Former AG Ashcroft Testifies Today in Corporate Monitor Hearings

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft testifies before a House Judiciary subcommittee today on the hiring of monitors to police corporate behavior.

The U.S. attorney in New Jersey gave Ashcroft’s firm a lucrative contract to monitor an Indiana medical supply company as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. The committee wants to know more about such arrangements amid questions about whether prosecutors are rewarding political pals with monitoring work.

The testimony comes just a day after the Justice Department announced new guidelines that require the deputy attorney general's office to approve corporate monitor contracts, the New York Times reports. Corporate monitors are often hired to make sure companies that settle with prosecutors abide by their agreements.

The guidelines, which are dated March 7, also require corporate monitors to be “selected based on the merits,” Legal Times reports. The guidelines were written by Craig Morford, who was acting deputy attorney general until yesterday, when former U.S. District Judge Mark Filip took his place.