By Sara Kropf On May 15, 2020, President Trump fired the State Department Inspector General and replaced him with a new Inspector General who has close ties to Vice President Mike Pence. Steven Linick had been the head of the State Department’s Office of Inspector...
By Sara Kropf A few weeks ago, I suggested that there were four options for Judge Emmet Sullivan related to the government's motion to dismiss the charges against Michael Flynn. At the end of the post, a little tongue in cheek, I noted that “[m]aybe, in his wisdom,...
by Andrea Moseley One of the most difficult things to do as a white-collar criminal defense attorney is defend a client against allegations in an area of the law that is vague. This is especially true when the prosecution of certain types of crime have little history...
By Sara Kropf On May 7, 2020, the Department of Justice moved to dismiss the false statement charge against former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn. This is a remarkable request for a couple of reasons. First, Flynn had already pleaded guilty to the...
By Andrea Moseley Two weeks ago, I published the first installment in this blog series. This series focuses on parallels and differences between issues surrounding political fraud and COVID-19 fundraising fraud. In this series, I will continue to explore DoJ policies...
By Sara Kropf In Part 1 of this series, we outlined the standard that the Department of Justice follows to seek forfeiture of a criminal defense attorney’s fees. If DOJ seeks forfeiture of your fees, you could find out in the forfeiture count of an indictment against...
By Andrea Moseley Both scam political action committees and COVID-19 fundraising are currently rife with opportunities for fraud. These groups labeled “scam PACs” purportedly raise money for political causes but instead, direct the money they receive from donors...
By Sara Kropf There have been heartwarming stories of good deeds during the coronavirus pandemic, from the adorable (kids helping elderly neighbors) to the downright heroic (doctors and nurses risking their own lives). But one particularly viral (pun intended)...
By Sara Kropf The Department of Justice’s Justice Manual (formerly the U.S. Attorney’s Manual) includes a section that describes “Attorney Fee Forfeiture Guidelines." Although technically not binding on anyone, the guidelines offer a helpful understanding of when and...
A personal note: We hope everyone is safe and healthy right now. We aren’t going to spam your email with what our plans are for these strange and scary times. (If you want to know, we’re working hard for our clients, writing blog posts, and hugging our kids even...