Federal Government

White House Counsel to Oversee Vetting for New Obama Nominees

After tax problems vexed several Obama administration nominees, a new person is overseeing the vetting process: White House counsel Gregory Craig. After just a few weeks on the job, Craig is already playing “an outsize role” in the Obama administration, the Washington Post reports. The story says Craig drafted executive…

Feb 6, 2009 6:52 PM CST

Ex-Bush Officials Hit Obama’s Terrorism Policies, Casual Duds

Former Bush officials are taking to the airwaves to criticize everything from the Obama administration’s terrorism policies to the president’s casual clothing. “The knives are already out,” the Washington Post reports. The story says “the tenor of the comments is remarkable so soon after the start of a new administration.”…

Feb 6, 2009 5:12 PM CST

Recipients of TARP Bailout Funds Could Be Targeted in Criminal Cases

The Troubled Asset Relief Program has only been in effect a few months. But already it is the subject of potential criminal probes, as a special inspector general also announced what amounts to a rewrite of TARP rules requiring recipients of bailout funds to certify, under penalty of law, that…

Feb 6, 2009 1:32 AM CST

Bankruptcy Boom Boost: US Asks Cadwalder to Advise On Automaker Restructuring

An already-hot practice area apparently is being expanded with the help of a deep-pockets noncorporate client: The feds reportedly are paying top partners at a New York law firm for bankruptcy advice, as the government ponders how best to deal with struggling automakers. “The U.S. Treasury Department hired Cadwalader Wickersham…

Feb 5, 2009 10:54 PM CST

Two DOJ Nominees Had Lapsed Law Licenses

Two nominees for top jobs in the Justice Department briefly had lapsed law licenses because of missed deadlines. One blamed the failure on a busy schedule, and the other said the law firm he had recently left failed to forward dues warnings. The nominees detailed the suspensions in Judiciary Committee…

Feb 5, 2009 4:13 PM CST

British Court Blames US Threat for Decision to Keep Torture Evidence Secret

Two British High Court judges say they have refused to release evidence of alleged torture because of a U.S. threat to stop sharing intelligence evidence with the country. Justices John Thomas and David Lloyd Jones ruled in the case of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who says he was secretly…

Feb 5, 2009 3:05 PM CST

Madoff Whistle-blower to Blast SEC in Congressional Testimony Tomorrow

Trying to warn the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about an apparent fraud being perpetrated by Bernard Madoff was not only frustrating but potentially dangerous, a whistle-blower reportedly plans to say in testimony tomorrow before a congressional subcommittee. Despite his repeated warnings to the SEC, starting in 1999 or 2000,…

Feb 4, 2009 1:02 AM CST

FBI Ordered to Do DNA Search to Help Suspect in Rape-Murder Case

In what the U.S. Department of Justice describes as an unprecedented ruling, a federal judge in Chicago yesterday ordered the FBI to search its massive national DNA database to see whether it can identify a new suspect in the rape-murder of an 11-year-old Illinois girl. Twice convicted of the 1992…

Feb 3, 2009 8:06 PM CST

Daschle Withdraws as Criticism Mounts Over Tax Issues, Alston & Bird Fees

Facing increasing criticism over tax problems and consulting fees, Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination for secretary of Health and Human Services. Daschle said he is withdrawing because the dispute over his failure to pay more than $120,000 in taxes had become a distraction to Obama’s agenda, the Associated Press…

Feb 3, 2009 6:25 PM CST

Retirement of Sasha and Malia Dolls Means One Less Issue for Obama Lawyers

Updated: The toy maker that sells Beanie Babies has retired two dolls that raised the ire of first lady Michelle Obama, leaving one less issue for the president’s lawyers to tackle. While Ty will no longer be profiting from the dolls, “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha,” they are still hot…

Feb 3, 2009 1:26 PM CST

‘Broad Doctrinal Shift’ Expected at DOJ as Eric Holder is OK’d as AG

In an expected confirmation, the U.S. Senate has confirmed Eric H. Holder Jr. as the nation’s first African-American attorney general. “Though debate quickly turned partisan when his chief supporter denounced Republicans who sought a pledge not to prosecute intelligence agents who participated in harsh interrogations, the Senate still confirmed Holder…

Feb 2, 2009 11:57 PM CST

Growing White House Counsel’s Office Includes Ivy League Profs, Bush Critics

The increase in ranks at the White House counsel’s office has raised some fears of infighting between lawyers there and in other federal offices. At least 22 lawyers will work under White House counsel Greg Craig, more than double the number who worked there in the Bush administration, the Washington…

Jan 30, 2009 1:34 PM CST

Horrified By $20B Bonus Bonanza, Sen. Dodd Calls for Wall Street to Repay

Did U.S. taxpayers help fund nearly $20 billion in Wall Street bonuses at the end of last year while Congress raced to the rescue of embattled companies in the midst of a financial crisis that some consider the worst since the 1930s? If taxpayer money was used, directly or indirectly,…

Jan 30, 2009 12:21 AM CST

A Capital ‘Tizzy’: Obama Sheds his Jacket and Formality

Lawyers were once known for their button-down formality, but things are changing—especially at the White House. The capital “flew into a bit of a tizzy” when President Obama was photographed without his suit jacket on his first full day in office, the New York Times reports. He has proclaimed that…

Jan 29, 2009 4:39 PM CST

Former CIA Chief in Algeria Investigated in Claimed Rapes There

An unidentified former CIA station chief in Algeria is being investigated by the U.S. Department of State and Department of Justice in at least two potential rape cases. The investigation, which was initially based on complaints by two Algerian women that they had been raped by the official, began last…

Jan 29, 2009 1:40 AM CST