U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions listens as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has set up a team to investigate individuals and organizations providing support to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Islamist group in Lebanon that the U.S. has branded a terrorist organization, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday.

Republicans have criticized former President Barack Obama following a December Politico report that the Obama administration hindered a Drug Enforcement Administration program targeting Hezbollah’s trafficking operations during its negotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Republican President Donald Trump says Obama gave away too much to Iran to secure the agreement, which gives Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Sessions said the Justice Department will assemble leading investigators and prosecutors for the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team to ensure all investigations under the DEA program, called Project Cassandra, will be completed.

“The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis,” Sessions said.</s>The Justice Department has formed a Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team tasked with investigating those that provide support to Hezbollah, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday.

The creation of the team follows a report last month that revealed the Obama administration secretly thwarted efforts from the Drug Enforcement Administration to target Hezbollah’s drug trafficking and money laundering operations. The DEA launched “Project Cassandra” in 2008 to investigate the terrorist group, but its campaign occurred alongside the Obama administration’s work on the Iran nuclear deal.

The Justice Department said the new team, composed of prosecutors who specialize in international narcotics trafficking, terrorism, organized crime, and money laundering, will begin by examining the evidence in cases tied to Project Cassandra.

“The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis,” Sessions said in a statement.

The attorney general said the new team will ensure Project Cassandra investigations and others will be “given the needed resources and attention to come to their proper resolution.” The team will work with investigators from the DEA and the FBI, as well as federal prosecutors.

Congressional Republicans have called for information related to the Obama administration’s interference in Project Cassandra, and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., urged the Justice and Treasury Departments last month to investigate claims the Obama administration derailed the efforts of DEA investigators.</s>Attorney General Jeff Sessions is creating a dedicated team of prosecutors and investigators to focus on drug trafficking by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in response to a recent POLITICO article that highlighted some such cases were softpedaled during the Obama administration in order avoid derailing a nuclear deal with Tehran

A Justice Department statement said the newly-formed Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team will "begin by assessing the evidence in existing investigations," including the so-called Project Cassandra probes highlighted in the POLITICO report.

"The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis,” Sessions said. “In an effort to protect Americans from both threats, the Justice Department will assemble leading investigators and prosecutors to ensure that all Project Cassandra investigations as well as other related investigations, whether past or present, are given the needed resources and attention to come to their proper resolution. The team will initiate prosecutions that will restrict the flow of money to foreign terrorist organizations as well as disrupt violent international drug trafficking operations."

The team will be overseen by the Justice Department's Criminal Division, but will coordinate with prosecutors from Justice's National Security Division and United States Attorneys' offices, as well as personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, the statement said.

The POLITICO report published last month said a series of DEA investigations into Hezbollah's drug trafficking operations ran into high-level roadblocks that stymied many of the cases agents wanted to bring as well as efforts to get suspects extradited to the U.S.

The obstacles and delays left some investigators with the impression that the cases were viewed as unhelpful to the Obama administration drive for a nuclear accord with Iran.

Former Obama administration officials responded angrily to the report, arguing that there was no evidence the cases were derailed for policy or diplomatic reasons rather than for more pedestrian reasons like a lack of evidence or non-cooperation from U.S. allies.

“This is national security 101: Washington should be hunting down terrorists who fund global violence with domestic drug money,” said Sasse, who in December called on the Trump administration to provide answers on the POLITICO report. “It makes sense for this team to start by going back to Project Cassandra cases and take down Hezbollah’s drug traffickers. As this taskforce starts its work, it’s important for the Justice, State, and Treasury Departments to provide answers about what exactly happened while the Obama Administration pursued the Iran deal.”

Sessions announced last month that he was ordering a review of the Project Cassandra cases and he said he was "hopeful" that the Obama administration had not thrown barriers in the way of such investigations.

Justice's latest move comes as President Donald Trump is facing critical decisions about whether to decertify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal struck in 2015.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has set up a team to investigate individuals and organizations providing support to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Islamist group in Lebanon that the U.S. has branded a terrorist organisation, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday.

Republicans have criticized former President Barack Obama following a December Politico report that the Obama administration hindered a Drug Enforcement Administration programme targeting Hezbollah’s trafficking operations during its negotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Republican President Donald Trump says Obama gave away too much to Iran to secure the agreement, which gives Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Sessions said the Justice Department will assemble leading investigators and prosecutors for the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team to ensure all investigations under the DEA programme, called Project Cassandra, will be completed.

“The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis,” Sessions said.</s>The U.S. Justice Department has set up a team to investigate individuals and organizations providing support to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Islamist group in Lebanon that the U.S. has branded a terrorist organisation, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Justice Department has set up a team to investigate individuals and organizations providing support to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Islamist group in Lebanon that the U.S. has branded a terrorist organisation, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday.

