"To ensure that the Department holds itself to the highest standards during discovery -- as in every stage of litigation -- in our criminal cases, and also in our civil litigation, we have taken both short-term and long-term action."

"Helping foreign countries improve their criminal justice systems so they can cooperate more effectively with us and with their neighbors in real time is an important aspect of this department’s mission."

The Department's Antitrust Division announced the details of its newly formed initiative aimed at preparing government officials and contractors to recognize and report efforts by parties to unlawfully profit from the stimulus projects that are being awarded as part of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.    

Tony West, Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the Justice Department’s Civil Division, today announced four new members of the Division’s leadership team.

Christine A. Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Antitrust Division, will participate in the eighth annual International Competition Network (ICN) conference in Zurich, Switzerland, from June 3-5, 2009. At the conference, senior government antitrust officials, private-sector antitrust experts from around the world, and representatives from intergovernmental organizations will meet to discuss competition issues.

Today, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske released President Obama’s strategy to stem the flow of illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the Southwest border and reduce associated crime and violence in the region.

"By focusing on increased cooperation between the U.S. and Mexican governments as well as enhanced communication within U.S. law enforcement agencies, the National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy we introduce today provides an effective way forward that will crack down on cartels and make our country safer."

There is no tension between a sentencing scheme that is effective and fair and one that is tough and equitable. We must work toward these twin goals and we must do so now.

Ronald Weich, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs today announced two new members of the Office’s leadership team. Mark D. Agrast and Judith Appelbaum have been appointed as Deputy Assistant Attorneys General.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced more than $8.7 million in Recovery Act funds for three communities in California to use in fighting crime and drug trafficking as part of the Justice Department’s Southwest Border Strategy.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that $500,000 in Recovery Act funds have been awarded to the Support for Harbor Area Women’s Lives (SHAWL) House, a program of the Volunteers of America of Los Angeles (VOALA).

Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden today announced plans by the Department of Justice to significantly expand its training and education operations at the National Advocacy Center (NAC), the core training facility for local, state and federal attorneys, law enforcement agents and support personnel.

The Department’s Civil Rights Division held a conference today titled 2009 Title VI Conference: Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the Legislation and Exploring Current Issues in Enforcement at the FDIC Conference Center in Arlington, Va. Approximately 400 representatives from federal, state and local agencies, community organizations and advocacy groups gathered to share new ideas and discuss trends in Title VI enforcement.

"These COPS grants we are announcing today help fulfill President Obama and Vice President Biden’s commitment to meet the challenges of our struggling economy with solutions that will keep our country safe and keep us moving forward."

The Justice Department today announced a settlement that, pending court approval, will resolve allegations that those involved in the design and construction of the Summerland Heights Apartments, a 318-unit apartment complex in Woodbridge, Va., discriminated on the basis of disability in the design and construction of the project.

"I stand here to celebrate the more than $12 million that has been awarded to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to fund the hiring and rehiring of 50 law enforcement officers in the District. These funds will provide 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for these officers for three years, and all police departments receiving the grants will then be required to retain the grant-funded positions for a fourth year."

American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia &Pfizer”) have agreed to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products.

"We seek diversity not just for its own sake, but because our nation is stronger when people from all backgrounds participate in the administration of justice."

The Department announced that it had reached a settlement with a Virginia landlord to resolve allegations that she violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The lawsuit alleged that the landlord failed to return prepaid rent and security deposits to a tenant who had terminated her lease early in order to comply with military orders to relocate from to Georgia.

The Department today awarded $723,000 in grants to twelve groups serving communities throughout the country.

Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Acting Director Kenneth E. Melson today announced the results of ATF’s Gun Runner Impact Team (GRIT) initiative, a 120-day deployment of ATF resources to the Houston Field Division to disrupt illegal firearms trafficking by Mexican drug cartels

“It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal,” Holder said.

Attorney General Holder recognizes 247 department employees and 39 other individuals outside of the department for their distinguished public service today at the 57th Annual Attorney General Awards Ceremony.

