Attorney General

More than 900 Whistle-Blower Cases Caught in DOJ Backlog

The Justice Department can’t keep up with hundreds of whistle-blower cases that allege contractors and drug companies overcharged or defrauded the federal government. More than 900 cases are “languishing in a backlog that has built up over the last decade,” the Washington Post reports. Litigants often must wait 14 months…

Jul 2, 2008 12:28 PM CDT

Rejected Job Applicant Sues DOJ for Political Hiring

A former applicant for the Justice Department’s honors program has filed a suit that contends his First Amendment rights were violated when he was denied a job because of his liberal affiliations. The plaintiff, Sean Gerlich, had received good marks as a Justice Department intern and believed his first job…

Jul 2, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Mock Jurors in Fieger Case Reflected Bush Credibility Crisis, Lawyer Says

Mock jurors hearing evidence in a case against Michigan lawyer Geoffrey Fieger overwhelmingly expressed a distrust of government, an attitude probably held by jurors in the real trial, says one defense lawyer. Lawyer Steve Fishman, who represented co-defendant Ven Johnson, told the Detroit Free Press he became sure he would…

Jun 27, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

4 Airlines to Pay $504M in Near Record Price-Fixing Payout

Four international airlines have agreed to pay $504 million to settle charges they conspired to drive up air cargo rates. The Justice Department says the antitrust settlement is one of the largest in history, the Associated Press reports. Air France-KLM will pay $350 million, while the rest will be paid…

Jun 26, 2008 5:36 PM CDT

Report Raps Justice Department for Political Hires in Honors Program

Updated: A report released today concludes that political appointees in the Justice Department focused on hiring conservative lawyers and eschewed liberals in an honors program for law graduates. The report said a screening committee rejected applicants affiliated with Democratic or liberal causes at a much higher rate than those with…

Jun 24, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

High Court to Hear ‘Price Squeeze’ Antitrust Case that Split FTC and SG

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a case that tests the antitrust “price squeeze” doctrine in a case against a unit of AT&T. The issue has divided the government, with the Federal Trade Commission supporting the theory and the Justice Department opposing it. Several Internet providers had sued…

Jun 23, 2008 5:46 PM CDT

At 92, Antitrust Lawyer Has More Years at DOJ Than Any Other

Ninety-two-year-old Bernard Hollander has worked for 59 years in the antitrust division of the Justice Department, more years than any other lawyer there. Legal Times reports that Hollander earned just $3,700 his first year on the job and one of his first big cases involved helping break RCA’s monopoly on…

Jun 23, 2008 1:28 PM CDT

Lawyers Warned White House that Courts Would Overturn Gitmo Policies

The administration rejected advice from the solicitor general and other lawyers that its Guantanamo policies would be overturned by the federal courts. In an e-mail, top State Department lawyer John Bellinger III told the White House that its system of detention of terrorism suspects wouldn’t survive without a broad congressional…

Jun 23, 2008 10:44 AM CDT

Gonzales Axed Anti-Torture DOJ Lawyer, But Promised US Attorney Job, ABC Says

In Congressional testimony that helps connect two controversial legal issues in the Bush administration, a former high-level Justice Department lawyer says he was asked to leave after he wrote a memo opposing harsh interrogation techniques he considered torture but was promised a job as a U.S. Attorney by former Attorney…

Jun 19, 2008 11:16 PM CDT

Justice Department Crime-Fighting Grants Probed for Favoritism

A House committee is investigating whether grant-making units in the Justice Department ignored independent reviews and gave money to favored groups. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has interviewed former and current Justice Department employees about grants made under a 2007 law giving the DOJ $150 million to distribute…

Jun 19, 2008 11:50 AM CDT

DOJ Opinion OKs Social Security Benefits for Gay Couple’s Child

A Justice Department legal opinion says federal law does not bar the Social Security Administration from paying benefits to the nonbiological child of a woman who entered into a civil union in Vermont. The October opinion (PDF), released on June 9, says the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal…

Jun 18, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

House Panel Subpoenas Mukasey for Interviews in CIA Leak Probe

A House committee has subpoenaed Attorney General Michael Mukasey for FBI reports of interviews with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in the probe into the leak of a CIA agent’s identity. The Department of Justice had rejected a request for the documents earlier this month on the basis…

Jun 17, 2008 10:38 AM CDT

Grand Jury Referral Filed in U.S. Attorneys Case, Focuses on Civil Rights Division

A grand jury referral focusing on political meddling in the Justice Department’s civil rights division has been filed in the probe of U.S. attorney firings. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports that the referral focuses on possible perjury by Bradley Schlozman, who left the Justice Department last year. At…

Jun 16, 2008 11:28 AM CDT

Alberto Gonzales Lands Job Aiding Special Master

Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been hired to help a special master in a patent case. Gonzales will help oversee settlement talks in a patent case involving technology used by banks to transmit digital images of checks, Bloomberg News reports. He will assist the special master, former U.S.…

Jun 10, 2008 2:11 PM CDT

SG Brief Mostly Avoids Four-Letter Words in Fleeting Expletives Case

Outgoing U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement tries to avoid two vulgarities in the so-called fleeting expletives case before the U.S. Supreme Court. A Supreme Court brief submitted by Clement uses the words in the statement of facts but then substitutes “F-Word” and “S-word,” SCOTUSblog reports. At issue is whether the…

Jun 6, 2008 2:41 PM CDT