Blogs

A crucial element of the Justice Department’s fight against white collar crime is transparency — being clear about what we at the department are doing and why. As someone who has spent significant time as a defense lawyer, I know from personal experience how important it is to be able to explain to your client — whether that client is an individual or a board of directors at a publicly traded company — what is happening in an investigation, how the government might view their actions, and the risks and the benefits of proceeding in a certain way.

October’s cases include violations involving the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, animal smuggling and wildlife trafficking, emissions tampering, asbestos and hazardous waste disposal, king crab harvesting, animal welfare/animal crush statutes, vessel pollution, and more.

The USTP is warning consumer debtors of a scam operator calling itself the “Bankruptcy Fraud Watchdog Group,” which sends letters falsely accusing debtors of failing to disclose assets in their bankruptcy cases and threatening “legal consequences” such as criminal prosecution unless debtors pay a “one-time amnesty fine.” 

The nomination period for the 2025 Sunshine Week FOIA Awards is now open! Nominations are due by December 6, 2024.

The CFO Council will hold its next public meeting on November 7, 2024.

Newly issued 2024 Summary and Assessment highlights a range of efforts by agencies in key areas of FOIA administration and includes OIP guidance for further improvement. OIP also issues new Guidelines for 2025. 

September's cases include violations involving the smuggling of Marco Polo argali sheep into the U.S., and tropical birds in the Caribbean, severing of a smalltooth sawfish, selling of eagle parts, dogfighting, asbestos abatement, oil pollution, destruction of wetlands, and more.

A Request for Information aims to gather suggestions for commitments that could be included in the Sixth U.S. Open Government National Action Plan. 

The Office of Information Policy announces Annual FOIA Report, Chief FOIA Officer Report, and Quarterly Report submission deadlines and resources.  

On September 13th, we commemorated a significant milestone—the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This landmark, bipartisan legislation changed the way our nation views and responds to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Congress acknowledged these issues as critical threats to individual and public safety and, through VAWA, established important federal protections and dedicated federal grant resources to support survivors, strengthen coordinated community approaches, and improve efforts to hold offenders accountable.  VAWA resulted from...

An important area for school safety planning that is often overlooked is school accessibility for students with disabilities. Accessibility barriers in public schools remain pervasive even decades after passage of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which bars disability discrimination by recipients of federal financial assistance, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Some of these barriers pose significant problems for ensuring school safety for students with disabilities. For example, students who use wheelchairs or mobility scooters must have an effective means...

When signing the Voting Rights Act in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson called on leaders to register voters and to use the courts if necessary to defend the right.