Attorney General

Obama Won’t Rule Out Prosecution of ‘Torture’ Memo Authors

President Obama says he wants to look forward rather than backward in the controversy over harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects—but he’ll also look to his attorney general for a decision on whether to prosecute Department of Justice lawyers who wrote memos authorizing the tactics. Obama didn’t rule out the possibility…

Apr 21, 2009 6:40 PM CDT

Congressman Calls for Impeachment of Bybee over Torture Memos

A Democratic congressman is calling for the impeachment of a federal appeals judge for his Justice Department memos approving harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects. U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, is the first member of Congress to call for the impeachment of…

Apr 21, 2009 11:32 AM CDT

CIA Used Waterboarding 266 Times on Two Terrorism Suspects

A 2005 Justice Department memo released last week discloses that the CIA used waterboarding 266 times on two al-Qaida suspects. Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded at least 83 times in August 2002 and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003, the…

Apr 20, 2009 11:20 AM CDT

Details of Harsh Interrogation Tactics Emerge in ‘Torture’ Memos

Four Justice Department memos released yesterday approving harsh interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects provide the most comprehensive look so far at the methods considered and sometimes used in secret overseas prisons. Approved methods included refusing to allow detainees to sleep for 11 days, forced nudity, spraying detainees with 41-degree water,…

Apr 17, 2009 11:23 AM CDT

US Releases 4 More ‘Torture’ Memos, Promises Defense to CIA Workers

The U.S. Department of Justice today released four more Office of Legal Counsel memos providing legal advice to the CIA from 2002 to 2005, as Attorney General Eric Holder promised a free defense and potential indemnification to any CIA employee facing investigation for conduct approved by these memos. “The President…

Apr 16, 2009 7:54 PM CDT

Judge Unseals Testimony of Hoffa Witness

A federal judge has agreed to unseal the grand jury testimony of a key witness in the indictment of former Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa for obstruction of justice. U.S. District Court Judge Todd Campbell of Nashville agreed to unseal testimony about jury tampering by Walter Sheridan, a top aide to…

Apr 15, 2009 6:07 PM CDT

DOJ Revs Up Prosecutor Training, Ponders Discovery Policy

Following blistering criticism by a federal judge who last week appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the government’s handling of a high-profile criminal corruption case against former Sen. Ted Stevens, U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder is cleaning house at the Department of Justice. Holder is setting up a training program…

Apr 15, 2009 4:53 PM CDT

New SG Won’t Argue Supreme Court Case Until Next Term

The new solicitor general has never argued a U.S. Supreme Court case—and won’t be anytime soon. Earlier reports had suggested that Solicitor General Elena Kagan was angling to participate in an important voting rights case set for argument April 29. But now Justice Department spokeswoman Beverley Lumpkin tells The BLT:…

Apr 14, 2009 6:41 PM CDT

Inexperience and Staffing Problems Plagued Stevens Prosecutors

The Justice Department section that prosecuted former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, only to see the charges dismissed, was inexperienced and overwhelmed, observers say. Defense lawyers and government officials told the Washington Post that the problems were not likely because of political motivations. Rather, the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section “miscalculated by…

Apr 13, 2009 3:49 PM CDT

John Yoo’s Constitutional Arguments are Worth a Hearing, Law Dean Says

It has become almost a truism, to a significant portion of the legal community, that former U.S. Department of Justice attorney John Yoo was way off target when he authored legal memos supporting interrogation methods some consider tantamount to torture. But the dean of the law school at which Yoo…

Apr 11, 2009 12:36 AM CDT

Alaska Seeks Hatch Act Probe in Stevens Case, Supports Possible Tort Claim

Opening a new chapter in the ongoing debacle over the federal government’s stunningly unsuccessful prosecution of then-Sen. Ted Stevens for corruption, the legislature of his home state of Alaska today overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for further investigation of potential election law violations and demanding that the federal government give…

Apr 9, 2009 12:24 AM CDT

Does Bybee’s ‘Easy Personality’ Explain Why He Signed ‘Torture Memos’?

Some acquaintances wonder why Judge Jay Bybee signed two memos approving harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects when he led the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in 2002. The Recorder (sub. req.) partly answers the question, saying the federal appeals judge’s “easy personality” may provide a clue. That personality may…

Apr 8, 2009 12:57 PM CDT

Special Prosecutor to Investigate Government Lawyers in Sen. Stevens Case

As requested by the government, a federal judge today reversed the corruption conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens and dismissed the case against him with prejudice. But the case is far from over. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan is appointing a special prosecutor to pursue a criminal contempt probe against…

Apr 7, 2009 4:52 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge in Sen. Stevens Case Puts Spotlight on Prosecution

Six days into a high-profile corruption trial of then-Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., knew they’d made a major mistake. A February 2007 document in the FBI file concerning the government’s chief witness could well be helpful to the defense. But the prosecution hadn’t turned it over…

Apr 6, 2009 5:42 PM CDT

‘Holy Hell’ Breaks Lose Over Possible Disclosure of Torture Memos

U.S. security officials are working to overturn a decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to release three 2005 Justice Department memos approving harsh interrogation techniques. National security aide John Brennan is leading the effort to block disclosure of the documents, Newsweek reports. “Holy hell has broken loose over this,” one…

Apr 3, 2009 6:02 PM CDT