DOJ Won’t Release Wiretapping Opinion

Two congressional Democrats have threatened to subpoena Justice Department documents related to the government’s domestic wiretapping program.

Steven Bradbury, who heads DOJ’s office of legal counsel, told a House Judiciary subcommittee yesterday that the documents would not be released because they are confidential.

The Democrats are seeking legal opinions that supported the wiretapping program and 2004 documents by Justice officials questioning its legality.

Jun 8, 2007 4:17 PM CDT

Cheney Involved in DOJ Debate

A revelation that Vice President Dick Cheney urged approval of a warrantless surveillance program in a meeting with Justice Department officials shows he was more involved in the debate than previously known. The meeting was revealed in disclosures made by former deputy attorney general James Comey in response to written…

Jun 7, 2007 4:19 PM CDT

An Early List of Prosecutor Successors

Documents released yesterday appear to contradict statements by Justice Department officials that a group of potential replacements had not been identified before U.S. attorneys were fired.

Former chief of staff D. Kyle Sampson named five potential replacements months before the firings, the Washington Post reports.

An official with the conservative Federalist Society also forwarded the name of a potential replacement more than a year before the firings, according to the New York Times.

Jun 7, 2007 2:31 PM CDT

Suit to Seek Information on Secret Detainees

Three human rights groups plan to file a lawsuit today seeking documents and information about detainees believed to be in secret custody of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The Washington Post says the suit will name several U.S. agencies, including the CIA, the Justice Department and the Defense Department.

Jun 7, 2007 2:03 PM CDT

Lawyer Denies Role in Prosecutor Firing

A St. Louis attorney is disputing stories that he complained about lax voter fraud prosecutions, resulting in the ouster of U.S. Attorney Todd Graves of Kansas City, Mo. Thor Hearne, a Republican activist, has battled voter fraud and worked to strengthen identification requirements for voters. But he told the St.…

Jun 6, 2007 8:28 PM CDT

Ex-DOJ Official Defends Hiring, Vote-Fraud Case

A former Justice Department official told the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday that he recruited job applicants from conservative groups such as the Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation. But Bradley J. Schlozman, who served as acting head of the civil rights division in 2005, said that when it came time to…

Jun 6, 2007 2:54 PM CDT

Hiring in Civil Rights Division Scrutinized

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are turning their attention to allegations of political hiring in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Bradley Schlozman, who formerly was acting assistant attorney general in the division, will testify before the committee on Tuesday, Legal Times reports. Democrats plan to ask him whether…

Jun 4, 2007 1:07 PM CDT

Likely Promotion for Federal Prosecutor

A respected career prosecutor is expected to be nominated as the new U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. The Bush administration appears poised to name Thomas O’Brien, now the chief of the U.S. attorney’s criminal division in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports. The move comes as the Justice Department…

Jun 1, 2007 7:28 PM CDT

Law Prof: AG Testimony an Ethics Issue?

Just as a number of commentators were saying that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales seemed to be recovering from the controversy over his management of the Justice Department, a new issue has arisen. Based on the testimony last week of his former senior counsel, Monica Goodling, before the Senate Judiciary…

May 31, 2007 5:38 PM CDT

Justice Dept Expands Atty Hiring Probe

An ongoing investigation of the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys, allegedly as part of a political purge, has been expanded. In a letter today to the Senate Judiciary Committee, two Justice Department officials said the investigation has now been widened to include essentially any attorney hiring improperly influenced by political…

May 30, 2007 10:08 PM CDT

Gonzales Takes Licking, Keeps Ticking

Is the worst of it over for Alberto Gonzales? Yes, the embattled U.S. Attorney General is like the battery-powered Energizer bunny, able to take a licking and keep on ticking, says the Wall Street Journal’s law blawg, which notes that other observers are seeing the situation the same way. For…

May 29, 2007 9:50 PM CDT

Goodling: Politics Influenced DOJ Hiring

Testifying under a grant of immunity, the Justice Department’s former liaison to the White House explained how she did Google and Nexis searches on DOJ job applicants to learn their political leanings.

May 24, 2007 5:18 PM CDT

1 in 3 Prosecutors on Justice Firing Line

At last count, the tally is 30, as far as the total number of U.S. attorneys reportedly considered for possible dismissal by the Justice Department during 2005 and 2006. And that amounts to almost exactly one-third of the country’s 93 U.S. Attorneys, says the Washington Post today. Nine of the…

May 18, 2007 10:13 PM CDT

Post: 1 in 4 U.S. Attys in Justice Dept’s Sights

Senior officials at the U.S. Justice Department reportedly considered firing at least 25 percent of the country’s top prosecutors during a two-year period starting in early 2005. That is far more than has previously been publicly acknowledged, despite repeated testimony by the U.S. Attorney General and other senior Justice officials…

May 17, 2007 7:51 PM CDT

Former and Future AGs Clashed on Wiretaps

A former Justice Department official testified today that he rushed to the bedside of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in an effort to thwart approval of the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.

May 15, 2007 9:28 PM CDT