Approvals, Consultations, and Notifications

CRM Components – SUMMARY OF APPROVALS

Assistant Attorney General

Approvals:

prosecutions of aircraft sabotage under 18 U.S.C. § 32(b) (9-63.221)
requests to seek the death penalty, and indictments charging capital-eligible offenses (9-10.060 through 9-10.080)
plea agreements that precede a decision on whether to seek the death penalty. (9-10.120)
plea agreements in a torture, war crimes, or genocide matter (9-2.139(F))
dismissals based on agency refusal to produce documents (9-2.159)
non-prosecution agreements in exchange for cooperation when: 1) consultation or approval is required for a declination or dismissal of the relevant charge; or, 2) the person is a) a federal, state, or local official, b) an official or agent of a federal investigative or law enforcement agency, or c) a person who is, or likely to become, of major public interest. (9-27.640)

Capital Case Unit (CCS)

Approvals:

indictments for any capital-eligible offense (9-10.060)

Consultations:

regarding indictment and procedure of a Title 21 capital offense that occurred before March 6, 2006 (9-10.020)

Notifications:

upon charging of any capital offense (9-10.180)

Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS)

Consultations:

regarding development of any USAO-supervised nationwide investigation (9-75.110)

Notifications:

regarding significant prosecutions and judicial decisions involving child pornography, child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation and obscenity in each district (9-75.030)
regarding investigations of sex trafficking of minors under 18 U.S.C. § 1591 (9-75.030)
regarding forthcoming charges or plea agreements with a target conducting business in, or committing crimes in, more than one district (9-75.100)

Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS)

Approvals:

warrant to seize work product or other documentary materials of a person reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast, or other similar public communications governed by Title I of the Privacy Protection Act (9-19.240)

Consultations:

Intake and charging policy for Computer Crime Matters
regarding use of pen registers to collect all or part of a URL (9-7.500)
strongly encouraged before initiating prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. § 1832 (9-59.110)

Criminal Appellate

Approvals:

appeals of adverse decisions, including appeals of orders releasing a defendant or stays of adverse decisions
rehearing en banc petitions
mandamus petitions
requests for judicial reassignment on remand
requests for recusal of appellate judge
petitions for certiorari (9-2.170)

Consultations:

regarding appellate confessions of error (9-2.170)

Notifications:

upon adverse, appealable district court decisions and certain adverse sentencing decisions (9-2.170)
upon adverse appellate decisions (9-2.170)

Fraud Section

Approvals:

prosecutions of violations of Sections 103, 104, and 104A, and related violations of Section 102, of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act under 15 U.S.C. (15 U.S.C. §§ 78m(b), 78dd-1, 78dd-2, 78dd-3) (9-47.110)
prosecutions of perjury before Congress and contempt of Congress (9-69.200)

Consultations:

regarding prosecution or declination of a volunteer corporation under the Dept. of Defense Voluntary Disclosure Program (9-42.430)

Human Rights Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP)

Approvals:

significant court actions (e.g., filing of charging documents, search warrant applications, material witness warrant applications etc.) in a torture, war crimes, genocide, or child soldiers matter (9-2.139(E))
prosecutions of national security-related passport violations under 18 U.S.C. § 1542 et seq. (9-90.020)

Consultations:

regarding USAO issuance of a grand jury subpoena or application for a pen register or trap and trace order that may affect a related matter being handled by HRSP (9-2.139(D))

Notifications:

upon USAO opening of any matter that involves the investigation or prosecution of a suspected human rights violator for offenses that do not fall within the confines of JM 9-2.139 (9-121.000)
upon USAO opening of a torture, war crimes, genocide, or child soldiers matter (9-2.139(C))
upon any actions undertaken under exigent circumstances without prior HRSP approval in a torture, war crimes, genocide, child soldiers matter (9-2.139(G))
upon significant developments in the investigation and prosecution of a matter related to a HRSP matter (9-2.139(D))

Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS)

