Category Archives: DOJ policy and practice

Investigating the Investigators: Highlights from Recent DOJ OIG Investigations

Posted on July 17, 2019 by

By Dan Portnov Office of Inspector General investigations don’t always make the news. After all, no one ends up in jail or paying back billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains as a result (usually). However, one federal agency’s OIG seems … Continue reading →

Posted in DOJ policy and practice, OIG investigations | 2 Comments

Should DOJ Indict President Trump But Seal the Indictment?

Posted on June 6, 2019 by

Given the position of the Office of Legal Counsel that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted, there has been some talk (including by me) about the possibility of indicting President Trump now but keeping the indictment under seal until he … Continue reading →

Posted in DOJ policy and practice, Indictment, Speedy Trial Act, Statute of Limitations | Tagged | Leave a comment

Outsourcing DOJ Investigations?

Posted on May 7, 2019 by

By Dan Portnov Last week, the government moved one tiny step closer to being able to “outsource” its criminal investigations to non-DOJ actors. In a post-trial order, Southern District of New York Chief Judge Colleen McMahon excoriated the government for … Continue reading →

Posted in DOJ policy and practice, internal investigation | Leave a comment

Roger Stone’s Early-Morning Arrest: Stop the Perp Walk

Posted on January 25, 2019 by

If you read my Twitter feed, you may know that I am a bit left of center when it comes to politics. Ok, I’m a lot left of center. But, like so many criminal defense lawyers, I don’t judge my … Continue reading →

Posted in DOJ policy and practice, FBI policy and practice | Tagged | 2 Comments

Government Contractors Conducting Investigations: A New Normal?

Posted on August 6, 2018 by

By Dan Portnov Here in DC, government contractors are everywhere and vital to keeping nearly all federal agencies running. Absent an Edward Snowden-level scandal, the integration of contractors and their day-to-day work in government offices largely goes unnoticed (and underappreciated). … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Investigation, DOJ policy and practice | Leave a comment

Prosecutors Sure Do Love the Perp Walk

Posted on June 27, 2018 by

By Sara Kropf I recently listened to Preet Bharara’s podcast on a long car ride. He’s the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. After months of conducting interviews of government-side subjects—prosecutors, FBI agents and the … Continue reading →

Posted in DOJ policy and practice, Insider Trading | Tagged | 1 Comment

Surviving Parallel Proceedings

Posted on June 19, 2018 by

  By Dan Portnov Late last week the other shoe finally dropped for Theranos founder and ex-CEO Elizabeth Holmes, as she and fellow executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani were indicted on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Following … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Investigation, DOJ policy and practice, SEC Investigation, SEC policy and practice, Wiretaps | 2 Comments

The Department of Justice Should Drop the Inauguration Day Protest Cases

Posted on June 11, 2018 by

The Department of Justice has been humiliated in its misguided prosecution of over two hundred Inauguration Day protestors. It has lost every single case to go to trial. It has engaged in intentional violations of the rules. And it has … Continue reading →

Posted in Acquittal After Jury Trial, Brady violations, Discovery/Brady, DOJ policy and practice, First Amendment | Tagged | 1 Comment

Doing the Government’s Laundry

Posted on April 23, 2018 by

By Dan Portnov In certain legal (nerd) circles, coining a phrase or term of art is one of the surest ways to achieve immortality – think Tim Wu’s first use of “network neutrality” in a 2003 journal article or Justice … Continue reading →

Posted in Brady violations, Criminal Investigation, Deferred Prosecution Agreement, Discovery/Brady, DOJ policy and practice, Securities fraud | Leave a comment

The Search Warrant for Lawyer Michael Cohen’s Office – How Did That Happen? DOJ Policies Reviewed

Posted on April 9, 2018 by

On April 9, 2018, news broke that the FBI had raided the office of President Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen. Apparently the search was the result of referral from Special Counsel Mueller’s team to the SDNY U.S. Attorney’s Office. When I … Continue reading →

Posted in DOJ policy and practice, Public Corruption, Search warrant | Tagged | 8 Comments