"The recipients we honor here today could all be making a lot more money working somewhere else, and could certainly spend more time with their families doing other jobs. But they have all answered the call to duty, the call to service that binds us together."

The Departments of Justice and Defense today announced forum decisions for ten detainees at Guantanamo Bay whose cases were previously charged in military commissions, including five detainees accused of conspiring to commit the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and a detainee accused of orchestrating the attack on the USS Cole

"Today we announce a step forward in bringing those we believe were responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the attack on the USS Cole to justice."

“The history of the Environment and Natural Resources Division reminds us of the importance of our nation’s public lands and natural resources to the development of this country, and the important role of the division in protecting these resources for future generations,” said Attorney General Holder.

According to the charging documents, the offenses include providing financial support to those who traveled to Somalia to fight on behalf of al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization; attending terrorist training camps operated by al-Shabaab; and fighting on behalf of al-Shabaab.

“Over the past thirteen years, the parties have tried to settle this case many, many times, each time unsuccessfully,” said Attorney General Holder.

"Thank you Secretary Salazar. Today marks another significant step forward in the government’s work to fulfill our trust obligation for hundreds of thousands of individual Native Americans. Cobell v. Salazar is one of the largest class actions ever brought against the U.S. government."

"Thank you to the Attorney General, and thank you to Secretary Salazar and Deputy Secretary Hayes for the extraordinary commitment of their Department of the Interior to bring this case to a resolution."

As a result of the new format, members of the public, including public interest organizations, scholars, and the media, will be able to more easily track FOIA performance.

"The U.S. financial system is built on trust and transparency. Our banks must know what payments they are processing and for whom. Credit Suisse’s decades-long scheme to flout the rules that govern our financial institutions robbed our system of the legitimacy that is fundamental to it success."

The new directive is part of a larger Justice Department initiative to create better communication and coordination to fight crime and promote justice in Indian Country.

The national coordinator is charged with formulating and implementing a national strategy to combat child exploitation, and with submitting the strategy and relevant reports to Congress.

The United States filed two major Clean Air Act settlements to reduce air emissions from container glass and Portland cement plants throughout the country.

“There is nothing more basic, or more important, to our work than keeping our law enforcement officers safe,” Attorney General Holder said.

As part of the Obama Administration’s Open Government Initiative, and in compliance with the Open Government Directive issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli today announced the online publication of three high-value sets of data not previously made available by the Department of Justice.

"For the first time, this crime is being commemorated as ‘National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month,’ instead of a week. This is no small feat, and I commend the Senate for its unanimous passage," said Associate Attorney General Perrelli.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the formation of a new Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property as part of a Department-wide initiative to confront the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property (IP) crimes.

"This is a direct result of what we heard from tribal leaders at the department's listening session. Tribal leaders have made it clear that a single application would significantly improve their ability to apply and receive critical federal funding, which so many of their communities depend on," said Associate Attorney General Perrelli.

The settlement agreement reached today, which is contingent on appropriation by Congress, will provide a total of $1.25 billion to African American farmers who alleged that they suffered racial discrimination in USDA farm loan programs.

The TNLC marks the first time a council composed of tribal leaders selected by tribal governments will advise Justice Department leadership on an ongoing basis.

The investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, which killed five individuals and sickened 17 others, has formally concluded.

"I’m proud of what’s been accomplished, in a very short time, by our fusion centers," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department filed a lawsuit against the owner and property manager of a 48-unit apartment complex in Ann Arbor, Mich., alleging that the defendants discriminated on the basis of race or color in the rental of apartments.

Two subsidiaries of American International Group Inc. have agreed to pay a minimum of $6.1 million to resolve allegations that they engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African American borrowers.

Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, welcomes the members of the division’s senior leadership.

The Department announced a new internship program that will employ students part-time to conduct intensive outreach efforts with Native Americans and their families whose work in the uranium industry during the Cold War benefitted the United States but exposed them to radiation and may entitle them to compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).

The workshops, which were first announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Aug. 5, 2009, are the first joint Department of Justice/USDA workshops ever to be held to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry.