Attorney General

Report Raps Justice Department for Political Hires in Honors Program

Updated: A report released today concludes that political appointees in the Justice Department focused on hiring conservative lawyers and eschewed liberals in an honors program for law graduates. The report said a screening committee rejected applicants affiliated with Democratic or liberal causes at a much higher rate than those with…

Jun 24, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

High Court to Hear ‘Price Squeeze’ Antitrust Case that Split FTC and SG

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a case that tests the antitrust “price squeeze” doctrine in a case against a unit of AT&T. The issue has divided the government, with the Federal Trade Commission supporting the theory and the Justice Department opposing it. Several Internet providers had sued…

Jun 23, 2008 5:46 PM CDT

At 92, Antitrust Lawyer Has More Years at DOJ Than Any Other

Ninety-two-year-old Bernard Hollander has worked for 59 years in the antitrust division of the Justice Department, more years than any other lawyer there. Legal Times reports that Hollander earned just $3,700 his first year on the job and one of his first big cases involved helping break RCA’s monopoly on…

Jun 23, 2008 1:28 PM CDT

Lawyers Warned White House that Courts Would Overturn Gitmo Policies

The administration rejected advice from the solicitor general and other lawyers that its Guantanamo policies would be overturned by the federal courts. In an e-mail, top State Department lawyer John Bellinger III told the White House that its system of detention of terrorism suspects wouldn’t survive without a broad congressional…

Jun 23, 2008 10:44 AM CDT

Gonzales Axed Anti-Torture DOJ Lawyer, But Promised US Attorney Job, ABC Says

In Congressional testimony that helps connect two controversial legal issues in the Bush administration, a former high-level Justice Department lawyer says he was asked to leave after he wrote a memo opposing harsh interrogation techniques he considered torture but was promised a job as a U.S. Attorney by former Attorney…

Jun 19, 2008 11:16 PM CDT

Justice Department Crime-Fighting Grants Probed for Favoritism

A House committee is investigating whether grant-making units in the Justice Department ignored independent reviews and gave money to favored groups. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has interviewed former and current Justice Department employees about grants made under a 2007 law giving the DOJ $150 million to distribute…

Jun 19, 2008 11:50 AM CDT

DOJ Opinion OKs Social Security Benefits for Gay Couple’s Child

A Justice Department legal opinion says federal law does not bar the Social Security Administration from paying benefits to the nonbiological child of a woman who entered into a civil union in Vermont. The October opinion (PDF), released on June 9, says the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal…

Jun 18, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

House Panel Subpoenas Mukasey for Interviews in CIA Leak Probe

A House committee has subpoenaed Attorney General Michael Mukasey for FBI reports of interviews with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in the probe into the leak of a CIA agent’s identity. The Department of Justice had rejected a request for the documents earlier this month on the basis…

Jun 17, 2008 10:38 AM CDT

Grand Jury Referral Filed in U.S. Attorneys Case, Focuses on Civil Rights Division

A grand jury referral focusing on political meddling in the Justice Department’s civil rights division has been filed in the probe of U.S. attorney firings. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports that the referral focuses on possible perjury by Bradley Schlozman, who left the Justice Department last year. At…

Jun 16, 2008 11:28 AM CDT

Alberto Gonzales Lands Job Aiding Special Master

Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been hired to help a special master in a patent case. Gonzales will help oversee settlement talks in a patent case involving technology used by banks to transmit digital images of checks, Bloomberg News reports. He will assist the special master, former U.S.…

Jun 10, 2008 2:11 PM CDT

SG Brief Mostly Avoids Four-Letter Words in Fleeting Expletives Case

Outgoing U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement tries to avoid two vulgarities in the so-called fleeting expletives case before the U.S. Supreme Court. A Supreme Court brief submitted by Clement uses the words in the statement of facts but then substitutes “F-Word” and “S-word,” SCOTUSblog reports. At issue is whether the…

Jun 6, 2008 2:41 PM CDT

Will Eric Holder Become the Next Attorney General?

Former deputy attorney general Eric Holder, the co-chair of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, is considered a likely candidate for attorney general if his candidate wins the presidency. But would he take the job? Holder, a partner at Covington & Burling, appears reluctant to take it on, the American Lawyer reports…

Jun 5, 2008 12:22 PM CDT

DOJ Paralegal Sues Department for Discrimination

An African-American paralegal who worked in the Justice Department for 13 years has sued for discrimination. Paralegal Joi Hyatte claims supervisors sought outside white and Hispanic job candidates for higher paying analyst positions in the voting rights section and failed to offer the jobs to existing, qualified paralegals, reports The…

May 30, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

SG Paul Clement to Teach at Georgetown Law School

Updated: Outgoing Solicitor General Paul Clement will join Georgetown law school as a visiting law professor and a senior fellow at the school’s Supreme Court Institute. Two weeks ago, Clement had announced he will resign from the Justice Department on June 2, but he did not indicate his future plans.…

May 29, 2008 3:27 PM CDT

Mukasey Tells Grads Lawyer’s Job Is ‘Dispassionate and Reasoned Analysis’

Attorney General Michael Mukasey told Boston College law graduates on Friday that a lawyer’s job is to offer clients “dispassionate and reasoned analysis” of legal issues. “If you do your job well, there will be times when you will have to advise clients that the law prohibits them from doing…

May 27, 2008 10:48 AM CDT