Attorney General

Conyers: AG ‘Breadcrumbs’ Go to White House

Today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing elicited few clear answers from U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the controversial firings last year of U.S. Attorneys, allegedly for political reasons, although the list has now been determined to include at least nine, rather than the original eight. But unlike last month’s Senate…

May 10, 2007 10:25 PM CDT

Media: Not a Lot of New Info in Latest AG Hearing

As a daylong U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing at which Alberto Gonzales was the star witness continued this afternoon, not a lot of new information came out, media reports agreed. However, the U.S. Attorney General was criticized for his lack of leadership in allegedly allowing politicization of the Justice Department.…

May 10, 2007 6:28 PM CDT

Police Often Ticketed Fort Dix Suspects

Responding to suggestions that police should have checked the immigration status of suspects accused of plotting to attack Fort Dix, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said new laws and more money are needed to fight illegal immigration. Gonzales responded today to questions about a Washington Post report that four of the…

May 10, 2007 5:10 PM CDT

Partisan Sparring in Gonzales Hearing

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and its ranking Republican sparred today as they interviewed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. In his testimony, Gonzales repeated assertions that his decision to fire eight U.S. attorneys was not based on improper reasons and the firings…

May 10, 2007 4:42 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor Says He Was Pushed Out

Former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves of Missouri says he was pushed to resign. Graves wasn’t among the eight U.S. attorneys who were fired by the Justice Department. But he told the New York Times that DOJ official Michael Battle told him to look for another job. Graves says he doesn’t…

May 10, 2007 2:57 PM CDT

Gonzales Tells Aides He’ll Keep Job

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has told aides he will likely survive the flap over his dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys. Some administration officials, including political strategist Karl Rove and White House Counsel Fred Fielding, had earlier expressed misgivings about Gonzales. But in the face of President Bush’s steadfast support…

May 10, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Two Fired U.S. Attys Suggest Criminal Charges

Two former U.S. attorneys allegedly fired as part of a political purge reportedly predict possible criminal charges against senior Justice Department officials as a result of the dismissals. “I think there will be a criminal case that will come out of this,” John McKay, former U.S. Attorney for western Washington…

May 10, 2007 1:51 AM CDT

Rising Tally of Alleged US Attorney Firing Targets

Remember when the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, possibly as part of a political purge, was an issue in ongoing Congressional committee hearings? Now it appears that the correct number of federal prosecutors targeted for dismissal could be nine, ten or – if other shoes are yet to drop –…

May 9, 2007 8:42 PM CDT

AG Apologizes Pre-Hearing, Asks for New Focus

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has apologized and asked members of Congress to help the Justice Department focus on its crime-fighting mission, in a written statement submitted in anticipation of a scheduled House Judiciary Committee hearing tomorrow. In the statement, he said he apologizes for “the process” by which eight…

May 9, 2007 6:32 PM CDT

Ex U.S. Attorney Decries ‘Secret Hit Lists’

Todd Graves of Missouri wasn’t among the eight fired U.S. attorneys, but he was on a preliminary Justice Department list of prosecutors targeted for removal. And he was also targeted by an aide to Sen. Christopher S. Bond, R-Mo., without the senator’s knowledge. A spokeswoman for Bond says the senator’s…

May 9, 2007 5:50 PM CDT

Questions Surround Prosecutor Hire

A controversial lawyer got a job with the federal prosecutor’s office for the District of Columbia after four senior Justice Department officials intervened on his behalf. Jay Apperson, who once worked for independent counsel Kenneth Starr, didn’t have to go through the usual hiring process, according to the Washington Post.…

May 8, 2007 4:18 PM CDT

Goodling Will Testify, Schlozman Invited to Do So

Lining up potential witnesses in the ongoing Congressional investigation of alleged politically motivated firing of prosecutors and hiring of career attorneys at the Justice Department, legislators both called a new witness on Monday and apparently locked in the testimony of another they had been pursuing for some time. Monica Goodling,…

May 8, 2007 12:17 AM CDT

Holtzman: Axing AG Would Put Bush on Hot Seat

In all the arguing over whether U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should be asked to resign, several important facts seem to have been forgotten, a former member of Congress says. If Gonzales goes, his replacement would have to be confirmed by the Senate, and the last thing the White House…

May 7, 2007 10:05 PM CDT

DOJ’s Race Bias Prosecution Team Mostly White

The criminal section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is lacking in diversity. Since 2003, the section has not hired any black attorneys to replace those who have left, according to internal records obtained by WJLA-TV in Arlington, Va. Only two attorneys within the 50-lawyer division are black. The…

May 7, 2007 4:59 PM CDT

Resignation of LA Prosecutor Questioned

Questions are being raised about the departure of U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang of Los Angeles. Wang resigned in October to accept a lucrative job offer from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher about two months before eight of her counterparts were fired. She says she left for personal reasons. At the…

May 4, 2007 5:58 PM CDT