Tag: doj

DOJ asked to reveal names of Israeli influencers in US

In late September, RS reported that Israel is paying a cohort of 14-18 social media influencers an estimated $7,000 per post through a firm called Bridges Partners. The filing, disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, indicated that Israel began paying these influencers in June as part of a campaign called the “Esther Project.”

Yet, despite this cohort posting on social media for the past five months, not a single influencer working for Israel appears to have publicly acknowledged their work for Israel. Today, the Quincy Institute (the parent organization of RS) and Public Citizen sent a joint letter to the Department of Justice in an effort to change that.

The letter asks the Department of Justice to compel Bridges Partners to “publicly disclose the names, addresses, and contracts of the influencers paid to perform services on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs” as all registered foreign agents are required to do by law.

“Despite their legal obligation to register as agents of a foreign principal, none of these Influencers have filed the required registration statements with the Department of Justice,” reads the letter. To date, the only registered foreign agent on the Bridges Partners contract is Uri Steinberg, an Israeli citizen and Tel Aviv-based consultant with experience in the Israeli Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Tourism.

Craig Holman, Government Affairs Lobbyist for Public Citizen, explained in an email to RS that by concealing the identities of the influencers, Americans are left in the dark. “Americans deserve to know who is paying for the messages being transmitted through social media influencers,” said Holman.

Ben Freeman, Director of QI’s Democratizing Foreign Policy program, told RS last month that the influencers themselves need to register as foreign agents. “If these influencers are knowingly accepting money from the Israeli government to produce content for the Israeli government that’s being viewed by thousands or millions of their followers in the U.S., it’s not at all clear why they would not be required to register under FARA,” said Freeman.

While the letter focuses on Bridges Partners, there may be other influencers on separate contracts being paid by Israel. A firm called Genesis 21 Consulting was hired by the Israeli government in August for “Strategic communications support, content creation, and influencer outreach aimed at improving Israel’s public image.”

A filing disclosed by another firm working for Israel called Show Faith by Works indicated the firm would “identify Social Media influencers to hire in exchange for favorable coverage” as part of a $3.2 million contract to influence evangelical Christians.The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs later told Haaretz that, “Claims regarding an agreement between the State of Israel and the company Show Faith concerning geofencing and payments to influencers are false.”

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US Attorney Will Begin ‘Rigorously’ Prosecuting People For Marijuana On Federal Land After Trump DOJ Rescinds Biden-Era Guidance

A U.S. attorney’s office says it will now begin “rigorously” prosecuting people over simple possession or use of marijuana on federal lands after the Trump administration rescinded Biden-era guidance that advised against taking such legal actions.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming said in a press release on Thursday that the Justice Department “rescinded previous guidance concerning the prosecution of simple marijuana possession” in a memo to prosecutors on September 29.

“This comes after President Biden pardoned certain U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents for offenses related to simple possession, attempted possession, or use of marijuana and directed U.S. Attorney’s [sic] not to prosecute those offenses,” it said. “This significantly curtailed federal prosecutions of misdemeanor marijuana offenses.”

While Biden granted two rounds of mass pardons for people who’ve committed federal cannabis possession offenses during his term—specifically including those prosecuted for possession on federal lands during the second round—the administration didn’t publicize that any prosecutorial guidance directive had been issued, and none has previously been reported.

As far as the September 29 DOJ rescission action referenced by the U.S. attorney’s office is concerned, that memo also does not appear to be publicly available. Marijuana Moment reached out to the Justice Department for clarification, but a representative did not immediately provide the document or details about it.

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DOJ Launches Investigation into UC Berkeley over Antifa ‘Mob Violence’ at TPUSA Event

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it is investigating the University of California, Berkeley, a day after “mob violence” from Antifa protesters occurred outside of a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event.

In a post on X, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon shared a letter that was addressed to UC Berkeley Police Chief Yogananda Pittman. In the letter, Pittman was asked to “preserve all records” in her possession that are “relevant to the agency’s preparation, execution, and response to the Turning Point event held” at the campus on Monday, along with related protests.

“The @CivilRights Division, under @AGPamBondi’s leadership, has asked UC Berkeley Police to preserve all records regarding their response to the mob violence at UC Berkeley’s TPUSA event,” Dhillon said in her post. “Every American has the right to speak at and attend events without fear.”

