin. The Justice Department in the past year has taken aim against Russia-based cybercrime, recovering in June most of a multimillion-dollar ransom that Colonial Pipeline paid to hackers after a ransomware attack that halted operations. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Justice Department prosecutors, meanwhile, were helping international efforts to uncover potential war crimes committed by Russia.

The Justice Department has charged a Russian oligarch with sanctions violations and has taken down a cybercrime operation controlled by a Russian military intelligence agency.

Russian Hackers Energy Sector FILE - Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco speaks to The Associated Press during an interview at the Department of Justice in Washington, Nov. 2, 2021. The Justice Department says four Russian government officials have been charged in hacks that targeted the global energy industry and thousands of computers around the world between 2012 and 2018. Additionally, multiple U.S. federal agencies on Thursday published a joint advisory on the hacking campaign, alerting energy executives to take steps to protect their systems from Russian operatives. The malware was designed with a goal of inflicting physical damage by disabling a safety shutdown function that would normally stop a refinery from "catastrophic failure," a Justice Department official said. The British Foreign Office said the FSB hackers had also targeted U.K. energy companies and stolen data from the U.S. aviation sector and other key U.S. targets.

The hacks targeted companies and organizations in about 135 countries. Among the victims was the owner of a Kansas nuclear power plant whose business network was compromised by the hackers, officials said. Though the intrusions date back years, the indictments come as the FBI has raised fresh alarms about efforts by Russian hackers to scan the networks of energy firms in the U.S. for vulnerabilities that could be exploited amid Russia's war against Ukraine. Their supply chain attacks targeted oil and gas firms, nuclear power plants and utility and power transmission companies, prosecutors said. The hackers also successfully compromised the business network of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation in Burlington, Kansas, which operates a nuclear power plant.

The Justice Department says four Russian government officials have been charged in hacks that targeted critical global infrastructure including the U.S. energy and aviation sectors between 2012 and 2018.

People who had OxyContin addictions, and who had lost loved ones to the drug, denounced the multi-billionaire Sackler family, at a bankruptcy hearing.

Justice Garland Flanked by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, left, and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a meeting at the Justice Department, Thursday, March 10, 2022 in Washington. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Kevin Chambers, an associate deputy attorney general, will lead criminal and civil enforcement efforts targeting pandemic-related fraud. Monaco on Thursday convened the department's COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which includes nearly 30 agencies that administer and oversee pandemic relief funding. The Justice Department has already taken enforcement actions related to more than $8 billion in suspected pandemic fraud, Monaco and Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday. Biden wants Congress to provide more resources to prosecute egregious pandemic fraud and increase penalties.

The Justice Department has named a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud, following through on President Joe Biden’s State of the Union promise to go after criminals who stole billions in relief money.

The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding Attorney General Merrick Garland take immediate action to reform the beleaguered federal Bureau of Prisons.

The Justice Department has been limiting the ability of people in prison to apply for compassionate release. Advocates say that flouts Congress and is cruel.

Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan were arrested Tuesday in Manhattan on money laundering and conspiracy charges.

Mary Margaret Kreuper, an 80-year-old Los Angeles nun and school principal, stole more than $800,000 to pay for gambling debts. On Monday, Kreuper was sentenced to one year in federal prison.

It marks the agency's largest financial seizure ever, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.

The Justice Department has announced its largest-ever financial seizure — more than $3.5 billion — and the arrests of a New York couple accused of conspiring to launder billions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection has subpoenaed more than a dozen individuals who it says falsely tried to declare Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 election.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is lambasting the director of the beleaguered federal prison system, saying he has “no intention of reforming the institution.”.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco of the U.S. Department of Justice, together with colleagues from the National Security Division and the Criminal Division, met yesterday with UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in Washington, DC, to further strengthen law enforcement and national security cooperation. In their meeting, both governments discussed their close cooperation against numerous threats to their countries’ collective security, including with respect to combating terrorism, cybercrime, and illicit finance. Both the Deputy Attorney General and the Home Secretary committed and agreed to heighten the focus on illicit use of cryptocurrency and ransomware, as well as to continue the dialogue about emerging threats to national security.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is demanding Attorney General Merrick Garland immediately fire the director of the beleaguered federal Bureau of Prisons.

An Associated Press investigation has found that more than 100 federal Bureau of Prisons employees have been arrested, convicted or sentenced in criminal cases since the start of 2019.

Ransomware Arrests Attorney General Merrick Garland, center, accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, left, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, right, speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Both men are alleged to be affiliated with the Russia-based REvil ransomware gang, which has been blamed for hacks that have extorted at least $200 million in payments, said Attorney General Merrick Garland. The indictment accuses Vasinskyi, 22, of conducting deploying REvil ransomware, also known as Sodinokibi, against victims around the world — including the massive Kaseya attack. Both indictments were filed in federal court in the Northern District of Texas, a state where REvil ransomware compromised the computer networks of some two dozen local government agencies in the summer of 2019. The Justice Department has tried multiple ways to address a ransomware wave that it regards as a national security and economic threat.

Attorney General Merrick Garland and other top officials announced charges against Ukrainian Yaroslav Vasinskyi and Russian Yevgeniy Polyanin, alleging them to be part of the REvil ransomware gang. “The Justice Department is sparing no resource to identify and bring to justice anyone, anywhere who targets the United States with a ransomware attack,” Garland said. European law enforcement authorities also announced Monday that they'd arrested two other suspected ransomware operators with links to REvil in Romania. The arrests were part of a law enforcement investigation called GoldDust that involved the United States and 16 other countries. The Justice Department has tried multiple ways to address a ransomware wave that it regards as a national security and economic threat.

A suspected Ukrainian hacker has been arrested and charged in the United States in connection with a string of costly ransomware attacks, including one that snarled businesses around the globe on the Fourth of July weekend.

Two suspected hackers accused of ransomware attacks resulting in 5,000 infections have been arrested as part of a global cybercrime crackdown, Europol announced Monday. Officials say the attacks, linked to the ransomware gang known as REvil, yielded about half a million euros in ransom payments. REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, has been linked in recent months to ransomware targeting the world's largest meat processor, JBS SA, as well as a Fourth of July weekend attack that snarled businesses around the world.

So far, the Biden administration has tried sanctions and diplomacy to compel Russia to extradite criminals behind a spate of ransomware attacks.

U.S. authorities are expecting arrests and criminal charges related to ransomware in the coming weeks.

The coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the labor market have pushed many prison staffing systems into crisis.

Law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Europe have arrested 150 people and seized more than $31 million in an international drug trafficking investigation stemming from sales on the darknet.

Justice Department Cybersecurity FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2021 photo, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Justice Department is poised to sue government contractors and other companies who receive U.S. government grants if they fail to report breaches of their computer systems or misrepresent their cybersecurity practices, the department's No. The Justice Department will also protect whistleblowers who come forward to report those issues, she said. The action, unveiled at the Aspen Cyber Summit, is aimed at contractors who fail to report hacks or who knowingly provide deficient cybersecurity products. It's an outgrowth of an ongoing Justice Department cyber policy review, and is also part of a broader Biden administrative effort to incentivize contractors and private companies to share information with the government about breaches and to bolster their own cybersecurity defenses.

Justice Department Cybersecurity FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2021 photo, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington. The department will also protect whistleblowers who come forward to report those issues. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Justice Department is poised to sue government contractors and other companies who receive U.S. government grants if they fail to report breaches of their cyber systems, the department's No. The Justice Department will also protect whistleblowers who come forward to report those issues. “For too long, companies have chosen silence under the mistaken belief that it’s less risky to hide a breach than to bring it forward and to report it.

The Justice Department is poised to sue government contractors and other companies who receive U.S. government grants if they fail to report breaches of their cyber systems.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — For Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), protecting and empowering domestic violence survivors is personal. “I am a survivor myself,” said Sen. Ernst to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The law provides grants for programs that prevent and respond to domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault. It’s people across America who experience sexual and domestic violence. Renewing and extending the Violence Against Women Act is a priority for @ChuckGrassley.

The Justice Department said it is reviewing an earlier decision to decline prosecution against two former FBI agents embroiled in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse cases after new information has emerged.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday said it is reviewing an earlier decision to decline prosecution against two former FBI agents embroiled in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse cases after new information has emerged. While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the newly confirmed assistant attorney general for the department’s criminal division will be taking a second look at the FBI’s alleged failure to promptly address complaints made in 2015 against Nassar. (Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP, File) (Matthew Dae Smith)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Justice Department said Tuesday that it is reviewing an earlier decision to decline prosecution against two former FBI agents embroiled in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse cases after new information has emerged. Last month's hearing was part of a congressional effort to hold the FBI accountable after multiple missteps in investigating the case, including delays that allowed the now-imprisoned Nassar to abuse other young gymnasts. Hundreds of girls and women have said Nassar sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.

The Justice Department on Friday outlined a broad new push to support crime victims, including coordinating with state and local authorities in cases where federal charges won't be brought.

Once hailed as a prototype for a new kind of federal jail and the most secure in the country, New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center has become a blighted wreck.

