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Department of Justice

The mission of the Department of Justice is:

To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. 

Source: Department of Justice

It is headed by the United States Attorney General, a cabinet position nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 

See also Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Timeline

2017.01.10Jeff Sessions, who has supported the use of waterboarding as interrogation tactic, said current law makes it “absolutely improper and illegal.” nytimes.com (See also Constitutional Issues, Jeff Sessions)
2017.01.10Senator Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Justice Department, once praised a 1924 immigration law whose chief author in the House once declared was intended to end “indiscriminate acceptance of all races.” theatlantic.com (See also First 100 Days, Immigration, Jeff Sessions)
"Trump’s pick for attorney general made the remarks during an interview with Breitbart’s Stephen Bannon, now an adviser to the president-elect."
2017.01.11Sen. Cory Booker, Rep. John Lewis and the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus warn the Senate that Sessions would “move this country backward" during the second day of his confirmation hearing. m.motherjones.com (See also Jeff Sessions, Black Americans)
2017.01.11Toomey backs Sessions for Attorney General, despite growing protests at his Philadelphia offices. phillymag.com (See also Jeff Sessions)
2017.01.13Trump expected to nominate federal prosecutor Rod Rosenstein for deputy Attorney General. cnn.com
2017.01.20Trump's Justice Department immediately asks for 30-day delay in Texas voting rights/voter ID case already struck down by conservative appeals court as being discriminatory against minorities. talkingpointsmemo.com
2017.01.30Acting Attorney General Sally Yates orders Justice Department not to defend Trump's executive order on immigration in court, stating concerns about its legality. nytimes.com (See also Immigration, Muslim Immigration Ban, Immigrants, Muslims)
2017.01.30Acting attorney general Sally Yates writes to Justice Department lawyers, describing ‘solemn obligation to seek justice and stand for what is right’, and instructs them not to defend Trump migration order and Trump fires her three hours later. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, Jeff Sessions, Assaults on Government)
2017.01.30Trump fires acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she orders government lawyers not to defend Muslim immigration ban. nytimes.com (See also Muslim Immigration Ban, Muslims, Immigration, Presidential Activity, Immigrants, Assaults on Government)
2017.01.30Trump’s hard-line actions have an intellectual godfather: Jeff Sessions washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Jeff Sessions, Nationalism, Immigration, Trade, Jared Kushner, Rick Dearborn)
"Bannon described Sessions as “the clearinghouse for policy and philosophy” in Trump’s administration, saying he and the senator are at the center of Trump’s “pro-America movement” and the global nationalist phenomenon."
2017.01.31Dozens of lawsuits were filed against immigration order. clearinghouse.net (See also Lawsuits, Muslim Immigration Ban, John Kelley, Immigrants, First 100 Days, Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly)
2017.02.01U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee votes to advance Senator Jeff Sessions's Attorney General nomination to the full Senate. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Jeff Sessions)
2017.02.07Jeff Merkley reads Coretta Scott King's letter about Jeff Sessions on Senate floor, unrebuked by Republicans, after Republicans prevented Elizabeth Warren from reading it. oregonlive.com (See also First 100 Days, Jeff Sessions)
2017.02.08ACLU vows to sue Sessions if he violates Constitution as attorney general. thehill.com (See also First 100 Days, Assaults on Civil Liberties, Jeff Sessions)
2017.02.08In silencing Sen. Warren, a new feminist rally cry born: 'Nevertheless, she persisted' chicagotribune.com (See also First 100 Days, Jeff Sessions)
2017.02.08Jeff Sessions confirmed as attorney general despite controversies. theguardian.com (See also Jeff Sessions, First 100 Days)
2017.02.08Million-name petition urges Senate to deny Jeff Sessions confirmation. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Jeff Sessions)
2017.02.13Justice Department warned White House that Flynn could be vulnerable to Russian blackmail. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Michael Flynn, Russia)
2017.02.13Sessions's hardline stance on youth incarceration at odds with public's views. theguardian.com (See also Jeff Sessions)
2017.02.15Given the evidence that voter identification laws suppress minority voting, how will Jeff Sessions's Justice Department deal with these laws, in Texas and elsewhere? washingtonpost.com (See also Jeff Sessions, Voter Suppression, Assessment)
2017.02.15House Oversight Chairman Chaffetz asks Department of Justice inspector general to investigate leaks about Flynn rather than communications between Flynn, the Trump team, and Russia. politico.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election, Michael Flynn)