The letter stated, in part, that the situation at TPUSA’s event “may implicate the University of California’s commitment to provide adequate security”:

The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division has recently become aware of concerning incidents occurring on your campus at the University of California (UC), Berkeley on or about November 10, 2026. These events may implicate the University of California’s commitment to provide adequate security pursuant to a 2018 settlement agreement in Young America’s Foundation, et al. v Napolitano et al., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 17-02255. Our office previously opened investigations of the University of California System for potential violations of Title VI and Title VII based on other events. We will determine whether the events of November 10 should also be included in those investigations. We are also determining whether recent events provide a basis for additional investigation of violations of federal rights, including, without limitation, violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

Dhillon’s letter also explained that the request to preserve all records related to the response to the violence at the TPUSA event, included but was “not limited to” all written or electronic communications from UC Berkeley Campus Police regarding the incident or TPUSA, “generally in the last year,” along with “minutes and communications of any pre-event planning either internal or with outside groups” relating to the event, among others.

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FIREWORKS! “DO NOT ANSWER THAT!” – Fulton County Board of Elections Chair LOSES IT When Member Asks “Do We Have the 2020 Ballots?”

During an tense exchange at a Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections meeting on Friday, boardmembers had a revealing argument over the 2020 elections records, including ballots, which are now subject to a Department of Justice investigation as well as previous Georgia State Election Board subpoenas. 

The only question is: where are the ballots?

This was asked by the lone Republican boardmember, Julie Adams, sparking a heated debate.

Chairwoman Sherri Allen immediately interjected when Adams asked Elections Director Nadine Williams, “Do we have the 2020 ballots?”

“Miss Williams, Do not answer that. That is a matter that is currently, I believe, in litigation as well. And Ms. Adams, you well know that as well,” Allen shot back before Adams defended her right to ask the question.

Williams contempously told Adams, “As you’ve been told several times, the ballots are in the possession of the Clerk of Superior Court. She continued, “They are physically in the Clerk of Superior Court warehouse and secured in that location. They have been there for five years.”

When Adams stated that she was told the ballots were in the County’s posession at the warehouse, Williams accused her of lying, stating, “ Nobody told you that. They are in the clerk’s posession.” Chairwoman Allen then shut the debate down, arguing that the matter is before the court and the public will just have to wait for their ruling “soon.”

The board faced numerous public comments about the outstanding questions surrounding the 2020 election and ongoing investigations by the DOJ. Prior to the exchange over 2020 ballots, Julie Adams had questioned whether decisions about the subpoenas and 2020 election are subject to backroom executive session discussions. Sherri Allen had refused to hold any further public discussion or actions on the 2020 election subpoenas when Adams asked the golden question.

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Comey’s Daughter Reportedly Sought To Cut Deal With Epstein To Smear Trump

The former cellmate of Jeffrey Epstein claimed that James Comey’s prosecutor daughter offered the billionaire pedophile a deal to implicate President Donald Trump.

Maurene Comey, who recently resigned as the walls closed in on her notorious FBI father, began serving in 2016 as assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

That put her front and center in the investigations of Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell after Epstein was arrested in July 2019.

While detained in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, Epstein was assigned to a cell with Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer who was serving time for kidnapping  and quadruple murder.

Tartaglione was convicted of killing a man he suspected of stealing some $250,000 in drug money, as well as his nephews and a family friend who “were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” prosecutors said, according to the New York Post.

During the month that Epstein was incarcerated before his apparent suicide, Tartaglione claimed in a recent pardon application that his cellmate had the opportunity to save his skin by throwing the sitting president under the bus.

“Prosecutors … told Epstein that if he said President Trump was involved with Esptein’s crimes he would walk free. in a petition to be pardoned,” according to the Post, which said it had obtained a copy of the filing.

“Epstein told me that Maurene Comey said that he didn’t have to prove anything, as long as President Trump’s people could not disprove it,” the pardon application added.

“According to Maurene Comey, the FBI were ‘her people, not his [President Trump’s].’”

Maurene Comey’s father was forced out of his role as FBI director roughly two years prior. However, questions have continued to swirl about the dubious loyalties of officials including then-Attorney General William Barr and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Even so, questions about Tartaglione’s credibility may outweigh the suspicions against the Deep State.

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Grassley, Durbin: DOJ blocking oversight of foreign intelligence courts

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to amend its procedures for congressional attendance at Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISCR) proceedings ahead of the expiration of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) next April.

The current procedures, first established by the Biden administration in November 2024, and continued under the current administration, hinder congressional oversight and conflict with Section 5(d) of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA).

“The FISC Procedures, as drafted, comport with neither the plain language nor the spirit of RISAA, and raise numerous separation of powers concerns. As the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate’s primary committee of jurisdiction over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, we are troubled by the Department’s lack of transparency and failure to engage meaningfully with our committee as these procedures were developed. We request that the Department amend the FISC Procedures to comply with the Constitution and RISAA,” the lawmakers wrote.

