Justice Department - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Former US ambassador to plead guilty for spying for Cuba over decades

A former U.S. ambassador will plead guilty to charges of spying for Cuba for decades, court records showed, in what the Justice Department described as one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent. WHY IT IS IMPORTANT Victor Manuel Rocha, who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, was charged in December with committing multiple federal crimes, including acting as an illegal foreign agent and using a fraudulently obtained passport. The U.S. had accused Rocha of having secretly supported Cuba and its clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against Washington since 1981. KEY QUOTES…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Trump faces 37 criminal counts in classified documents case

WORLD

SARAH N. LYNCH FORMER U.S. President Donald Trump faces 37 criminal counts that include charges of unauthorized retention of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice after he left the White House in 2021, according to federal court documents made public on Friday. The Justice Department made the charging documents public on a tumultuous day in which two of Trump's lawyers quit the case and a former aide faced charges as well. The charges stem from Trump's treatment of sensitive government materials he took with him when he left the White House in January 2021. Trump is due to make…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

U.S. Capitol riot probe prepares to ask prosecutors to charge Trump

WORLD

PATRICIA ZENGERLE THE House of Representatives committee probing the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters will vote to decide whether to ask federal prosecutors to bring multiple criminal charges against the former president. The Democratic-led panel has spent 18 months probing the unprecedented attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power by thousands of Trump backers, inspired by the Republican's false claims that his 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud. Criminal referrals to the Justice Department could be on charges including obstruction of an official proceeding…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

FBI agent used photos of female office staff as bait in sex trafficking sting -report

WORLD

SARAH N LYNCH AN FBI agent faces potential disciplinary measures after an investigation by the Justice Department's internal watchdog revealed he allegedly asked a female support staffer to provide "provocative" photos of herself that he used as bait in an undercover sex-trafficking operation. In a memo on Monday, Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the investigation led his office to discover that the agent's conduct was not an isolated incident, and there were also other cases in which agents have asked female office staff to pose as minor children or sex workers in undercover operations. While their faces were blurred and…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

In one-two punch to Trump, Justice Dept OK’s release of taxes, memo

WORLD

SARAH N. LYNCH FORMER President Donald Trump suffered twin setbacks when the Justice Department cleared the way to release his tax records and disclosed a memo showing he had urged top officials last year to falsely claim his election defeat was "corrupt." The department, reversing course from the stance it took when Trump was in office, told the Internal Revenue Service to provide the Republican businessman-turned-politician's tax records to congressional investigators - a move he has long fought. Trump was the first president in 40 years to not release his tax returns, as well as other documents, as he aimed…