Federal Government

DOJ Reopens Domestic Wiretap Investigation

Updated: In a move seen as an indicator of where the Department of Justice may now be headed under the direction of a new U.S. Attorney General, the department has reopened a dormant investigation of whether the National Security Agency violated the law by engaging in a warrantless domestic wiretapping…

Nov 13, 2007 8:56 PM CST

Next High Court Retirees Likely to Be Liberal

The U.S. Supreme Court is “a major, looming issue in the 2008 presidential election,” Tony Mauro writes in an opinion column for USA Today. Many observers believe the first justices to announce their retirement will be from the court’s liberal wing: 87-year-old John Paul Stevens, 74-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and…

Nov 13, 2007 11:46 AM CST

Judge to White House: Save Those E-Mails!

Ruling on lawsuits brought by two private groups, a federal judge has ordered the White House to retain e-mail copies while the court system sorts out whether the Bush administration has violated federal law requiring the preservation of e-mail records. The suits contend that some 5 million White House e-mails…

Nov 13, 2007 12:31 AM CST

Ex-Bush Lawyer to Blast Administration in Dinner Speech

Barry Richard, the lawyer who represented President Bush in election recount lawsuits, will use a dinner speech to blast the administration. Richard, of Greenberg Traurig, told the National Law Journal he will protest the erosion of civil liberties when he speaks to the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys. “I’m…

Nov 9, 2007 3:44 PM CST

Waterboarding is Torture—and Ineffective, Military Witnesses Tell House Panel

Two witnesses with substantial military experience told a U.S. House subcommittee in no uncertain terms today that waterboarding is not only torture but an ineffective method of obtaining information from terrorism suspects. A third military witness on active duty was expected to testify but was barred from doing so by…

Nov 8, 2007 7:55 PM CST

Massive Loss of Reagan Library Artifacts

In a cautionary tale of government disorganization and inadequate standards, security and funding, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is missing a massive number of artifacts. A recent audit “found that the Reagan library was unable to properly account for more than 80,000 artifacts out of its collection of some 100,000…

Nov 8, 2007 6:19 PM CST

U.S. Concludes a Blackwater Shooting Is Justified

The U.S. government has concluded that a Blackwater security guard who shot and killed three employees of the Iraqi Media Network last Feb. 7 was justified in taking action. A diplomatic security official told the Washington Post that the U.S. Embassy interviewed personnel involved in the shooting and in a…

Nov 8, 2007 12:43 PM CST

Former Freddie Mac CEO Settles for $16.4M

A few weeks into what was expected to be a lengthy trial before an administrative law judge, a former chairman and chief executive of Freddie Mac has agreed to settle his case for $16.4 million, without admitting liability. While a stunning sum, the $16.4 million is a fraction of the…

Nov 8, 2007 1:33 AM CST

Bush Calls for More Food & Product Oversight

Acknowledging flaws in the current regulatory system, the Bush administration and the FDA made parallel proposals yesterday calling for enhanced measures to protect consumers from tainted food and dangerous products. Their plan calls for stricter safety rules and more severe fines, and it would increase the authority of the federal…

Nov 7, 2007 5:28 PM CST

Wily GOP Sought Vote to Impeach Cheney

Republicans reportedly were behind an abortive effort to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney for ” ‘fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction’ to justify the war in Iraq.” They attempted to force a floor vote on the question yesterday, which was narrowly defeated 218-194 by Democrats fearful of…

Nov 7, 2007 5:06 PM CST

Mukasey Nomination Likely to Move Forward

After another day of lobbying by President George Bush, two key Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee say they will vote in favor of forwarding his nomination of Michael Mukasey as U.S. attorney general to the full Senate for confirmation. Sen Charles Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of…

Nov 2, 2007 10:18 PM CDT

U.S. Secretary of State is Subpoenaed

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, among other American intelligence officials, has been subpoenaed to appear as a witness in a federal espionage case against pro-Israeli lobbyists. Accused of receiving classified terrorism-related information from a Pentagon official who has already been convicted and relaying it to an Israeli official and…

Nov 2, 2007 7:40 PM CDT

Is Mukasey Protecting Bush Administration?

Even before his nomination as the country’s next attorney general is confirmed, Michael Mukasey may already be protecting the Bush administration, some legal experts say. By refusing the demands of a number of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that he expressly declare waterboarding to be an illegal form of…

Nov 1, 2007 1:15 AM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor Acquitted in ‘Political’ Case

A federal prosecutor accused of intentionally withholding evidence that would have helped the defense in a high-profile 2003 terrorism trial has been found not guilty on all charges in a jury verdict today. Outside the courtroom after the verdict, former assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino decried the case against him…

Oct 31, 2007 8:54 PM CDT

Full 4th Circuit Hears ‘Enemy Combatant’ Case

Whether the president has the power to hold a legal U.S. resident in military custody as a so-called enemy combatant is being argued today before the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of the Richmond, Va.-based 4th Circuit ruled in June that the president does not,…

Oct 31, 2007 7:23 PM CDT