Approvals:

investigations based solely on extraterritorial jurisdiction provisions of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957 (9-105.300)
prosecution of attorneys under 18 U.S.C. § 1956 or § 1957 when the financial transaction is one involving attorneys' fees (9-105.300)
retention of cash over $5,000 for evidentiary purposes (9-111.600)
judicial forfeiture of property that would otherwise be forfeited administratively in cases not covered by the exception for compelling prosecutorial considerations or the exception for aggregation of seized property (9-112.110)
pre-indictment ex parte applications for TROs in criminal forfeiture cases (9-112.240)
settlements providing for unsecured partial payments (9-113.107)
forfeiture settlements where: (1) the amount involved exceeds $500,000 but does not exceed $5 million, and the amount to be released exceeds 15 percent of the amount involved, unless the amount to be released is more than $2 million; or (2) the amount involved exceeds $5 million, unless the amount to be released exceeds 15 percent of the amount involved and is more than $2 million (9-113.200)
agreements to pay liens and mortgages to a lienholder prior to forfeiture under the Expedited Forfeiture Settlement Policy for Mortgage Holders (9-113.800)
adoption of state or local seizures directly for judicial forfeiture (9-116.170)
transfers of real property to state or local agencies for further transfer to other government agencies or non-profit agencies for use in the Weed and Seed Program (9-116.500)
international sharing of forfeited assets (9-116.400)
using funds from the Assets Forfeiture Fund to pay Equal Access to Justice (EAJA) awards arising from actions related to the forfeiture of property (9-117.210)
placement by a seizing agency of property into the agency's own official use, if the liens on the property equal $25,000 or one-third of the value, whichever is greater (9-118.400)
placement by the U.S. Marshals Service of personal property into official use by non-participating federal agencies, if: (1) the property is $25,000 or more in value; or (2) liens on the property equal or exceed $25,000, or one-third of the value, whichever is greater (9-118.400)
criminal or civil forfeiture proceedings to forfeit an asset transferred to an attorney as fees for legal services (9-119.010 and Chapter 9-120.000)
agreements to exempt an asset transferred to an attorney as fees for legal services from forfeiture (9-119.010 and Chapter 9-120.000)
service of a restraining order, seizure warrant, or warrant of arrest on a correspondent bank account under 18 U.S.C. § 981(k) (9-119.010)

Consultations:

regarding the filing of a civil or criminal forfeiture action when forfeiture of a business is sought under the theory that business facilitated money laundering offenses (9-105.330)
regarding the filing of a civil action under § 1956(b) against business entity (9-105.330)
regarding the filing of an indictment or complaint when the conduct to be charged as “specified unlawful activity” under 18 U.S.C. § 1956 and § 1957 consists primarily of one or more financial offenses or fraud offenses, and when the financial and money laundering offenses are so closely connected that there is no clear delineation between the underlying financial crime and the money laundering offense (9-105.330; Criminal Resource Manual 2187)
regarding the filing of an indictment or complaint when the conduct to be charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) consists of a financial transaction alleged to have promoted the SUA that generated the proceeds, and where both money laundering and the SUA are being charged as offenses (9-105.330; Criminal Resource Manual 2187)
regarding the filing of an indictment or complaint when the conduct to be charged as money laundering under § 1956 or § 1957 (or the basis for a forfeiture action under § 981) consists of the deposit of SUA proceeds into a domestic financial institution account that is clearly identifiable as belonging to the person(s) who committed the SUA (9-105.330)
regarding the filing of an indictment, information, or complaint in any forfeiture action against, seeking the seizure of, or moving to restrain an ongoing business (9-111.124)

Notifications:

upon convictions of financial institutions, or any officer, director, or employee of a financial institution, for violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1957 or 1960, or 31 U.S.C. § 5322 (9-105.320)
upon learning that a restrained or seized business is losing money, has insufficient equity, or will be sold at a loss (9-119.010)

Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO)

Approvals:

Consultations:

regarding use of a formerly protected witness as an informant (9-21.800)
regarding applications for a search warrant for a subject attorney’s office (9-13.420)
regarding dismissals or settlements in cases involving failure to register with the Selective Service (9-79.400)

Notifications:

upon certain prosecutions of attorneys (9-2.032)
upon declinations of prosecution of failure to register with the Selective Service (9-79.400)

Office of International Affairs (OIA)

