Attorney General

Lawyer Challenges Former AG to Face Spanish Torture Charges

A human rights lawyer says former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and five other former Bush administration officials should come to Spain to face accusations that they approved the torture of terrorism suspects. Lawyer Gonzalo Boye helped bring the complaint before Spain’s investigative judge Baltasar Garzon, known for his pursuit of…

Mar 30, 2009 12:45 PM CDT

Former Homeland Security Chief Chertoff Joins Covington

Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is joining Covington & Burling’s white-collar defense and investigations practice. Chertoff is a former assistant U.S. attorney, a former head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and a former judge with the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Am Law Daily reports.…

Mar 26, 2009 4:17 PM CDT

Law Dean Criticizes DOJ’s Use of State Secrets as a ‘Talismanic Phrase’

Civil libertarians are criticizing the Obama administration’s Justice Department for defending the state secrets privilege, despite the president’s campaign pledge of a more open government. Critics point to the department’s stance in a lawsuit challenging warrantless wiretaps by the now-defunct Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, the Washington Post reports. The case focuses…

Mar 25, 2009 12:00 PM CDT

Cuomo Uses Office as ‘Bully Pulpit,’ Gets AIG Bonus Recipients to Return Cash

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said yesterday that he has persuaded 15 of the top 20 bonus recipients at AIG to return the money, and it may be possible to recoup some $80 million in all. Cuomo told reporters that out of the top 10 employees who received bonuses,…

Mar 24, 2009 11:42 AM CDT

SG May Jump into High Court Argument with Voting Rights Case

The nation’s new solicitor general may be so eager to prove herself that she will argue an important voting rights case before the Supreme Court at the end of the term. Legal Times quotes an “informed source” who says Solicitor General Elena Kagan is angling for the case, set for…

Mar 23, 2009 4:21 PM CDT

Senate Confirms Kagan for Solicitor General After Debate on Qualifications

The dean of Harvard Law School, Elena Kagan, has been confirmed as solicitor general by a vote of 61-31. The vote was largely along party lines, Reuters reports. Senators debated Kagan’s qualifications for three hours before voting, according to Legal Times. Critics questioned whether she was qualified to become the…

Mar 20, 2009 12:51 PM CDT

Holder: DOJ Won’t Target Medical Marijuana in States That Allow It

Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters at a news conference yesterday that the Department of Justice has no plans to prosecute the sale of medical marijuana in the states that allow it. Thirteen states have laws allowing the sale of medical marijuana, but federal law doesn’t make an exception for…

Mar 19, 2009 2:20 PM CDT

Backers Say Lawyer’s Immigration Work Cost Him Civil Rights Post

Supporters are charging that a Los Angeles lawyer’s controversial litigation work on immigration issues cost him a job as chief of the Justice Department’s civil rights division. President Obama chose Maryland labor secretary Thomas Perez for the post, disappointing supporters of Thomas Saenz, counsel to the mayor of Los Angeles.…

Mar 19, 2009 12:11 PM CDT

ACLU and Lawyers Guild Seek Differing Probes of Ex-Administration Lawyers

Two liberal legal groups are seeking ways to penalize administration officials and lawyers who authorized harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects. The American Civil Liberties Union has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged torture at secret prisons run by the CIA, the Washington Post…

Mar 18, 2009 5:50 PM CDT

Former AG Mukasey Joins Debevoise

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey is joining Debevoise & Plimpton, surprising observers who suspected he would rejoin his former law firm, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler. Mukasey will become a partner in the firm’s litigation department, chaired by Mary Jo White, the former U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, the Am Law…

Mar 17, 2009 6:21 PM CDT

Ex-WilmerHale Partner OK’d for No. 2 at DOJ, Despite Past Porn Clients

The Senate has confirmed former WilmerHale partner David Ogden to be deputy attorney general, despite some controversy over his past representation of clients such as Playboy and a company that distributes adult mail-order products. During his confirmation hearing, Ogden noted that he “vigorously defended” the constitutionality of child pornography statutes…

Mar 13, 2009 4:22 PM CDT

New Focus on Fraud Prosecutions

Under the Obama administration, there is going to be a new focus on prosecuting more financial fraud cases. In fact, it has already begun. The president’s proposed budget “hints” at a planned spending increase on federal prosecution, and those who have met with Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. say he…

Mar 12, 2009 12:23 AM CDT

Check With AG Before Following Bush Signing Statements, Obama Tells Officials

In an initially little-known practice, President George W. Bush not infrequently signed federal legislation but then, in effect, countermanded some provisions in so-called signing statements. Now President Barack Obama is telling federal officials not to rely on them. In a memo today, he sets forth the principles he intends to…

Mar 9, 2009 9:54 PM CDT

Obama Says Holder Had a Point, But ‘Nation of Cowards’ Not Best Word Choice

President Obama says Eric Holder had a point, but his indication that we are a “nation of cowards” would not have been his own choice of words. Speaking in February to Justice Department employees commemorating Black History Month, Attorney General Holder said that in too many ways we have have…

Mar 9, 2009 1:39 PM CDT

Holder Indicates End to Medical Pot Raids, But US Atty. Memos Less Clear

Attorney General Eric Holder indicated a few weeks back that the Drug Enforcement Administration will end raids on medical marijuana clinics, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles appears unclear about the effects of the pronouncement. An aide to U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Brien sent a confidential memo ordering a…

Mar 9, 2009 1:18 PM CDT