RISAA – signed into law in April 2024 – requires DOJ to allow select members of Congress and designated staff to attend and conduct oversight of FISC proceedings. In November 2024, the Biden DOJ implemented a policy that requires members of Congress and their staff to agree to a series of arbitrary and inappropriate procedures before being allowed to attend FISC proceedings, which the Trump administration has maintained.

Some of DOJ’s policies and procedures include:

  • Prohibiting members of Congress from sharing information with other members of Congress and members of their staff;
  • Restricting members of Congress from requesting information or documentation from participants of FISC proceedings;
  • Allowing DOJ staff to remove congressional observers, including members of Congress, from FISC proceedings at any time and at the sole discretion of DOJ;
  • Allowing only a limited number of congressional observers to attend FISC proceedings at any one time;
  • Prohibiting designated staff from attending the same FISC proceeding as their specified member of Congress; and
  • Prohibiting note taking during proceedings, despite congressional staff’s ability to maintain classified notebooks.

Read Grassley and Durbin’s letter to DOJ HERE or below.

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Judge Rips DOJ Prosecutors, Gives Comey Another Win in Federal Criminal Case

A magistrate judge on Wednesday ripped DOJ prosecutors and accused them of a slap dahs indictment against James Comey.

A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted former FBI Director James Comey in September. He was indicted on two counts – false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

Comey’s false statements charge is related to his September 2020 Senate testimony on whether he authorized leaks to the media.

In 2020, James Comey lied when he told congressional investigators that he never gave anyone permission to anonymously leak information about Hillary Clinton’s email investigation to the media.

However, evidence presented by prosecutors proves Comey gave his friend-turned-lawyer Daniel Richman permission to leak to The New York Times – and cheered it on.

The Justice Department also has other materials related to Comey’s case “on a desk” at the FBI headquarters. Comey’s lawyers accused the DOJ of withholding evidence in violation of the Constitution.

Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick scolded prosecutors for their handling of the case and said they quickly moved to “indict first, investigate second.”

Fitzpatrick also ordered the Justice Department to turn over all grand jury materials to Comey’s attorneys by Thursday.

Comey’s attorneys are arguing that some of the documents used in the indictment may be privileged.

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Here are Three Criminal Charges Pam Bondi Could Immediately Arrest Crooked Judge James Boasberg for – That He Committed in the Arctic Frost Scandal

Mike Benz has laid out a roadmap for Attorney General Pam Bondi to hold corrupt Obama-appointed Judge James Boasberg accountable.

This comes amid the exploding Arctic Frost Scandal, where the Biden DOJ’s rogue Special Counsel Jack Smith orchestrated a massive spying operation on at least ten GOP senators and other conservatives.

Senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz both confirmed this week that their official and campaign phone records were secretly subpoenaed by Special Counsel Jack Smith, with Judge Boasberg personally signing a gag order to conceal the unconstitutional seizure from them for over a year.

Senator Graham revealed on X that Verizon, his phone carrier, “was extremely irresponsible by complying” with the subpoena, calling it a “violation of the Speech and Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

He slammed both Smith and Boasberg for engaging in what he described as “legal slander” and “constitutional abuse.”

“It is now clear that my official and campaign phone records were subpoenaed by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Worse, a judicial gag order was issued prohibiting me from being informed of the subpoena for at least a year because Judge Boasberg believed that if I were informed, it would lead to witness tampering and destruction of evidence. That is legal slander. I would like to know the factual predicate for issuing the gag order.

My carrier, Verizon, was extremely irresponsible by complying with this subpoena. Instead, they should have followed AT&T’s example and declined to turn over the records because it is a violation of the speech and debate clause of the U.S. Constitution.

I also expect the House of Representatives to investigate Judge Boasberg’s potential misconduct, which could be grounds for his impeachment.

The misconduct here is worthy of a Watergate-style investigation. It is my firm belief that there should be a Senate Select Committee formed to get to the bottom of this constitutional abuse and potential ethical and legal misconduct by Jack Smith as well as any potential judicial misconduct by Judge Boasberg.

This model served the nation well during Watergate, and it is appropriate for the gravity of the offenses. This fishing expedition against at least ten Republican U.S. Senators by Special Counsel Jack Smith is the biggest violation of separation of powers in our nation’s history.

The driver of this outrageous conduct was a desire to stop President Trump’s 2024 campaign for president. Three days after Donald Trump announced he would seek the presidency on November 15, 2022, Jack Smith was appointed special counsel.

