What is Department of Justice?
The Department of Justice is the United States federal executive department responsible for law enforcement and the administration of justice. Accounts from practitioners and officials describe how its investigative and legal machinery operates in practice, from novel surveillance techniques to indemnity negotiations and cross-border evidence requests.
Company timeline
- May 2026 - Andy Kim said Department of Justice lawyers declined to assert fraud in a matter under discussion.
- Jun 2026 - Jack Rhysider said the Department of Justice conducted a wiretap on a server, the first such wiretap in its history.
- Jun 2026 - Rhysider said the department worked with its Office of International Affairs to create a faster, abbreviated version of the mutual legal assistance process.
- Sep 2026 - Mike Schmidt said DOJ guidance governs how indemnities can be used, and that lawyers negotiate with DOJ while negotiating with companies.
Where it appears in the record
Every line below is attributed to a named speaker.
The wiretap placed on a server during the Bayrob investigation was the first server wiretap in the history of the Department of Justice.
“This was the first time in the history of the Department of Justice that we did a wiretap on a server.”Jack Rhysider · 2 Jun 2026
During CHIPS deal negotiations, U.S. government lawyers were simultaneously negotiating indemnity rules with the DOJ, revealing a structural conflict in the government's own negotiating process.
“There's DOJ guidance on how indemnities can be used and so our lawyers are actually negotiating with DOJ while we're negotiating with the companies.”Mike Schmidt · 4 Sep 2026
DOJ lawyers in a civil case formally disavowed any fraud claim against GGRF recipients, directly undercutting the administration's own public fraud accusations against grantees.
“Department of Justice lawyers said no, we're not asserting any fraud here.”Andy Kim · 21 May 2026
The DOJ created an abbreviated MLAT process specifically for cybercrime because the standard mutual legal assistance treaty process was too slow to track rapidly changing criminal infrastructure.
“We had to work with our office of international affairs to create a faster process or a abbreviated version of the MLA process.”Jack Rhysider · 2 Jun 2026