Attorney General

Ex-House Majority Leader DeLay Doesn’t Know Why DOJ Probe Took So Long

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says he doesn’t know why it took six years for the Justice Department to finish an investigation of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. No federal criminal charges will be filed against the former GOP congressman, according to stories in The BLT: The…

Aug 17, 2010 2:59 PM CDT

CIA Interrogation Tapes Found Under Desk; Judge Was Told They Didn’t Exist

A Justice Department prosecutor is investigating why the CIA never disclosed interrogation videotapes made at a Moroccan facility before they were found under a desk in 2007. The tapes show the interrogation of accused Sept. 11 plotter Ramzi Binalshibh at a Moroccan detention center largely financed by the CIA, sources…

Aug 17, 2010 12:45 PM CDT

DOJ Pays Out $290K for Failed Prosecution of Iranian-American Defense Contractor

Iranian-American Defense Contractor Alex Latifi will receive $290,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice for misguided prosecution in a landmark case settled this week. Latifi, an Alabama native who was charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act in a six-count government indictment and trial in 2007, was granted the…

Aug 13, 2010 7:19 PM CDT

Bouncing Can Be Dangerous to Kids’ Health, Says Suit by California’s AG

California Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed a lawsuit that claims some inflatable bounce houses for kids have dangerous levels of lead. The suit seeks to force manufacturers to stop using vinyl that contains lead and to post warnings about high lead levels, the New York Times reports. “I certainly…

Aug 12, 2010 4:32 PM CDT

Scratch One SG Contender Off the List, and Move Another to the Top

A job move has some people speculating that acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal could stay in the spot permanently. But there is no need for pundits to consider the chances of Gov. Chris Gregoire. The Washington governor has informed the White House she’s not interested in the job, the Seattle…

Aug 11, 2010 1:45 PM CDT

Medical Marijuana Muddle Grows for State Law Enforcement, Pot Farms and Patients

As more states enact marijuana control laws that conflict with federal legislation, state law enforcement officials, lawyers and doctors are left in a quandary when it comes to regulating and advising clients, patients and dispensaries looking to cash in on a lucrative market for medicinal marijuana. While U.S. Supreme Court…

Aug 8, 2010 1:46 AM CDT

Chamber of Commerce Finds Common Ground with DOJ on Key Litigation

Charles Dickens opened his famous novel A Tale of Two Cities with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” If Dickens were covering an ABA Annual Meeting program Friday that looked at where the civil division of the U.S. Justice Department stands in the eyes…

Aug 7, 2010 12:40 AM CDT

Insurance Guru Eugene Anderson Dies; Known for ‘Triple Trigger,’ Hitchhiking to Harvard

As a foster child growing up in Portland, Ore., in the 1930s, on farms and in an orphanage, Eugene Anderson must have seemed an unlikely prospect for success as a New York lawyer. However, he not only put himself through the University of California, Los Angeles, but with the help…

Aug 2, 2010 7:30 PM CDT

Mich. AG Questions Timing of Lap Dance Allegation

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is questioning the timing of an affidavit that claims he received a lap dance at a party at the mayor’s mansion. Cox is campaigning for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and he says he wasn’t at any party, and has never even been to the mansion,…

Jul 29, 2010 12:32 PM CDT

WSJ Decries ‘Mississippi Tort Mob’ and State AG’s Effort to Hit BP ‘Gusher’

The Wall Street Journal editorial page is no friend of Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood. An editorial today decries Hood’s efforts to change federal law so he can sue oil spill companies in state court. The newspaper uses recently released e-mails in Hurricane Katrina litigation to illustrate his links to…

Jul 28, 2010 2:08 PM CDT

BigLaw Cash Pours into NY AG Race

New York attorney general candidates vying for Andrew Cuomo’s job raised $7.65 million in the six-month period ending July 11, and much of the money came from lawyers. Lawyers from firms such as Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and Blank Rome have held fundraisers…

Jul 27, 2010 2:27 PM CDT

DOJ Plans No Criminal Charges in Political Firings of 9 US Attorneys

A special prosecutor brought in by the Department of Justice to investigate the apparent politically motivated 2006 firings of at least nine United States attorneys has concluded that no criminal charges should be filed, reports the Blog of Legal Times. “Based on a consideration of all the evidence and the…

Jul 21, 2010 9:19 PM CDT

Ex-AG Gonzales Subleases Office Space at Texas Law Firm

Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales teaches a political science class at Texas Tech University and is apparently still working on a book about his years in the nation’s capital. He also makes money giving speeches around the country. But the new law firm address he recently listed with the…

Jul 19, 2010 5:05 PM CDT

Surprising Pundits, DOJ Brief Defends Health Care Law Under Tax Power

In anticipation of a constitutional challenge, Congress included findings with the new health care law intended to show it is a regulation of commerce. The taxation power isn’t mentioned. Indeed President Obama himself dismissed the idea that the new law is essentially a tax, the New York Times reports. “I…

Jul 19, 2010 2:38 PM CDT

94 Indicted, 36 Arrested This Morning in Record 5-State, $251M Medicare Fraud Bust

More than 360 agents participated today in a five-state sweep that had arrested, as of this morning, 36 of the 94 people indicted in a record-breaking $251 million Medicare fraud case. The raid was announced in Miami, considered ground zero for Medicare fraud, by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health…

Jul 16, 2010 6:15 PM CDT