Attorney General

Now on the Defense Side, McNulty Still Likes His Memo

Former deputy attorney general Paul McNulty may have switched sides when he jumped from the Justice Department to Baker & McKenzie’s business crimes practice, but he still sounded like a prosecutor at an ABA meeting yesterday. McNulty wrote a Justice Department memo that allowed prosecutors to continue prodding companies to…

Oct 26, 2007 4:07 PM CDT

Growing Criticism of Mukasey re Waterboarding

Despite the seeming bipartisan support for Michael Mukasey as the next U.S. attorney general at his two-day Senate confirmation hearing last week, there is growing criticism about the former federal judge’s position on what some consider obvious torture of prisoners. The National Lawyers Guild opposed his confirmation today in a…

Oct 24, 2007 1:25 AM CDT

Former AG Says DOJ Politicized Prosecution

After a relatively convivial two-day confirmation hearing last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning President Bush’s nomination of Michael Mukasey to be the new U.S. attorney general, the gloves were off again today in a House Judiciary Committee hearing over alleged improper White House political influence in Department of…

Oct 23, 2007 11:05 PM CDT

Lawyer for Alleged DC Madam Targets Gonzales in Seventh Dismissal Motion

The lawyer for alleged D.C. madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey claims in a new legal pleading that the charges against his client were brought to bolster the political agenda of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But the proof was less sensational than the charge, Dana Milbank reports in his Washington Sketch…

Oct 23, 2007 1:52 PM CDT

Ousted US Atty: Firings ‘Devastating for DOJ’

Fired U.S. Attorney Carol Lam of San Diego told Stanford Lawyer in her first on-the-record interview since her dismissal that the Justice Department’s decision to oust nine federal prosecutors has created devastating uncertainty and demonstrated the failure of DOJ management. The firings have sparked a public outcry and congressional hearings…

Oct 22, 2007 4:00 PM CDT

Torture ‘Bright Line’ Blurs in 2nd Day of AG Hearings

Michael Mukasey clashed with Democrats yesterday in the second day of hearings on his nomination for attorney general. Mukasey refused to agree that an interrogation practice simulating drowning violated U.S. laws against torture and said the president may be able to ignore a law during wartime that requires an intelligence…

Oct 19, 2007 11:41 AM CDT

Will Mukasey Fix Morale By Backing ‘Mr. Fix-it’ for No. 2 Job?

If Michael Mukasey is confirmed as attorney general, he will face a tough decision on whether to back Craig Morford for the department’s second-in-command job. Morford, who already holds the job of deputy attorney general in an acting capacity, is seen as a trouble-shooter and has support among federal prosecutors,…

Oct 18, 2007 11:47 AM CDT

Praise for Mukasey, More Criticism of Gonzales

Michael Mukasey, the president’s nominee to succeed Alberto Gonzales as U.S. attorney general, was warmly welcomed by lawmakers of both parties at a confirmation hearing today, in a session that included implicit, and sometimes explicit, criticism of his predecessor. “During the afternoon session, lawmakers of both parties showered Mukasey with…

Oct 18, 2007 1:06 AM CDT

Mukasey Condemns Torture

Updated: Michael Mukasey pledged today to make decisions independent of political considerations and repudiated a controversial torture memo as his confirmation hearing for attorney general got underway. “Legal decisions and the progress of cases are decided by facts and law, not by interests and motives,” Mukasey said in prepared remarks…

Oct 17, 2007 3:58 PM CDT

DOJ Switched Focus to Terrorism and Immigration Crimes

The Bush administration’s Justice Department has reallocated its resources, focusing less on mobsters and some white-collar crimes and more on terrorism, weapons offenses and immigration violations. Justice Department prosecutions in terrorism and national security cases increased a whopping 876 percent, reaching a peak of 818 in 2003, the Washington Post…

Oct 17, 2007 11:09 AM CDT

Mukasey Wins Democratic Backing

Michael Mukasey has indicated he is likely to impose new rules to insulate the Justice Department from political influence if he is confirmed in hearings that begin today, the New York Times reports. Mukasey emerged from meetings with key senators yesterday with pledges of support, the Associated Press reports. Besides…

Oct 17, 2007 10:22 AM CDT

Lawyer’s Deposition Tells of Politics in Siegelman Case

A Republican lawyer is providing new details about allegations that politics played a role in the prosecution of former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman. Dana Jill Simpson said that Rob Riley Jr., the son of the state’s current governor, bragged that a GOP judge would “hang” Siegelman for partisan reasons, the…

Oct 11, 2007 2:46 PM CDT

Secret Memos Likely Subject in Mukasey Hearing

Two secret Justice Department memos justifying harsh interrogation techniques are likely to be a topic during the confirmation hearing for attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey. Rightly so, says the Washington Post in an editorial. Mukasey should be pressed to confirm that the Justice Department will strictly apply federal laws and…

Oct 8, 2007 11:02 AM CDT

Ousted US Atty Lands at Nev. Firm

One of at least eight U.S. attorneys purged from the Justice Department became a partner at Nevada’s McDonald Carano Wilson. Daniel Bogden served as U.S. attorney in Nevada for more than five years before being pushed out of his post, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports. The removal of the U.S. attorneys…

Oct 5, 2007 10:18 AM CDT

Dems Won’t Hold Up Mukasey Hearing

Democrats won’t hold Michael Mukasey’s confirmation hearing hostage to their demands for documents regarding controversial Justice Department actions. Yesterday the White House called for swift hearings for Mukasey, nominated to be attorney general three weeks ago, the New York Times reports. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy said in a…

Oct 4, 2007 4:18 PM CDT