In Hunter v. United States (here), the Court looked at how rigid is a plea waiver that precluded the right to appeal except for a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Petitioner was charged with bank and wire fraud involving financial institutions. Although charged with ten counts, he pleaded guilty to one count of aiding

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The Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion written by Justice Kagan, let the government know that when charging 18 U.S.C. §1519, the SOX obstruction statute, venue needs to be where the alleged falsification occurred. See opinion here. Abouammo, a former Twitter employee, was alleged to have “provided confidential information to a high-level Saudi official about

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In Memoriam: G. Robert Blakey, the William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neill Professor of Law Emeritus, Notre Dame Law School here. To me (and likely others) – Professor Blakey was the father of the Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organization Act (RICO). RIP Professor Blakey. (esp)

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Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted here. (esp)

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DOJ issued an indictment today against the Southern Poverty Law Center – here. It charges six counts of wire fraud, four counts of false statements to a federally insured bank, and one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. It alleges that “[t]o carry out this scheme and artifice, the SPLC explicitly sought donations

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Previously reported here, is the NACDL creation of a DOJ Tracker. Now online, is the Year One Report of this Tracker. The Report focuses on two observations and the first is particularly interesting – “the lack of consistency and transparency in the reporting of “no true bills” issued by grand juries.” There is a logical

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On April 7, 2026, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche (note the DOJ website as of this morning still has Pamela Bondi as AG – update showing on 4/13/26) issued a Memorandum (here) that creates the National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED). This division is to provide a centralized body for the investigation and prosecution of fraud

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A by-the-book Republican who served nonpolitically as the director of the FBI. His extraordinary work on protection of national security following 9-11 will be remembered. The Mueller Report, a public Report, told us all of the Russian Interference in the 2016 election. When called to serve – he did. Whether it be to fight in

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Guest Blogger – Kaleb Byars On March 10, 2026, the DOJ issued its Department-wide Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (the “Policy”).  According to a press release issued the same day, the Policy supersedes all previously-existing component-specific self-disclosure policies (except those relating to antitrust).  Among other things, the Policy is designed to promote voluntary self-disclosure of corporate criminal conduct

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My new draft article, “Smart Crime” can be found here – As AI grows increasingly sophisticated and autonomous, the absence of a dedicated criminal law framework mirrors the early struggles with computer crimes, when shoehorning misconduct into existing statutes like wire fraud and espionage were ineffective. This Article demonstrates the inadequacy of existing law to

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