Trump’s Justice Department ends Biden-era task force aimed at seizing assets of Russian oligarchs

The section besides ended the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established successful the archetypal Trump medication to constabulary power campaigns staged by Russia and different nations aimed astatine sowing discord, undermining ideology and spreading disinformation. The US authorities successful the run-up to the 2024 statesmanlike predetermination aggressively moved to disrupt propaganda campaigns by Russia, which officials person assessed had a penchant for Trump.

In a memo addressed to each employees Wednesday — the archetypal time of Bondi’s tenure — the lawyer general’s bureau stated that “attorneys assigned to those initiatives shall instrumentality to their anterior posts, and resources presently devoted to those efforts shall beryllium committed to the full elimination of Cartels and TCOs” — an acronym for Transnational Criminal Organizations.

The Trump medication has made combating the illicit travel of fentanyl into the U.S. a priority. The opioid is blamed for immoderate 70,000 overdose deaths annually.

The Justice Department connected Wednesday besides shifted its attack to enforcement of a World War II-era instrumentality known arsenic the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires radical to disclose to the authorities erstwhile they lobby successful the US connected behalf of overseas governments — including Russia — oregon governmental entities. Under the argumentation change, prosecutors were directed to absorption transgression enforcement connected acts of much accepted espionage alternatively than registration violations.

Despite the disbanding of the task force, Trump medication officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, person called for a much assertive stance connected Russia. During his confirmation hearing, Bessent advocated for stronger sanctions connected Russian oil, saying the Biden administration’s sanctions authorities wasn’t “muscular” enough.

“I judge the erstwhile medication was disquieted astir raising U.S. vigor prices during an predetermination season,” helium said.

Trump has said helium volition bring astir a accelerated extremity to the warfare successful Ukraine and said talks are ongoing to bring the struggle to a close. “We made a batch of advancement connected Russia, Ukraine,” Trump said earlier this week. “We’ll spot what happens. We’re going to halt that ridiculous war.”

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