Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday that he was reviewing an Obama administration effort after reports that officials looked the other way at Hezbollah’s drug-trafficking and money-laundering activities to keep the Iran nuclear deal on track.
Sessions told Fox News that he has ordered a review of all Drug Enforcement Administration investigations "to evaluate allegations that certain matters were not properly prosecuted and to ensure all matters are appropriately handled.
"While I am hopeful that there were no barriers constructed by the last administration to allowing DEA agents to fully bring all appropriate cases under Project Cassandra, this is a significant issue for the protection of Americans," Sessions said in a statement.
"We will review these matters and give full support to investigations of violent drug-trafficking organizations."
The DEA effort was called Project Cassandra — and Politico reported Sunday that it targeted Hezbollah's criminal activities.
But when Project Cassandra leaders sought permission for significant investigations, prosecutions, arrests and financial sanctions, officials in the Obama administration's Justice and Treasury departments delayed or otherwise hindered or rejected their requests, Politico reported.
"Protecting our citizens from terrorist organizations and combatting the devastating drug crisis gripping our nation are two of the Justice Department’s top priorities," Sessions told Fox in the statement.
"Operations designed to investigate and prosecute terrorist organizations that are also fueling that drug crisis must be paramount in this administration."
The review could bring new prosecutions of people affiliated with Hezbollah, Justice Department officials told Fox.
"The DEA has worked tirelessly on this front," Sessions said in the statement. "I am committed to giving our hard-working and dedicated DEA agents all the tools that they need to allow them to shut down these drug rings.
"The Department of Justice is absolutely committed to investigating and prosecuting international drug trafficking organizations and with the assistance of our DEA and FBI agents we will leave no stone unturned as we work to making America safer."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.