Federal Government

New Theory Why US Attorneys Were Axed: Perceived Sexual Orientation?

It wasn’t just political affiliation that some top officials at the Department of Justice may have considered when making decisions about hiring and firing. According to the Los Angeles Times, a perceived same-sex relationship based on false rumors of a nonexistent affair between two female prosecutors may also have led…

Jul 29, 2008 11:29 PM CDT

President OKs 1st Military Execution Since 1961

President George W. Bush has approved an Army request to put a private to death, giving the go-ahead to what would be the first execution by the U.S. military in nearly 50 years. However, further appeals are expected. The defendant, Ronald Gray, was convicted by a military court in 1988…

Jul 29, 2008 8:11 PM CDT

Sprinter Marion Jones Seeks Pardon; US Track Program Head Objects

A disgraced Olympic champion sprinter who lost her five gold medals due to her eventually admitted use of performance-enhancing steroids is seeking a pardon or a commutation of her six-month federal conviction for obstruction of justice from President George W. Bush. However, the head of USA Track & Field has…

Jul 22, 2008 8:58 PM CDT

Liberals Want Their Own Antonin Scalia

Liberal activists are seeking a justice who can articulate a left-leaning vision of constitutional interpretation. “They want their own Antonin Scalia,” reports the Washington Post. “Or rather, an anti-Scalia, an individual who can easily articulate a liberal interpretation of the Constitution, offer a quick sound bite and be prepared to…

Jul 21, 2008 11:44 AM CDT

Top Deputy in US Watchdog Agency Quits, Objects to ‘Political Agendas’

The top deputy to the chief of a government watchdog agency has resigned and accused his boss of putting “political agendas and personal vendettas” ahead of his mission. James Byrne is resigning effective tomorrow from his post as deputy to Scott Bloch, chief of the Office of Special Counsel, the…

Jul 18, 2008 2:53 PM CDT

We Didn’t Torture, Ex-AG John Ashcroft Tells House Panel

In a House Judiciary Committee hearing today, former Attorney General John Ashcroft disavowed the reasoning behind controversial legal memos created by Department of Justice attorneys that critics say justified torture of terrorism suspects. But, in the ninth hearing on the tactics the U.S. used, after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist…

Jul 17, 2008 9:53 PM CDT

White House Rejected Clement to Lead Office of Legal Counsel, Backed Yoo

In 2003 then-Attorney General John Ashcroft recommended five candidates to head the Office of Legal Counsel, and administration officials rejected all of them, the Washington Post reports. Among the rejected candidates were Paul Clement, who later became solicitor general, and Brett Kavanaugh, now a federal appeals judge, the story says.…

Jul 17, 2008 10:49 AM CDT

Satirical New Yorker Cover Shows Obamas as Terrorists in Oval Office

Updated: An upcoming issue of the the New Yorker magazine that shows Barack Obama and his wife as apparent terrorists on its cover is drawing fire not only from the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee but his opponent, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The cover, which is shown in a…

Jul 14, 2008 5:59 PM CDT

Is al-Qaida on Your Speed Dial? New Wiretap Law Lets Feds Check

As expected, the Senate approved a bill today that significantly expands the government’s domestic wiretapping powers and provides immunity from liability for telecommunications companies that previously cooperated with such spying despite a lack of warrants. This was the final OK needed to enact the legislation, which was passed by the…

Jul 9, 2008 11:25 PM CDT

Ginsburg: War Crimes Charges Against Bush Officials Unlikely

Prosecutions of Bush administration officials for their conduct of the fight against terrorism are unlikely, said speakers at a panel held today during the World Justice Forum in Vienna. As George W. Bush’s time as U.S. president nears its end and in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings…

Jul 4, 2008 8:48 PM CDT

The Forgotten

Iraqis who helped American soldiers are being slaughtered. A small band of U.S. lawyers is fighting to save their lives.

Jul 1, 2008 1:15 PM CDT

Scientist to Get $5.8M Settlement from DOJ in Anthrax Case

Steven Hatfill, a former Army scientist who says the government violated his privacy rights and damaged his reputation by leaking investigative details to reporters about his role as a “person of interest” in 2001 anthrax attacks, has won a $5.8 million settlement from the Department of Justice. According to court…

Jun 27, 2008 10:30 PM CDT

Columnist Art Buchwald’s ‘Sick’ Humor Didn’t Amuse the FBI

For nearly two decades, the FBI tracked Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist Art Buchwald, compiling a 239-page dossier on his activities. Its conclusion: Although Buchwald’s humor wasn’t amusing to the FBI’s longtime director, J. Edgar Hoover, who apparently requested the investigation, Buchwald hadn’t committed any crimes, according to CBS News. The…

Jun 25, 2008 9:42 PM CDT

Judge a Reluctant Ref in Landmark Battle Over White House Subpoenas

Asked by Congressional lawyers yesterday to require the White House to comply with House Judiciary Committee subpoenas of two high-level aides, Federal District Court Judge John Bates was a reluctant referee in the landmark court battle. “Whether I rule for the executive branch or I rule for the legislative branch,…

Jun 24, 2008 8:08 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor: DOJ Destroyed My Career

Ryan Rainey admittedly broke a rule when he was a star federal prosecutor, and paid a high price for doing so. In 2005, he resigned, later pleading guilty to criminal charges. They related to failing to inform his bosses at the Department of Justice about applying for work as a…

Jun 24, 2008 6:37 PM CDT