Attorney General

Mukasey Record: Prickly and Independent

Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey is variously described as someone who is fiercely independent, fiercely intelligent, impatient and injudicious in articles published in the past few days. A Sunday New York Times article focuses on Mukasey’s decisions permitting indefinite detentions of potential terrorism witnesses. A lawyer for one such witness,…

Sep 24, 2007 4:47 PM CDT

U.S. Attorney in Minneapolis Under Investigation

Sources tell the Washington Post that the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis is under investigation by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The probe focuses on allegations that the prosecutor, Rachel Paulose, failed to keep classified information secure, made racist comments about an employee, and retaliated against those who disagreed with…

Sep 24, 2007 11:51 AM CDT

Mukasey Clashed with 2nd Circuit on Bias Case

Lawyers who appeared before Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey say he was conservative but fair. But an appeals court took issue with two of his rulings regarding an officer’s discrimination suit against the New York Police Department, the Washington Post reports. The plaintiff, Karen Sorlucco, claimed she was fired because…

Sep 21, 2007 7:01 PM CDT

Sheik Trial Left Mukasey ‘Shaken’

The trial of sheik Omar Abdel Rahman was a microcosm for the terrorism issues that Michael Mukasey will face if he is confirmed as attorney general. After the nine-month trial, Mukasey sentenced the sheik in 1996 to life in prison for a plot to bomb New York landmarks. Mukasey said…

Sep 20, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

Mukasey Backed Terrorism Fight

Michael Mukasey has no public record on many issues of importance to movement conservatives, but he’s viewed as supporting the war on terrorism. A retired judge who is President Bush’s nominee for attorney general, Mukasey has supported the administration’s assertion of broad powers in terrorism cases, the New York Times…

Sep 18, 2007 3:15 PM CDT

New Acting AG Named

President Bush’s announcement that he was nominating Michael B. Mukasey to become attorney general was not the surprising part of his press conference this morning. Mukasey’s nomination was reported this weekend. More surprising was Bush’s announcement that Peter Keisler, who oversaw the department’s civil division, was taking over as acting…

Sep 17, 2007 3:02 PM CDT

Bush Nominates Mukasey as AG

Updated: President Bush formally announced this morning that he is nominating retired federal judge Michael B. Mukasey to become attorney general. Bush told reporters at this morning’s press conference that Mukasey is “clear-eyed” to the terrorist threat. Bush and Mukasey’s complete remarks were published in a White House press release.…

Sep 17, 2007 2:44 PM CDT

AG Nomination Should Avoid Past Errors

As President George W. Bush decides who should succeed Alberto Gonzales, one consideration should be paramount, observers say: Whether the new attorney general will focus on the best interests of the country rather than partisan politics. “The nation’s top lawyers may have broken the law, and even may have sent…

Sep 13, 2007 11:26 PM CDT

Ted Olson’s AG Chances Dimming

The short list of possible nominees for attorney general is changing. Former solicitor general Ted Olson may need to be crossed off the list following a blunt assessment of his chances from the Senate majority leader, the Washington Post reports. “Ted Olson will not be confirmed,” said Sen. Harry Reid,…

Sep 13, 2007 3:10 PM CDT

Olson AG Nomination Could Spur Fight

President Bush is intent on choosing the right person to fill the job of attorney general rather than someone who could be easily confirmed, a senior administration official told the Wall Street Journal. Increasingly speculation centers on Ted Olson, a former solicitor general whose wife died in the Sept. 11…

Sep 12, 2007 3:14 PM CDT

House to Probe Governor’s Prosecution

A congressional committee will investigate whether political considerations played a role in the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who is serving a sentence of more than seven years for corruption. “The case could become the centerpiece of a Democratic effort to show that the Justice Department engaged in…

Sep 11, 2007 1:04 PM CDT

Olson Strong Contender for AG

Sources tell the Washington Post that former solicitor general Theodore Olson is a leading contender for the job of attorney general. The suspense should be over soon, the article reports, citing sources who say President Bush is expected to announce his choice to replace Alberto Gonzales by the middle of…

Sep 10, 2007 3:07 PM CDT

Congressman Claims DOJ Race Bias

A congressman accused of bribery says the Justice Department is trying him in Alexandria, Va., because juries there have fewer African-Americans. U.S. Rep. William Jefferson is asking a judge to move his trial to Washington, D.C., where many of the alleged crimes are said to have taken place, the New…

Sep 10, 2007 11:33 AM CDT

Lawyer Who Withdrew ‘Torture Memos’ Speaks Out

A lawyer who headed the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel says in a new book that he resigned from the job in 2004 in hopes that his withdrawal of two controversial memos on interrogation of terrorism suspects would stick. Jack Goldsmith, now a Harvard law professor, considered the so-called…

Sep 10, 2007 11:16 AM CDT

Another DOJ Official Resigns

The number of political appointees at the Justice Department who resigned this past year now stands at about one dozen. Peter Keisler, who led the Justice Department’s civil division, announced yesterday he will leave effective Sept. 21, according to The BLT, the Blog of Legal Times. His nomination for a…

Sep 7, 2007 11:29 AM CDT