Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice

The President’s directive to expand timber production touches on a number, whole-of-government efforts needed to improve forest management. The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) plays an important role in defending those agencies’ actions, and recently the division successfully defended projects in Montana, Idaho, and California that underscore this work.

In Montana, ENRD defended the Forest Service’s South Plateau Landscape Area Treatment Project on the Custer Gallatin National Forest. The project is designed to increase landscape resiliency to insects and disease, help protect a nearby community from wildland fire and contribute to a sustained yield of timber products. The magistrate judge recommended the district court uphold the project after finding, among other things, consistent and science-based support in the project’s approach to grizzly bear and lynx and their habitat.

In the Central District of California, ENRD defended the North Big Bear Landscape Restoration Project in the San Bernardino National Forest. The project will thin trees and reduce wildfire risk, and the district court’s decision affirmed the Forest Service’s review of the science and makes clear that thinning trees is not always controversial and thus subject to additional levels of scrutiny.

A third case in Idaho focused on two large forest health restoration projects on Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests in Idaho. The projects will improve forest health, reduce fire risk, and provide timber that will support the social and economic structure of local rural communities and provide for regional and national needs. The Forest Service had done an extensive environmental impact statement and other work to comply with a 2021 order from the district court. The court found that the Forest Service’s work addressed its concerns and provided thorough analyses, paving the way for the projects to proceed.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Thank you, Deputy Attorney General Blanche. I thank both you and Attorney General Bondi for your strong support for DOJ antitrust enforcement.

In a time of political division in our nation, this case against Google brings everyone together. This case was filed during President Trump’s first term and litigated across three administrations. It has unified our nation. Forty-nine states, two territories and the District of Columbia have all joined the Department of Justice in prosecuting Google here. And for good reason.

Each generation has called for the DOJ to challenge a behemoth that crushed competition. In decades past, it was Standard Oil and AT&T. Today’s behemoth is Google. It is a gatekeeper for our commerce and our information. It is so ubiquitous and so powerful that it interacts with millions of Americans, billions of times per day. Fortunately, DOJ’s Antitrust Division exists for cases just like this one.

Today begins the final chapter for this historic litigation. The Court has already decided liability and judge Mehta has made two things clear: one, Google is a monopolist and two, Google broke the law. We are not here to relitigate the case, we are here to ask the Court to fix the harm from Google’s unlawful conduct.

The Google search case matters because nothing less than the future of the internet is at stake here. Are we going to give Americans choices and allow innovation and competition to thrive online? Or will we maintain the status quo that favors Big Tech monopolies? If Google’s conduct is not remedied, it will control much of the internet for the next decade and not just in internet search, but in new technologies like artificial intelligence.

The Trump administration has prioritized policies that support and advance artificial intelligence. But nothing will advance AI faster than an open and competitive marketplace free from gatekeepers and monopolies. For almost two centuries, American technological dynamism has been built on innovation, and innovation is built on competition. This is the American way.

In its defense, Google asks the Court to keep the status quo. It seeks to tell the judge that there is nothing to see here, even though the same judge has already found Google liable. Google wants to keep the fruits of its misconduct intact, as though the DOJ had never taken action and judge Mehta had never written his 277-page opinion.

Worse still, Google has called the DOJ’s proposed remedies “dangerous” and “irresponsible.” Not so. You know what is dangerous? The threat Google presents to our freedom of speech, to our freedom of thought, to free American digital markets. You know what is irresponsible? Leaving Google’s monopoly abuse unaddressed.

In the trial beginning today, our exceptional team at the Antitrust Division will explain why robust remedies are required to restore and unleash competition. The online search market has been frozen in place for decades, and a free market will not be restored overnight. Please remember this important fact as you learn more about the DOJ’s proposed remedies in this case.

Finally, a word of thanks to the men and women of the DOJ Antitrust Division. I am so very proud of the team that brought this case to where it is today and want to thank them for their diligence and service to the country. Thank you for your time and attention. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Good morning. Today, the Department of Justice takes an important step forward to protect the American people from the perils of Big Tech. President Trump took the first big step in 2020 when his Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google to challenge its dominance over internet search. Today, as the remedies phase of that case begins, President Trump’s Justice Department will finish the job.

Monopolies are incompatible with free markets and freedom more generally. The American dream is about more than cheap goods and services. Our values rest on freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom to innovate, and freedom to live outside the controlling hand of a monopolist. Power should rest with the people, not with Big Tech. That principle applies to the internet, which today is central to the lives of most Americans.

The court has already concluded that Google is a monopolist. And as a monopolist, Google uses its market power against the American people. It has control of an extraordinary amount of data about ordinary Americans. Google has deplatformed conservative speech and has put its thumb on the scale politically for years. All of this behavior is downstream from Google’s monopoly power over internet search.

This antitrust case addresses that monopoly power. The Department has asked the court to impose remedies that will ensure Google can never again wield such dominance over internet search. The proposed remedies will ensure that the people enjoy vigorous competition and choice online. And we ask the Court to ensure Google cannot prevent its rivals from achieving scale. 

This marks an important step in President Trump’s fight to restore power back to the American people. I am proud of the hard work of the men and women of the Antitrust Division over the last five years who have investigated and litigated the case to reach this moment. Now, time to finish the job.