The Justice Department is curtailing federal agents’ use of “no-knock” warrants — which allow law enforcement agents to enter a home without announcing their presence — and would also prohibit its agents from using chokeholds in most circumstances.

Today, the Department of Justice announced the launch of the first phase of its Body-Worn Camera Program that requires department law enforcement personnel use body-worn cameras (BWCs) during pre-planned law enforcement operations. “Law enforcement is at its most effective when there is accountability and trust between law enforcement and the community. “Because there are circumstances where the use of force may occur during planned law enforcement operations, we are committed to the use of body-worn cameras by DOJ law enforcement agents in such circumstances. Since October 2020, ATF, DEA, FBI and USMS have been integrating the use of BWCs on federal task forces around the nation. The department continues to encourage participating task force agencies to contact the sponsoring federal agency for more information about their BWC program.

Today, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the creation of a new Cyber Fellowship program, designed to develop a new generation of prosecutors and attorneys equipped to handle emerging national security threats. “As we have witnessed this past year, cyber threats pose a significant and increasing risk to our national security, our economic security, and our personal security,” said Deputy Attorney General Monaco. “We need to develop the next generation of prosecutors with the training and experience necessary to combat the next generation of cyber threats. Cyber Fellowship DetailsThe three-year Cyber Fellowship will provide selected attorneys experience combatting emerging national security and criminal cyber threats, while rotating through multiple department components that protect the nation from cyber threats — including the Criminal Division, the National Security Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. Information regarding deadlines and eligibility to submit applications to the Cyber Fellowship through subsequent tracks is forthcoming.

The federal Bureau of Prisons said the Metropolitan Correctional Center will be closed at least temporarily to address issues, including lax security and crumbling infrastructure.

Epstein Jail Closure FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2019 file photo, an employee checks a visitor outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. The federal Bureau of Prisons said the Metropolitan Correctional Center will be closed at least temporarily to address issues that have long plagued the facility, including lax security and crumbling infrastructure. Most of them are expected to be transferred to a federal jail in Brooklyn. After the gun was discovered, then-Attorney General William Barr also launched a Justice Department task force to address criminal misconduct by officers at several correctional facilities. As the coronavirus took hold, Metropolitan Correctional Center employees weren’t able to get masks, while staff restrooms ran out of soap.

The U.S. government says it is shutting down an embattled federal jail in New York City after a slew of problems that came to light following Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide there two years ago.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Justice Department is directing the federal prison system to revamp how it monitors 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. On Thursday, the Bureau of Prisons issued new guidance requiring wardens at the government’s 122 federal prisons to report the amount of money inmates have in their accounts each month and identify inmates with balances over $2,500. A Justice Department official said Monaco’s directive is meant to create a uniform policy across the federal prison system and to ensure Bureau of Prisons officials are taking appropriate steps to monitor inmate accounts. The new procedure creates a clearer process for prison officials to report, track and investigate suspicious or criminal activity. The Washington Post first reported that Nassar had paid only about $100 per year, or about $300 since he first entered the federal prison system in 2017.

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.

The attorney general was headed to Chicago on Thursday to unveil Justice Department plans to target the illegal flow of firearms across state lines.

The effort from the Justice Department is the latest in a series of steps taken by the Biden administration to confront a surge in violent crime.

Remarks as DeliveredGood morning, I’m pleased to be joined by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke. I noted that our progress on protecting voting rights, especially for black Americans and people of color, has never been steady. Moments of voting rights expansion have often been met with counter efforts to curb the franchise. I want to thank the staff of the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section for their hard work on this matter and for their everyday efforts to protect Americans’ voting rights. And because the upcoming redistricting cycle may be the first since 1960 to proceed without the key preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act.

President Joe Biden is expected to announce a partnership between federal law enforcement and local police to help combat a rising tide of violent crime.

Apple informed former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn and his wife that the Justice Department had subpoenaed information about accounts that belonged to them in 2018.

The two sheriff's deputies who shot and killed a Black man during an arrest attempt by a U.S. Marshals Service task force in Minneapolis were working undercover at the time so their names will not be released, state investigators said Wednesday. Winston Boogie Smith Jr., 32, of St. Paul, was killed last Thursday as authorities were trying to arrest him on a weapons violation in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood. The U.S. Marshals Service said he was wanted for allegedly being a felon in possession of a firearm and that Smith, who was in a parked vehicle, didn’t comply and “produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject.”

Cybercriminals are using sophisticated malware to attack companies' IT systems, and they are demanding ransom payments in digital currencies

The two sheriff’s deputies who shot and killed a Black man while assigned to a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force had been told they could not use their body-worn cameras.