Approvals:

acts outside the United States relating to a criminal investigation or prosecution, including contacting a witness by telephone or mail (9-13.500)
issuance of subpoenas to persons or entities in the United States for records located abroad (9-13.525)
issuance of summonses or subpoenas to foreign banks that maintain accounts with correspondent banks in the United States to obtain records (9-119.010)
service of subpoenas ad testificandum on an officer or attorney of a foreign bank or corporation who is temporarily in United States when in connection with the operation of the foreign bank or corporation (9-13.525)
foreign legal assistance requests that have not been routed through OIA (9-13.540)
steps to secure custody over persons outside the United States (by government agents or the use of private persons, like bounty hunters or private investigators) by means of Alvarez-Machain type returns (9-15.610)
lure attempts (9-15.630)
agreements not to share evidence with a foreign government (9-15.800)
agreements to prevent or delay extradition or removal of cooperating alien defendants or witnesses (9-15.800)

Consultations:

regarding whether treaty requires prosecutors to notify consular official when foreign national is arrested in the United States (9-2.173)
regarding process for contacting foreign or State Department officials regarding extradition of a fugitive or the obtaining of evidence in a criminal investigation or prosecution (9-13.500)
regarding whether the United States has a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the country from which the evidence is sought (9-13.510 and 9-13.540)
regarding whether to seek a search warrant for electronic information where the computer to be searched may be located outside the United States (9-13.525)

Notifications:

upon filing of a civil forfeiture action against assets in foreign country pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1355(b)(2) (9-13.526)

Public Integrity Section (PIN)

Approvals:

plea agreements with defendants who are candidates or members of Congress or federal judges (9-16.110)
prosecutions of an offense under 18 U.S.C. § 245 (federally protected activities) (9-85.200)

Consultations:

regarding the initiation of grand jury proceedings or charges of disclosure violations under 26 U.S.C. § 7213 (Tax Reform Act) (9-79.420)
regarding investigations involving a Member of Congress or congressional staff member, including before (1) interviewing a Member of Congress or congressional staff member; (2) subpoenaing a Member of Congress or congressional staff member; or (3) applying for a search warrant for a location or device in which legislative materials are likely to be found (9-85.100)
regarding violations of campaign financing laws, patronage crimes, and corruption of the electoral process (9-85.210)
regarding the initiation of grand jury proceedings or charges of violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 210 and 211 (Purchase and Sale of Public Office) (9-85.220)

Violent Crime and Racketeering (VCRS)

Approvals:

prosecutions of RICO criminal charges or civil complaints or investigative demands (9-110.101)
filing of motions for RICO restraining orders (Criminal Resource Manual 2084)
prosecutions of VCRS (violent crimes in aid of racketeering) under 18 U.S.C. § 1959 (9-110.801)
prosecutions of harboring offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 1071 et seq. (9-90.020)
prosecutions of flight to avoid prosecution or giving testimony under 18 U.S.C. § 1073 (9-90.020)
prosecutions of obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1501 et seq. (9-90.020)
prosecutions of the Wire Act under 18 U.S.C. § 1084 (9-110.901)
significant court actions (e.g., case initiation, court-authorized electronic surveillance, dispositions) in Organized Crime Strike Force matters (9-2.181)
draft special grand jury reports (9-11.330)

Consultations:

regarding prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (Hobbs Act) in cases involving labor-management disputes (9-131.030)
regarding prosecution under the Railway Labor Act (9-139.103)
regarding the initiation of grand jury proceedings or charges under 29 U.S.C. § 504 (labor union positions and labor relations consultants) or 29 U.S.C. § 1111 (employee pension and welfare benefit plan positions and consultants) (9-138.030)
regarding convicts seeking relief from employment disabilities of 29 U.S.C. § 504 (labor union positions and labor relations consultants) or 29 U.S.C. § 1111 (employee pension and welfare benefit plan positions and consultants) (9-138.040)
regarding the initiation of any grand jury report (9-11.101)

Notifications:

upon any motion to transfer a juvenile proceeding to an adult prosecution (9-8.130)
regarding a special grand jury’s consideration of the issuance of a report (9-11.330)

Updated November 17, 2023