2017.02.16All nine Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats call on Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from any Justice Department invesitgations into Trump-Russia communications and Russian interference in the 2016 election. feinstein.senate.gov (See also Jeff Sessions, Russian Meddling in Election, First 100 Days)
2017.02.16Deutsche Bank looks for evidence of whether loans to Trump were underpinned by guarantees from Moscow after Trump declares his intent to run for President. theguardian.com (See also Conflicts of Interest, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Russia, The Trump Organization)
2017.02.16Trump plans to rescind his immigration ban executive order and issue a new executive order to eliminate "erroneous constitutional concerns" after an appeals court loss, according to Justice Department court filing. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Immigration, Muslim Immigration Ban)
2017.02.21Trump's DHS guidelines aggressively target all 11 million illegal aliens, discarding Obama-era restraints. washingtonpost.com (See also Immigrants, Immigration)
Officials said the new guidelines to beef up border enforcement will be handled “humanely.”
2017.02.22According to three Republicans with knowledge of the situation, Betsy DeVos wanted to keep protections for transgender schoolchildren in place but was overruled by Trump and Jeff Sessions. slate.com (See also Betsy DeVos, LGBTQIA, Department of Education, Jeff Sessions, First 100 Days)
2017.02.23Attorney General Jeff Sessions reverses an Obama-era directive to stop using private prisons. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Jeff Sessions)
2017.02.23Sean Spicer says Justice Department will "take action" against states that have legalized marijuana. townhall.com (See also First 100 Days, Sean Spicer)
2017.02.23Spicer said he expects states to be subject to “greater enforcement” of federal laws against marijuana use washingtonpost.com (See also Domestic Policy, Sean Spicer)
2017.02.28Jeff Sessions claims legal cannabis causes violent crime despite lack of any evidence. independent.co.uk (See also Jeff Sessions, Drugs)
2017.03.01Justice Department officials say Attorney General Jeff Sessions, charged with leading investigation into Russian interference in U.S. election, lied under oath about contact with Russian ambassador in 2016 while he was part of Trump's campaign team. washingtonpost.com (See also Jeff Sessions, Russian Meddling in Election, Corruption)
2017.03.03Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) shoots down a Democratic push for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to return to the Senate's Judiciary committee to discuss his conversations with the Russian ambassador. thehill.com (See also First 100 Days, Jeff Sessions)
2017.03.10Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeks resignation of 46 United States attorneys because they were hired by the Obama administration. bigstory.ap.org (See also Jeff Sessions)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeks resignation of 46 United States attorneys remaining from prior administration.
2017.03.10Trump abruptly orders 46 Obama appointed Federal Prosecutors to resign. nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days, Assaults on Government, Fascism)
The president told the holdover United States attorneys to tender their resignations immediately, including — surprisingly — Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan.
2017.03.10U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly asks the remaining 46 chief federal prosecutors left over from the Obama administration to resign, including Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who was asked to stay on in November by Trump. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Jeff Sessions)
2017.03.13Department of Justice asks for more time to respond to a request from lawmakers for evidence about Trump's allegation that then-President Barack Obama wiretapped him during the 2016 election campaign. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Jeff Sessions, False Statements)
2017.03.14Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, says he is confident the Justice Department will provide evidence to support Trump’s unproven accusation that his predecessor spied on him. nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days)
2017.03.15FBI Director James Comey briefs leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee and agrees to testify publicly regarding Russian meddling in the presidential election. secure.politico.com (See also FBI, Russian Meddling in Election)
2017.04.04The Trump administration signals that it may back out of federal agreements that force police departments to curb racial bias and excessive force. apnews.com (See also Jeff Sessions, Black Americans, First 100 Days)
A lawsuit in the 1990s had Alabama poised to fund poor black school districts as fairly as wealthy white schools. As attorney general Jeff Sessions helped kill it. propublica.org (See also Jeff Sessions)