Attorney General

Around the Blawgosphere: SCOTUSblog Hits 10-Year Mark; Building an Affordable Suit Wardrobe

Landmark Log-in Ten years ago this First Monday, SCOTUSBlog was born. Tom Goldstein and (his wife) Amy Howe’s blog “had 30 hits, and [we] were astonished; really, we were too embarrassed to quit, once we had a few readers,” Goldstein wrote at SCOTUSBlog. “Almost a decade later, on the day…

Oct 5, 2012 2:30 PM CDT

Lawmakers Critical of Litigation Quid Pro Quo Between DOJ and St. Paul Officials

Lawmakers who became aware of a quid pro quo between the Justice Department and city officials in St. Paul, Minn., are raising concerns about the deal. The Washington Post reports that four Republican lawmakers are criticizing the Justice Department’s decision to abandon support of a lawsuit against the city in…

Sep 28, 2012 1:37 PM CDT

IG Report Blames DOJ Prosecutors, ATF Agents for ‘Fast and Furious,’ Seeks Discipline Probe of 14

In a scathing report made public Wednesday about the botched Operation Fast and Furious federal gun trafficking investigation, an inspector general of the U.S. Department of Justice called for disciplinary reviews of 14 current and former employees. In the report (PDF), inspector general Michael Horowitz put primary blame on what…

Sep 19, 2012 8:45 PM CDT

DOJ Won’t Prosecute Anyone in Deaths of Two Overseas Detainees Interrogated by CIA

Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that he will not bring any prosecutions in the deaths of two overseas detainees who were interrogated by CIA officials. Holder did not identify the detainees who died, but prior reports have suggested they were Gul Rahman,who died at a secret CIA prison in…

Aug 31, 2012 11:22 AM CDT

Eric Holder Speaks at Lavender Law Conference, Seeks Help from LGBT Lawyers

Eric Holder, speaking Thursday at the LGBT Bar Association’s Lavender Law Conference, told the Washington, D.C., audience that they are responsible for helping the Obama administration continue its quest for gay equality. The U.S. attorney general was a keynote speaker at the event, the Washington Blade reports. To an audience…

Aug 24, 2012 7:38 PM CDT

Food Company Settles Case After Diverting Pet Food to Federal Prison

An East Texas-based food company specializing in fajita meat has agreed to pay $392,000 to settle a dispute over how its resale of meat intended for pet food ended up on plates in federal prisons. At issue were raw “beef trimmings” that were supposed to be used for cans of…

Aug 20, 2012 7:24 PM CDT

House Committee Sues AG Holder for Civil Contempt, Asks Judge to Nix Obama Executive Privilege Claim

Setting the stage for a constitutional showdown during a presidential election year, an expected effort has begun to enforce a historic contempt citation of a sitting U.S. attorney general by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this summer. On Monday, the House Oversight Committee filed a federal civil contempt lawsuit…

Aug 13, 2012 6:30 PM CDT

Coalition of Nearly 70 Former Judges, Prosecutors Urge High Court to Hear Gov’t Misconduct Dispute

Nearly 70 former federal judges and prosecutors are taking the side of a defendant and urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up an appeal of a doctor trying to recoup damages from the DOJ for prosecutorial misconduct. The case involves Florida doctor Ali Shaygan, who was awarded more than…

Aug 13, 2012 11:15 AM CDT

Justice Department Employees Violated Nepotism Laws by Hiring Relatives, Report Says

Eight employees in a Justice Department division that oversees the hiring of administrative and back-office workers violated nepotism laws and regulations by hiring relatives, according to a report by the DOJ’s ethics watchdog. Inspector General Michael Horowitz says the career employees sought to get their relatives hired, or manipulated the…

Jul 27, 2012 1:19 PM CDT

Wells Fargo to Pay at Least $175M to Settle Lending Bias Claims

The U.S. Justice Department has announced that Wells Fargo will pay at least $175 million to resolve claims of bias against minority mortgage borrowers in the second largest fair-lending settlement in DOJ history. According to the Justice Department’s complaint (PDF), Wells Fargo discriminated against 34,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers in…

Jul 12, 2012 4:47 PM CDT

DOJ Announces Review of Possibly Flawed Hair Evidence in Thousands of Cases

The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday that it is joining with the FBI to review thousands of criminal cases to determine whether flawed hair evidence tainted the convictions. The analysis is the largest post-conviction review ever done by the FBI, the Washington Post reports. The announcement follows a Washington Post…

Jul 11, 2012 11:32 AM CDT

DOJ Won’t Prosecute AG Holder re US House Contempt Citation

Saying that it wasn’t a crime for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to withhold information sought by a congressional committee concerning the feds’ botched Fast and Furious gun-trafficking investigation, the Department of Justice has announced that it won’t prosecute the nation’s top law enforcement officer for contempt. In a letter…

Jun 29, 2012 8:26 PM CDT

House Cites Attorney General Eric Holder for Contempt of Congress; AG Calls Vote ‘Grave Disservice’

Updated: The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt concerning documents sought by a committee reviewing the botched Fast and Furious federal gun-trafficking probe overseen by the Department of Justice. This is a historic first—Congress has never imposed that sanction on a sitting…

Jun 28, 2012 8:34 PM CDT

Holder Contempt Vote Scheduled for Today; DOJ Could Cite Ted Olson Opinion

The U.S. House is scheduled to vote today on whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to turn over documents in the flawed gun-walking probe known as Operation Fast and Furious. The vote is expected to be held this afternoon, unless a last-minute deal is reached,…

Jun 28, 2012 12:57 PM CDT

Critics Say Administration Failed to Press Originalist Arguments in Health Law Case

Critics say the Obama administration failed to appeal to conservative justices when it portrayed health care as a unique marketplace that could be regulated under the commerce clause. Instead, some observers say, the administration should have referred to early legislation in an effort to show the framers accepted regulation similar…

Jun 25, 2012 11:44 AM CDT