Attorney General

DOJ Won’t Prosecute Onetime Department Lawyer for Leaking Warrantless Wiretap Program Info

The Justice Department won’t prosecute one of its former lawyers who admitted he leaked information about the government’s warrantless wiretap program. The lawyer, Thomas Tamm, was one of several sources for a Pulitzer-Prize winning New York Times article about the secret wiretap program by the National Security Agency, report the…

Apr 27, 2011 1:28 PM CDT

Critics Fault DOJ for Monitoring Controversial Mergers Instead of Blocking Them

The Justice Department has added some limits to three recent high-profile mergers that will require years of monitoring by government lawyers. Critics say the department should be blocking the mergers rather than regulating them, according to a report by the Washington Post and Bloomberg. The three mergers that won approval—with…

Apr 25, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Justice Department Task Force Will Probe Surging Oil Prices

A Justice Department task force will investigate the role of traders and speculators in surging oil prices, the president announced on Thursday. President Obama announced formation of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Working Group at a town hall-style meeting in Reno, report the Associated Press and McClatchy Newspapers. “We are going…

Apr 22, 2011 11:49 AM CDT

DOJ Shutters Popular Poker Sites in Crackdown on Online Gambling Operations

Federal authorities on Friday unsealed a sweeping anti-illegal gambling indictment and shuttered popular online poker sites, accusing founders of money laundering and bank fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice seized five of the companies’ domain names, seized accounts and held money stored by players, many of whom make their livings…

Apr 18, 2011 1:10 PM CDT

Handwritten Papers from Walt Whitman, Former US Attorney Clerk, Released

The National Archives today revealed Civil War records handwritten by noted author Walt Whitman, while he worked as a clerk for the U.S. Attorney General. According to the Associated Press, in the years immediately after the war, Whitman wrote letters and speeches for the attorney general. Whitman got the job…

Apr 12, 2011 8:32 PM CDT

There’s ‘Strong Evidence’ Sedative for Lethal Injection Was Illegally Imported, Nebraska Lawyer Says

There is “strong evidence” lethal injection sedative used in Nebraska is being illegally imported from India, according to a lawyer there who handles capital cases, and using it brings brings legal and humane risks, he wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Alan Peterson, who practices in…

Apr 12, 2011 6:57 PM CDT

DOJ Hosts Bank Negotiations on Foreclosure Issues; NY AG Fears Deal Will Include Bank Amnesty

The U.S. Justice Department hosted a day-long negotiating session to discuss foreclosure practices on Wednesday that included state attorneys general and five of the nation’s largest banks. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller called the session “far-ranging and productive” and said it was “a good first step” in a discussion of…

Mar 31, 2011 3:37 PM CDT

DOJ Quietly Overhauls BP Oil Spill Probe

As the anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico approaches, Justice Department officials have only recently created a special task force to oversee a probe examining who may be criminally responsible. NPR reports the DOJ “quietly overhauled their approach” earlier this month and put a veteran…

Mar 25, 2011 8:00 PM CDT

DOJ Suit Supporting Teacher’s Requested Mecca Trip Is a ‘Legal Reach,’ Ex-AG Says

A Justice Department lawsuit supporting a math teacher who wanted a three-week unpaid leave for a Mecca pilgrimage is spurring criticism from former DOJ officials. The December lawsuit claims the school district in Berkeley, Ill., discriminated against middle-school teacher Safoorah Khan on the basis of her religious beliefs by denying…

Mar 23, 2011 12:28 PM CDT

DOJ Accuses New Orleans Police Department of Racial Profiling in Damaging Report

After a 10-month investigation, the Justice Department on Thursday accused the New Orleans Police Department of racial profiling, using excessive force and arresting people without probable cause. Officers purposefully fired their weapons at 27 African American people from Jan. 2009 to May 2010, the report (PDF) said. The report also…

Mar 19, 2011 1:07 AM CDT

President Obama Lifts Ban on Gitmo Trials, Says New Safeguards Are In Place

President Barack Obama still intends to close the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. But in the meantime, he has eliminated a ban he imposed nearly two years ago on conducting military trials of detainees held at the facility. His executive order today apparently anticipates that military tribunals…

Mar 7, 2011 9:59 PM CST

Justices Give Solicitor General Some Leeway in Detained Citizen’s Suit Against John Ashcroft

Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal’s defense of former Attorney General John Ashcroft went so smoothly before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that he ended his main oral argument 10 minutes early. The New York Times sees the lack of interruptions as an indication that Katyal will succeed in his…

Mar 3, 2011 1:44 PM CST

Obama Concludes Federal Law Banning Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage Is Unconstitutional

President Obama has concluded that the federal law barring recognition of same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, and has decided the administration will no longer defend the statute in court. Attorney General Eric Holder explained the president’s decision in a statement released today, according to the Washington Post and Metro Weekly’s Poliglot…

Feb 23, 2011 5:44 PM CST

DOJ Budget Adds Lawyers, Beefs Up National Security Funding

The U.S. Justice Department’s proposed budget for fiscal 2012 includes proposals to beef up national security with five more lawyers and 71 law enforcement agents. The $28.2 billion budget proposal represents a 1.7 percent increase in budget authority, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times and a press…

Feb 15, 2011 2:53 PM CST

FTC Member Warns of Antitrust Concerns in Health Care Law, Seeks ‘Vigorous Enforcement’

A member of the Federal Trade Commission is raising concerns that the new health care law could reduce competition by allowing collaboration between hospitals and doctors. FTC member J. Thomas Rosch, an antitrust lawyer, says “vigorous antitrust enforcement” will be needed to preserve competition, the New York Times reports. He…

Feb 10, 2011 11:30 AM CST