LISA MONACO

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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

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

The Justice Department says it has seized Bitcoin worth millions of dollars that was part of what Colonial Pipeline paid to get control of its systems back from hackers.

The Justice Department has recovered the majority of a multimillion-dollar ransom payment to hackers after a cyberattack that caused the operator of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline to halt its operations last month.

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.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco warned that business leaders need to do more to prepare for an onslaught of ransomware attacks.

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco convened the first meeting of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Launched earlier this month, the Task Force is marshalling the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across the federal government to enhance enforcement efforts against COVID-19 related fraud. In launching the first meeting of the Task Force, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told the members that the “aim of the Task Force is to join forces against fraud and protect the integrity of government funds.”The Task Force members discussed several of their priority goals, including increased efforts to combat fraud related to COVID-19 relief programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as unemployment insurance benefits. The Deputy Attorney General closed by stressing that a well-informed public is the strongest weapon in preventing fraud and reiterating the Task Force's commitment to educating individuals and businesses about how they can best protect themselves. For more information on the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, visit: Attorney General Announces Task Force to Combat COVID-19 Fraud | OPA | Department of Justice

The DOJ said Wednesday it charged 14 people in Covid-related health-care fraud schemes that allegedly bilked consumers and insurers out of $143 million.

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.

They are leaders of great ability and integrity, and I am very happy that they have returned to serve again at the Justice Department. The Justice Department is also charged with ensuring that the constitutional and federal statutory rights of all people are protected. Those investigations, and the recommendations and actions that ensue, do not only protect individuals’ civil rights. Those qualities are necessary to building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. As in every Justice Department investigation, we will follow the facts and the law wherever they lead.

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 will no longer take an Amtrak train to Washington ahead of Inauguration Day next week, according to a person familiar with the plans. As of Tuesday, the Biden team was still planning the train arrival event, CBS News was told. A Biden transition spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that Lisa Monaco, former homeland security adviser to President Obama, will serve as a temporary advisor to the transition on homeland security surrounding the Inauguration. "Ms. Monaco will assist the President-elect and work with the incoming National Security Advisor, the incoming Homeland Security Advisor, and current security and law enforcement officials, including with the United States Secret Service on their plans for the Inauguration. This is an all-hands-on-deck period, but the goal is to quickly and seamlessly turn full responsibility to the incoming Homeland Security Advisor and team as soon as possible. "

President-elect Joe Biden will no longer take an Amtrak train to Washington ahead of Inauguration Day next week, according to a person familiar with the plans. As of Tuesday, the Biden team was still planning the train arrival event, CBS News was told. A Biden transition spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that Lisa Monaco, former homeland security adviser to President Obama, will serve as a temporary advisor to the transition on homeland security surrounding the Inauguration. "Ms. Monaco will assist the President-elect and work with the incoming National Security Advisor, the incoming Homeland Security Advisor, and current security and law enforcement officials, including with the United States Secret Service on their plans for the Inauguration. This is an all-hands-on-deck period, but the goal is to quickly and seamlessly turn full responsibility to the incoming Homeland Security Advisor and team as soon as possible. "

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.

Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland speaks during an event with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. 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. Biden is expected to announce Garland’s appointment on Thursday, along with other senior leaders of the department, including former 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 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.