Monday, Jan. 23

Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against former top FBI agent Charles McGonigal, who has been charged with violating United States law by aiding sanctioned Russian energy magnate Oleg Deripaska.
The Treasury Department issued another round of sanctions against Iranian officials and entities in response to the Middle Eastern country’s crackdown on ongoing anti-government protests. The sanctions were set in place in coordination with the European Union and United Kingdom to target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cooperative Foundation, five of its board members, and four senior corps commanders.
Richard Barnett, the Capitol insurrection participant who was photographed with his foot on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk, was found guilty on all eight counts that he faced related to his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Charges include civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding.
A jury convicted four members of far-right extremist group the Oath Keepers on charges of seditious conspiracy over their roles in the Capitol riot. All were also found guilty of various obstruction and other felony charges.

Tuesday, Jan. 24

President Joe Biden named career diplomat Julie Turner as special envoy for human rights in North Korea. Turner currently heads the Asia section of the State Department’s human rights bureau and previously worked on North Korean human rights as a special assistant in the envoy’s office.
Classified documents were recovered at the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence. Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, have both recently been involved in investigations regarding their handling of classified materials.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen activated a cash management measure to avoid breaching the U.S.’s $31.4 trillion federal debt limit by suspending daily reinvestments in the Government Securities Investment Fund, a large government retirement fund that holds Treasury debt.
NASA announced that it plans to partner with the U.S. military to develop a nuclear thermal propulsion engine and launch it into space by 2027. The project is named the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations, or DRACO.
The Justice Department sued Google, alleging the tech giant uses anti-competitive and unlawful means to stifle competition for digital advertising revenue. The federal government filed the antitrust lawsuit in conjunction with eight states, including California.

Wednesday, Jan. 25

Biden announced that the U.S. will provide Ukraine with American-made Abrams battle tanks, which he described as the “most capable” in the world, to further bolster Ukraine’s defenses against Russia.
The Secret Service released a report investigating commonalities among incidents of mass violence in public spaces throughout the country. The report identified 173 targeted attacks between 2016 to 2020 and concluded that “targeted violence is preventable when communities are equipped with the appropriate tools, training and resources to intervene before violence occurs.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that the federal investigation into the police killing of Tyre Nichols in Tennessee “may take some time.”
The State Department announced that it is restricting entry into the U.S. to people “believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Nigeria,” ahead of the west African country’s elections this year.
Dairo Antonio Usuga David, a former Colombian drug trafficker known colloquially as “Otoniel,” admitted in federal court to overseeing a network of criminal operations, including a drug cartel and violent paramilitary group known as the Clan del Golfo. He pleaded guilty to charges of drug distribution and running a continuing criminal enterprise.

Thursday, Jan. 26

The Biden Administration formally labeled the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group, as a “transnational criminal organization.” The label sanctions the group by freezing its assets in the U.S. and prohibiting American citizens from providing support to it.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Justice Department shut down an alleged ransomware network known as Hive, which is accused of extorting more than $100 million from more than 1,500 victims around the world. “Cybercrime is a constantly evolving threat,” Garland said. “But as I have said before, the Justice Department will spare no resource to identify and bring to justice, anyone, anywhere, who targets the United States with a ransomware attack.”
A U.S. government advisory panel recommended adding a Middle East and North Africa, or “MENA,” category to the U.S. Census in support of a longstanding push by Arab-American activists who have advocated creating a response category for such demographics that is separate and distinct from the ‘White’ category.

Friday, Jan. 27

Biden named Jeff Zients, former COVID-19 policy coordinator, as the new White House chief of staff. Zients will replace Ron Klain, who is resigning after two years.
The Justice Department charged three people in an alleged, botched, Iran-backed plot to assassinate an undisclosed Iranian-American journalist. “These charges arise out of an ongoing investigation into the government of Iran’s efforts to assassinate on U.S. soil a journalist, author and human rights activist who is a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin,” Attorney General Garland said.

Saturday, Jan. 28

Sunday, Jan. 29