Republicans have criticized former President Barack Obama following a December Politico report that the Obama administration hindered a Drug Enforcement Administration programme targeting Hezbollah's trafficking operations during its negotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Republican President Donald Trump says Obama gave away too much to Iran to secure the agreement, which gives Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Sessions said the Justice Department will assemble leading investigators and prosecutors for the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team to ensure all investigations under the DEA programme, called Project Cassandra, will be completed.

"The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis," Sessions said.</s>The Department of Justice announced Thursday that it is creating a task force to take a fresh look at drug-trafficking and money-laundering operations linked to Hezbollah after an investigative report last month claimed that the Obama administration turned a blind eye to such activities to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.

The task force, dubbed the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team (HFNT), will begin its work by reviewing investigations stemming from Project Cassandra, a campaign led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) targeting the Lebanese terror group’s actions.

According to a Politico report published last month, officials with the Obama Justice and Treasury Departments repeatedly delayed or rejected requests by Project Cassandra leaders to pursue significant investigations, prosecutors or sanctions.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered a review of Project Cassandra days after the Politico report was published. Justice Department officials told Fox News at the time that the review could lead to new prosecutions of people affiliated with Hezbollah.

“The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis,” Sessions said in a statement announcing the formation of HFNT.

Hezbollah was created in the early-1980s as part of an Iranian effort to counter the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon during that country’s brutal civil war. The U.S. has designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization since the State Department list was created in 1997.

The Politico report outraged multiple Republican lawmakers, who have demanded answers from the Justice, Treasury and State Departments.

Former Obama administration officials denied the story, with one calling it, “a figment of the imagination of two very flawed sources.”

“There are many reasonable critiques of Obama’s foreign policy,” former Obama National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor tweeted on Dec. 19. “The idea that he was soft on Hezbollah is not one of them.”</s>The Department of Justice announced Thursday that it is creating a task force to take a fresh look at drug-trafficking and money-laundering operations linked to Hezbollah after an investigative report last month claimed that the Obama administration turned a blind eye to such activities to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.

The task force, dubbed the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team (HFNT), will begin its work by reviewing investigations stemming from Project Cassandra, a campaign led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) targeting the Lebanese terror group’s actions.

According to a Politico report published last month, officials with the Obama Justice and Treasury Departments repeatedly delayed or rejected requests by Project Cassandra leaders to pursue significant investigations, prosecutors or sanctions.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered a review of Project Cassandra days after the Politico report was published. Justice Department officials told Fox News at the time that the review could lead to new prosecutions of people affiliated with Hezbollah. – READ MORE

One former Drug Enforcement Administration agent is describing the Obama administration’s alleged actions to protect Hezbollah as “very strange.”

Derek Maltz, who was quoted in Politico’s bombshell report suggesting former President Barack Obama interfered with a DEA probe of Hezbollah in order to safeguard the Iran nuclear deal, discussed the matter Thursday with Shannon Bream of Fox News.

He told the anchor he found it “very, very odd” that used cars were being shipped to West Africa, and Hezbollah was pocketing upward of $200 million as it trafficked illegal drugs across the globe, yet there was no “unity of effort” in the government to stop it – READ MORE</s>The US Justice Department announced on Thursday plans to create a special task force to crack down on what it dubbed "narcoterrorism" by the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah.

The unit will be made up of specialists in money laundering, drug trafficking and terrorism, the department said. It will seek to target Hezbollah's entire sprawling network, which is thought to reach from Africa to as far as Central and South America.

Read more: Marching for Lebanon's future under the threat of war

"The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "The team will initiate prosecutions that will restrict the flow of money to foreign terrorist organizations as well as disrupt violent international drug trafficking operations."

The move comes on the back of a December report published by US news magazine Politico, which accused the Obama administration of stymieing a probe into Hezbollah's drug trafficking operations for fear of jeopardizing the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

"The 'Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team' will begin by assessing the evidence in existing investigations, including cases stemming from Project Cassandra, a law enforcement initiative targeting Hezbollah's drug trafficking and related operations," the department said.

In 2011, the Obama administration said it had uncovered billions of dollars worth of laundered money that had been filtered through the Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank, a supposed "primary money laundering concern." Meanwhile, funds from overseas operations were laundered through Panamanian shell companies.

According to Derek Maltz, a former official at the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the proceeds were used by Hezbollah to buy weapons for its operations in Syria and to support Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, who are fighting Saudi-sponsored government forces over control of the country.

Hezbollah, which is considered a terror organization by the US, receives strong military, financial and strategic support from Iran.

The US announcement to resume its crackdown against Hezbollah signals that the Trump administration could be prepared to break away from the Iran nuclear deal, which gives Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump is due to decide on Friday whether to renew his country's waiver on nuclear-related sanctions, as well as decide on Saturday over whether to renew his certification of the Iran deal. On Thursday, EU leaders met with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to the urge the US not to walk away from the accord.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to walk away from the deal, having repeatedly accused his predecessor Barack Obama of giving away too much to secure the agreement with Iran.