Within months, 91 felony indictments were issued primarily in the deepest blue jurisdictions of the country against President Trump. What was a trickle before his announcement became an avalanche all because he dared seek the presidency again. I am convinced that if Donald Trump had chosen not to run, none of this would have happened.”

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DOJ demands records on ‘unexplained anomalies’ in 2020 election after Fulton County did not comply with subpoena

The Department of Justice sent a letter to the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections on Thursday demanding records related to what Georgia’s board of elections has called “unexplained anomalies in vote tabulation and storage related to the 2020 election” in the county. 

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon wrote on behalf of Attorney General Pam Bondi, “On behalf of the Attorney General of the United States, we request that you present for inspection in its entirety and most original form, all records in your possession responsive to the recent subpoena issued to your office by the State Election Board.”

“The Civil Rights Division sends this request consistent with its ongoing obligations to ensure all citizens’ voting rights have been and are protected in all elections. Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (‘CRA’) empowers the Attorney General to request preserved election records,” the letter added.  

The letter cites Section 303 of the CRA, which states in part, “any record or paper required by section 20701 of this title to be retained and preserved shall, upon demand in writing by the Attorney General or his representative directed to the person having custody, possession, or control of such record or paper, be made available for inspection, reproduction, and copying at the principal office of such custodian by the Attorney General or his representative.”

Dhillon continued, “The purpose of this request is to ascertain Georgia’s compliance with various provisions of the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act including, without limitation, compliance with the provisions relating to election technology and administration standards.” “The State Election Board of your State agreed when, in a July 30, 2025 resolution, it called upon the assistance of the US Department of Justice if necessary for state officials to effect compliance with voting transparency,” Dhillon continued.

In late July, the Georgia State Elections Board voted 3-2 to pass a resolution seeking assistance from the Department of Justice to reexamine the 2020 election in Fulton County. State election board member Janice Johnston, who introduced the resolution, said at the time, “This case is not closed.”

“Transparency appears to have been frustrated at multiple turns in Georgia. The State Election Board has cited ‘unexplained anomalies in vote tabulation and storage related to the 2020 election’ in a letter to you dated November 7, 2024. The Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division has also been made aware, in correspondence to it on August 1, 2025 from voter transparency advocates, of multiple instances of government obstruction of transparency requests, including high-resolution ballot scans, signature verification documentation, and various metadata requests.”

“The Civil Rights Division appreciates your prompt attention to this matter within 15 days of today. Compliance with this request includes notifying all individuals or organizations that have access to these responsive records, even if not directly affiliated with your office.”

The state board subpoenaed Fulton County on election night in 2024 seeking documents related to the 2020 election, including ballot images, chain-of-custody forms, lists of voters, documentation of security seals, and ballot scanner paperwork. The board had reprimanded the county in May of 2024 for double-scanning at least 3,000 ballots during a recount of the 2020 election.

During the July 30 hearing in which the board voted to request the DOJ’s assistance, Johnston said, “To date, from the subpoena from November 5, 2024, not a single document has been presented to this board.”

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Justice Department Launches Investigation Into Whether Black Lives Matter Leaders Defrauded Donors

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into whether Black Lives Matter leaders defrauded donors of tens of millions of dollars.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) raised over $90 million in 2020 during and after the George Floyd riots. They also raised more than $75 million in 2021.

The donations to BLMGNF have significantly dwindled in recent years because the majority of the public no longer supports Black Lives Matter.

The Associated Press reported that DOJ prosecutors have already issued subpoenas and “at least one search warrant.”

No other details about the investigation were released.

Fox News also reported that prosecutors are investigating BLM leaders.

AP reported:

The Justice Department is investigating whether leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded donors who contributed tens of millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

In recent weeks, federal law enforcement officials have issued subpoenas and at least one search warrant as part of an investigation into the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. and other Black-led organizations that helped spark a national reckoning on systemic racism, said the people, who were not authorized to discuss an ongoing criminal probe by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

It was not clear if the investigation would result in criminal charges, but its mere existence invites fresh scrutiny to a movement that in recent years has faced criticism about its public accounting of donations they have received. The recent burst of investigative activity is also unfolding at a time when civil rights groups have raised concerns about the potential for the Trump administration to target a broad variety of progressive and left-leaning groups that have been critical of him, including those affiliated with BLM, the transgender rights movement and anti-ICE protesters.

Last year the former head of Black Lives Matter Atlanta was sentenced to prison for stealing donations to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Tyree Conyers-Page was sentenced to 42 months in prison after he was found guilty on one count of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering

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