Let me hand over to Gail Slater, our exceptional Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

On Thursday, a federal grand jury indicted a man for his alleged role in smuggling an unaccompanied alien child (UAC) to the United States and for allegedly submitting a sponsorship application with false statements to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to gain custody of the minor after she entered the United States.

“The prior administration’s border policies created an environment that enabled human trafficking and allowed bad actors to take advantage of at-risk children,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We are committed to protecting children from the scourge of human trafficking and will not rest until we deliver justice for those who suffered during the border crisis.”

According to the indictment, Juan Tiul Xi, 26, a Guatemalan national unlawfully residing in Cleveland, illegally entered the United States in 2023. Thereafter, Tiul Xi allegedly encouraged and induced a 14-year-old Guatemalan girl to illegally enter the United States and to use the identity of Tiul Xi’s sister as her alias. As a UAC, the Guatemalan girl was placed in the care and custody of ORR. As alleged, Tiul Xi then falsely stated on documents submitted to ORR when he applied to sponsor and obtain custody of the girl that he was the UAC’s brother and that her alias was her actual name. ORR relied on Tiul Xi’s alleged false statements when, on or about Sept. 5, 2023, ORR released the UAC to Tiul Xi’s care.

Tiul Xi is charged with one count of encouraging or inducing illegal entry for financial gain, one count of making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement, and one count of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the illegal entry count, a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the false statement count, and a mandatory consecutive penalty of two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“This case is a testament to ICE’s commitment to hold predators accountable for the harm they inflict on children,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons. “We are making every effort to ensure the safety of children released to sponsors across the United States. This is vital work and through their victim centered approach, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents are perfectly positioned to uncover any similar crimes by predatory sponsors.”

“The Office of Refugee Resettlement is committed to continuing vital policy changes that promote the safety and welfare of unaccompanied alien children related into the Unites States,” said ORR Acting Director Angie M. Salazar. “We have significantly increased sponsor vetting with the wellbeing of the child at the core of our process. We hope that our commitment is evident by our collaboration with law enforcement to right previous wrongs and help bring these crimes to light.”

The indictment is the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations, and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 360 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 325 U.S. convictions; more than 270 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

The ICE HSI and FBI Cleveland field offices are jointly investigating with assistance from HSI’s Attaché team in Guatemala. Additionally, HSI’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking in Washington, D.C. and ORR have provided valuable assistance.

Senior Trial Attorney Christian Levesque of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), Joint Task Force Alpha detailee/Trial Attorney Spencer M. Perry of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Acting U.S. Attorney Carol Skutnik and Criminal Division Chief Michael L. Collyer for the Northern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case, with assistance from HRSP Analyst/Latin America Specialist Joanna Crandall.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

An MS-13 member and Honduran national, illegally in the United States, was sentenced today to 147 months in prison for kidnapping, retaliating against a federal witness, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on Nov. 5, 2023, Bayron Wuifredo Santos-Recarte, 27, of Honduras, together with other associates of La Mara Salvatrucha 13, better known as MS-13, kidnapped a former federal witness at gunpoint in the parking lot of a laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee. The witness was kidnapped because, eight months prior, he had testified during a federal racketeering trial against MS-13 members. Specifically, the witness testified that MS-13 members tried to shoot and murder him on two occasions over a drug dispute.

During the kidnapping, the victim was held in a truck for hours while being assaulted with a firearm, hammer, and machete. While Santos-Recarte and others assaulted the witness, they also questioned him about why he testified against MS-13 and threatened him with death. After the victim was finally able to escape and call for help, he was treated at a local hospital for serious injuries, which included fractured bones, internal bleeding, and an injury to his kidney.

“The defendant, an MS-13 member, kidnapped a former federal witness and tortured him with a machete, hammer, and gun. This violence and obstruction of the American legal system is core MS-13 conduct and exemplifies why MS-13 has been designated a foreign terrorist organization,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department remains focused on eliminating this organization. There is more to come. Thank you to the prosecutors, ATF, and our local law enforcement partners for their relentless pursuit of justice.”

“We will do whatever it takes to protect witnesses from harm,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee. “If a witness is retaliated against, our office will bring the full might of federal law enforcement to bear on holding those responsible accountable for their crimes.”

“On numerous occasions, individuals are silenced from ‘speaking out’ due to threats, intimidation, or the risks of serious harm,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Stankiewicz of the Nashville Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “In this case, the victim/witness was kidnapped, terrorized, and physically assaulted by relentless, gang-affiliated criminals. Witness intimidation is a serious federal offense and anyone who retaliates against a government witness will be held fully accountable under the law. ATF remains committed to working alongside our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners to reduce violent crime and diminish the presence and influence of these dangerous and deadly criminal organizations in the communities that we serve.”

When identified as one of the kidnappers and confronted by law enforcement, Santos-Recarte admitted driving the truck used in the kidnapping and knowing that the witness testified against MS-13 members during a trial. Santos-Recarte also admitted helping others force the witness into the truck at gunpoint and being present while others assaulted the victim. When federal agents arrested Santos-Recarte, he was in possession of an assault rifle.

In December 2024, Santos-Recarte pleaded guilty to kidnapping, retaliation against a federal witness, unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, and conspiracy charges. After he serves his sentence, he will be deported from the United States.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Explosives, and Firearms investigated the case with assistance from the Metro Nashville Police Department.

Trial Attorneys Matthew Hoff and Christopher Matthews of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Safeeullah of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee prosecuted the case.