Federal Government

Perkins Coie Lawyer Bob Bauer Tapped as New White House Counsel

Updated: Reports on the likely resignation of White House counsel Greg Craig surfaced once again this morning, and this time there was a time frame and a mention of a replacement. The reports later proved to be true; Craig announced his resignation today and said he would return to private…

Nov 13, 2009 4:05 PM CST

Feds File Seizure Action Seeking $500M in Alleged Iranian Gov’t Property in US

Developing: A federal forfeiture action was filed today by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan seeking possession of $500 million in United States assets allegedly held by front companies for the government of Iran. The filing targets a controlling ownership interest in a 36-story New York City office building at…

Nov 12, 2009 11:42 PM CST

US Citizen Sues Feds Over ‘Rendition’ Outside American Court System

An American citizen who was allegedly held and interrogated in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia at the behest of his own country’s law enforcement agents over a several-month period in 2007 filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., yesterday contending that the “rendition” violated his constitutional rights. Amir Mohamed Meshal, who…

Nov 11, 2009 8:41 PM CST

Authorities Probe Possible Link Between Fort Hood Shootings and Terrorism

Although federal authorities have said there is no known link between last week’s shootings at a military base at Fort Hood, Texas, and organized terrorist groups, a former U.S. attorney general under President George W. Bush is characterizing the attack, allegedly by a lone U.S. military gunman, as terrorism. Meanwhile,…

Nov 9, 2009 9:15 PM CST

Italian Court Convicts 23 Americans in CIA Kidnapping Case

Twenty-three Americans tried in absentia in Italy have been convicted of kidnapping an Egyptian terror suspect as part of a CIA extraordinary rendition program. Judge Oscar Magi sentenced 22 of the Americans to five years in jail and sentenced former Milan CIA station chief Robert Seldon Lady to eight years…

Nov 4, 2009 4:52 PM CST

Lack of Military Security Makes Trial Unfair, Blackwater Defense Lawyers Argue

Lawyers defending five former Blackwater Worldwide contractors in an Iraq manslaughter case are calling for the U.S. government to provide the same kind of security for their work that the prosecution team has received. The American military helped prosecutors and the FBI gather evidence, defense lawyers say, while they were…

Oct 21, 2009 10:27 PM CDT

Head of DOJ Public Integrity Unit to Relinquish Role, Return to Mass.

Citing two unidentified sources, the Washington Post reports that the head of the public integrity unit of the U.S. Department of Justice plans to relinquish his role and return to Massachusetts. Although William Welch II will continue as an employee of the DOJ’s criminal division, he will step down on…

Oct 21, 2009 10:02 PM CDT

Whispers Hurt White House Counsel’s Effectiveness on Job

Appointed to one of the most difficult jobs in the Obama administration, White House counsel Gregory Craig has stumbled, some say, on major matters such as the attempt to close the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, which appears likely to be delayed. The 64-year-old Washington, D.C., veteran is…

Oct 21, 2009 7:08 PM CDT

Obama Too Cautious on Judge Picks?

President Obama is being criticized as being too cautious, moving too tentatively, to infuse the federal courts with a new roster of judges. In his first nine months, Obama has won confirmation of just three of 23 nominations for federal judgeships. The Washington Post notes that even though the Senate…

Oct 16, 2009 10:02 AM CDT

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize for Efforts at International Diplomacy

President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” The Washington Post says the “stunning decision” drew gasps from the audience waiting for the announcement. The decision “sparked immediate questions from reporters in Oslo, who noted that Obama so…

Oct 9, 2009 11:33 AM CDT

Defeated Wis. Justice Nominated for US Judgeship; 2 Others Get Appeals Nod

Louis Butler’s judging days may not be over. The former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice has lost two elections. The first time, he lost an election battle with Justice Diane Sykes, but was appointed to fill her state supreme court seat when she became a federal judge, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel…

Oct 7, 2009 3:34 PM CDT

DOJ is on Twitter & Tweeting for AG Eric Holder, Too

Want to know what U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is talking about today, in 140 characters or less? The Justice Department has a Twitter account in which he is participating. “AG Holder: “I am very pleased to welcome Tom Perez back to the Justice Department.’ ” the DOJ tweets this…

Oct 6, 2009 11:37 PM CDT

Meet Orly Taitz: Lawyer, Dentist and Birther in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Crusade

Lawyer Orly Taitz’s lawsuit challenging President Obama’s right to hold office has so provoked a federal judge that he compared her crusade to Alice in Wonderland. Yet Taitz has emerged by some accounts as the most visible face of the movement seeking to prove that Barack Obama was born in…

Oct 6, 2009 3:06 PM CDT

Is White House Counsel Being Set Up as Gitmo Fall Guy?

Fingers of blame are pointing at White House counsel Greg Craig for missing a January deadline to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility—but the blame is misplaced, sources say. Amid mounting criticism Craig is expected to leave his position “in short order,” Politico reports. “Sources familiar with the process believe…

Oct 6, 2009 11:36 AM CDT

Embattled Lawyer Seeks Judge’s Recusal, Cites Possible ‘Whisper’ By AG Holder

Attorney Orly Taitz was already facing a threatened $10,000 sanction from an aggravated federal judge last month, after he told her never to pursue a “frivolous” suit again and she immediately filed a motion for reconsideration the next day in the same case. It concerned contentions by Army Capt. Rhodes…

Oct 5, 2009 7:35 PM CDT