The US' Middle East allies Saudi Arabia and Israel have also raised the alarm over what they say is Hezbollah's rising power In Lebanon and the wider region.</s>The US Justice Department announced Thursday creation of a special task force to investigate what it called "narcoterrorism" by the powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah.

The unit will comprise specialists on money-laundering, drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime, targeting Iran ally Hezbollah's sprawling network, whose reach extends across Africa and into Central and South America, the department said.

"The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"The team will initiate prosecutions that will restrict the flow of money to foreign terrorist organizations as well as disrupt violent international drug trafficking operations."

The move comes amid a stepped-up effort to battle Iran's growing influence in the Middle East and expanded military capabilities of Hezbollah, one of the dominant forces in Lebanese politics.

But Sessions said the creation of the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team was also a response to criticisms that former president Barack Obama held back from cracking down on Hezbollah's global networks, investigated under the previous Project Cassandra, in order to achieve the nuclear deal with Iran.

"The HFNT will begin by assessing the evidence in existing investigations, including cases stemming from Project Cassandra, a law enforcement initiative targeting Hezbollah's drug trafficking and related operations," the department said.

Officials in Washington and US allies Saudi Arabia and Israel, have increasingly raised the alarm over Hezbollah's growing power in Lebanon and around the world.

On Wednesday, former top Treasury Department sanctions official Juan Zarate told Congress that Hezbollah's drug smuggling and money laundering operations are global in scale.

"Recent actions by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Treasury to dismantle networks of Hezbollah's 'Business Affairs Component' have exposed financial and trade nodes that the Hezbollah operates and led to arrests and enforcement actions around the world," he told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.</s>A Hezbollah supporter, wears an Arabic headband that reads:'Hey Quds' with a portrait of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. (File|AP)

WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department announced Thursday creation of a special task force to investigate what it called "narcoterrorism" by the powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah.

The unit will comprise specialists on money-laundering, drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime, targeting Iran ally Hezbollah's sprawling network, whose reach extends across Africa and into Central and South America, the department said.

"The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"The team will initiate prosecutions that will restrict the flow of money to foreign terrorist organizations as well as disrupt violent international drug trafficking operations."

The move comes amid a stepped-up effort to battle Iran's growing influence in the Middle East and the expanded military capabilities of Hezbollah, a dominant force in Lebanese politics.

But Sessions said the creation of the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team was also a response to criticisms that former president Barack Obama held back from cracking down on Hezbollah's global networks, investigated under the previous Project Cassandra, in order to achieve the nuclear deal with Iran.

"The HFNT will begin by assessing the evidence in existing investigations, including cases stemming from Project Cassandra, a law enforcement initiative targeting Hezbollah's drug trafficking and related operations," the department said.

Officials in Washington and US allies Saudi Arabia and Israel, have increasingly raised the alarm over Hezbollah's growing power in Lebanon and around the world.

On Wednesday, former top Treasury Department sanctions official Juan Zarate told Congress that Hezbollah's drug smuggling and money laundering operations are global in scale.

"Recent actions by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Treasury to dismantle networks of Hezbollah's 'Business Affairs Component' have exposed financial and trade nodes that the Hezbollah operates and led to arrests and enforcement actions around the world," he told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

- Obama accused of holding back -

 The US has long targeted Hezbollah with sanctions. A 2007 presidential order allowed the seizure of property of "persons undermining the sovereignty of Lebanon," not naming the group but clearly aimed at it.

In 2011 the Obama administration unleashed a crackdown on the group's far-flung associates, designating Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank a "primary money laundering concern" for handling the funds of alleged Hezbollah drug kingpin Ayman Joumaa.

The US Treasury and Drug Enforcement Administration later described a massive operation involving Colombia and Panama-based drug traffickers shipping multi-tonne amounts of cocaine to the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

The network laundered billions of dollars of their own money and that of other traffickers through Panama shell companies, various banks in Lebanon and elsewhere, and an operation that exported tens of thousands of used cars from the United States for sale in West Africa.

According to former DEA official Derek Maltz, Hezbollah most recently used the proceeds to buy weapons for the group's operations in Syria, and some of the funds have also made their way to Yemen, where Iran-backed rebels are battling Saudi-supported government forces for control of the country.

However, Maltz and others in the law enforcement community have accused Obama of refraining from taking action against certain figures and entities in the Hezbollah network while he sought with five other world powers to complete the 2015 deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program.
The Trump administration through the U.S. Justice Department establishes the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team to assist with the DEA's Project Cassandra investigation into groups supporting Hezbollah.