Attorney General

Pennsylvania AG Issues Subpoena for IDs of Two Twitter Critics

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett has subpoenaed subscriber information about two Twitter users who criticized his “Bonusgate” investigation of legislative corruption. Corbett, the Republican candidate for governor, wants information about the accounts @bfbarbie and @CasablancaPA, according to stories by Threat Level, Tech Crunch, PennLive.com and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The two…

May 20, 2010 11:46 AM CDT

A New Bybee Memo Surfaces—on Practices Authorized by Ariz. Immigration Law

The federal appeals judge who once wrote controversial memos for the Justice Department authorizing harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects is back in the news for another memo he wrote, this one on immigration law. The memo by Jay Bybee, now a judge on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court…

May 18, 2010 12:10 PM CDT

Conn. AG Made ‘Plainly Untrue’ Remarks About Military Service, NYT Says

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal avoided service in Vietnam with at least five military deferments, but that isn’t the impression he left during veterans’ events. Some of Blumenthal’s remarks were “plainly untrue,” the New York Times reports. “At other times, he has used more ambiguous language, but the impression left…

May 18, 2010 11:45 AM CDT

NY AG Probes Whether Banks Gave Misleading Information to Ratings Agencies

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is reportedly investigating eight banks to determine whether they gave misleading information to ratings agencies, resulting in ratings for mortgage products that they knew were too positive. Cuomo has issued subpoenas to eight banks notifying them of the investigation, the New York Times reports.…

May 13, 2010 12:29 PM CDT

Oliver Stone Got Insights from Eliot Spitzer for Latest Wall Street Film

Oliver Stone tapped New York’s former attorney general and governor for help with his new movie featuring Gordon Gekko called Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Stone told Reuters that he got some “very good insights from people like” Eliot Spitzer, who resigned as governor in 2008 in the midst of…

May 13, 2010 12:05 PM CDT

A New Short List, This One for SG: Washington Gov. Said to Be a Possibility

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire is on a short list to replace Elena Kagan as solicitor general, but she isn’t saying whether she’d take the job if it is offered. A White House official confirmed on Wednesday that Gregoire is under consideration, but didn’t disclose the names of any others on…

May 13, 2010 11:46 AM CDT

Fla. AG Defends $120K Payment to Expert Now Embroiled in Rentboy Scandal

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is defending the state’s payment of more than $120,000 for expert witness testimony by an anti-gay psychologist now caught up in the so-called Rentboy scandal. The state had originally planned to pay George Rekers $60,900, but when he exceeded his contracted hours, the total fee…

May 12, 2010 1:40 PM CDT

Condo Developers Sue NY AG, Say Stroock Typo Doesn’t Require Return of $16M

Developers of a New York condo project claim in a federal lawsuit that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo violated their due process rights when he ordered them to return $16 million in down payments held in escrow. Buyers hoping to rescind their contracts are citing an apparent typo in…

May 12, 2010 12:34 PM CDT

Holder Wants More Flexible Miranda Rule for Terrorism Suspects

Attorney General Eric Holder says the Obama administration would like to work with Congress to develop a more flexible Miranda rule to allow longer questioning of terrorism suspects before they are advised of their legal rights. Holder outlined his proposal on Sunday morning news shows, telling NBC’s Meet the Press…

May 10, 2010 1:13 PM CDT

WSJ Legal Reporter Was Only Print Journalist at AG’s 1:30 AM News Conference

A Wall Street Journal reporter who covers the Justice Department was at home in his underwear when he checked his BlackBerry and saw an announcement at 1:09 a.m. The attorney general, he learned, was holding a press conference in 20 minutes. The reporter, Evan Perez, jumped into torn jeans and…

May 5, 2010 11:52 AM CDT

Criminal Complaint Filed Against Times Square Bombing Suspect

Updated: Authorities arrested a suspect in the failed Times Square bombing after he had boarded a plane bound for Dubai at Kennedy Airport on Monday evening; this afternoon, a criminal complaint was filed against him. Officials believe that Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, bought the Nissan…

May 4, 2010 8:22 PM CDT

Supreme Court Waits—and Waits—for Kagan’s Immigration Brief

So far, Solicitor General Elena Kagan has managed to avoid most controversial issues that come before the U.S. Supreme Court. That will likely change when the potential Supreme Court nominee files a long-awaited brief providing the administration’s views of a controversial Arizona immigration law, the Los Angeles Times reports. The…

May 4, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Aggressive Justice

Judges have slammed federal prosecutors for going overboard. Now the Justice Department is stepping in—to police itself.

May 1, 2010 9:40 AM CDT

Bryan Cave Partner Being Considered for No. 2 Job at DOJ

Bryan Cave partner James Cole is reportedly under consideration for deputy attorney general, the second-in-command in the Justice Department. Cole, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer, is currently being vetted for the job, Bloomberg reports, relying on a source who is familiar with the matter. Pro Publica says that the Obama…

Apr 20, 2010 1:44 PM CDT

Ex-SG Says Kagan Is Progressive on Executive Power; Some Liberals Think Otherwise

Is Solicitor General Elena Kagan so conservative that she will disappoint liberals if she is nominated to the Supreme Court? Some liberals are criticizing Kagan for her stances on executive power and national security wiretaps, the National Law Journal reports. But “most liberals will likely fall in line behind her”…

Apr 19, 2010 11:00 AM CDT