In a reversal of long-standing policy, the DOJ said it would start to require body cameras when federal officers are executing search warrants or making pre-planned arrests.

Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount will face the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, one day after the Justice Department revealed it had recovered the majority of the $4.4 million ransom payment the company made in hopes of getting its system back online. Blount's testimony marks his first appearance before Congress since the May 7 ransomware attack that led Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline, which supplies roughly half the fuel consumed on the East Coast, to temporarily halt operations. The company decided soon after the attack to pay ransom of 75 bitcoin, then valued at roughly $4.4 million. Ransomware attacks — in which hackers encrypt a victim organization's data and demand a hefty sum for returning the information — have flourished across the globe. Weeks after the Colonial Pipeline attack, a ransomware attack attributed to REvil, a Russian-speaking gang that has made some of the largest ransomware demands on record in recent months, disrupted production at Brazil’s JBS SA, the world's largest meat processing company.

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.

The US Justice Department said it has recovered more than half of the $4.4 million (£3.1 million) paid by Colonial Pipeline to ransomware extortionists Darkside, who had forced the shutdown of a major fuel network. DarkSide infiltrated the pipeline last month in an attack that severely disrupted supplies and caused fuel shortages for days. The group, which Washington officials believe could be based in Russia, broke into the computer systems of Colonial and forcing the shutdown of its 5,500-mile

Cybersecurity Colonial Pipeline Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announces the recovery of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency from the Colonial Pipeline Co. ransomware attacks as she speaks during a news conference with FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate and acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Stephanie Hinds at the Justice Department in Washington, Monday, June 7, 2021. Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline, which supplies roughly half the fuel consumed on the East Coast, temporarily shut down its operations on May 7 after a gang of cybercriminals using the DarkSide ransomware variant broke into its computer system. Colonial officials have said they took their pipeline system offline before the attack could spread to its operating systems, and decided soon after to pay ransom of 75 bitcoin — then valued at roughly $4.4 million — in hopes of bringing itself back online as soon as it could. Ransomware attacks — in which hackers encrypt a victim organization's data and demand a hefty sum for returning the information — have flourished. Weeks after the Colonial Pipeline attack, a ransomware attack attributed to REvil, a Russian-speaking gang that has made some of the largest ransomware demands on record in recent months, disrupted production at Brazil’s JBS SA, the world's largest meat processing company.

The FBI tracked and seized 63.7 bitcoins sent to hackers from the criminal group known as DarkSide.

The FBI recovers $2.3m of ransom from DarkSide’s Bitcoin account

A Latvian woman has been charged with developing malicious software used by a major cybercrime digital network that infected computers worldwide and looted bank accounts of millions of dollars.

The Justice Department is announcing criminal charges against more than a dozen people from Florida to California in a series of Medicare scams that exploited coronavirus fears to bill tens of millions of dollars in bogus claims.

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.

The question of whether to serve a search warrant for Rudy Giuliani’s records had simmered inside the Justice Department last year.

Rudy Giuliani sought to discredit the federal investigation into his dealings in Ukraine a day after agents raided his home and office.

President Joe Biden’s difficult balancing act on policing was put on vivid display over the course of a few hours as he tries to navigate criminal justice and civil rights.

President Joe Biden’s difficult balancing act on policing was put on vivid display over the course of a few hours Tuesday as he tries to navigate criminal justice and civil rights.

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 – More than 75 former U.S. attorneys are throwing their support behind President Joe Biden’s nominee for associate attorney general and urging congressional leaders to quickly confirm her to the post. She was in charge of the Justice Department’s civil rights division in the Obama administration. The Senate has scheduled the confirmation hearing for Gupta and Lisa Monaco, Biden’s nominee for deputy attorney general, for March 9.

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. “To heal we must remember," the incoming president told the nation at a sunset ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial. “Between sundown and dusk, let us shine the lights into the darkness ... and remember all who we lost,” 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.

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 – President-elect Joe Biden has denounced the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol as “domestic terrorists” and he blamed President Donald Trump for the violence that has shaken the nation's capital and beyond. It was chaos.”Those who massed on Capitol Hill intending to disrupt a joint session of Congress that was certifying Biden’s election victory over Trump “weren’t 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.

President-elect Joe Biden is set to name Garland as Attorney General. 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.

President-elect Joe Biden is set to name Garland as Attorney General. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden has selected Merrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge who in 2016 was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court, as his attorney general, two people familiar with the selection process said Wednesday. 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 Obama’s first attorney general, had also previously been a Superior Court judge in the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland are emerging as the leading contenders to be nominated as President-elect Joe Biden’s 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 Biden’s 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.

WASHINGTON – 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.