Federal Government

Obama Lawyer Nominees Giving Up Millions in Big-Firm Pay

Attorney General nominee Eric Holder earned the highest big-firm salary last year out of four lawyers nominated to posts in the Obama administration. Disclosure forms show Holder made $3.3 million in salary and deferred compensation at Covington & Burling last year, the Am Law Daily reports, with a hat tip…

Jan 28, 2009 7:01 PM CST

Holder’s Harshest Senate Critic Says He Will Vote for Confirmation

The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says that despite his initial doubts, he will support Eric Holder for attorney general. Sen. Arlen Specter said he decided to support Holder because of his good record and support within the law enforcement community, Legal Times reports. The Wall Street Journal…

Jan 28, 2009 12:42 PM CST

Law Prof, Nominated for Regulatory Czar, Advocated ‘Senior Death Discount’

Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, nominated to become regulatory czar in the Obama administration, supports a cost-benefit analysis that has ruffled liberal feathers when advocated by Republicans. Sunstein is “dedicated to calculating the dollar value of every regulation,” the Los Angeles Times reports. He has advocated a “senior death discount”…

Jan 27, 2009 1:51 PM CST

Conyers to Karl Rove: Time to Talk

Will a new president in the White House make a difference in the ongoing investigation of alleged political interference in the hiring and firing of a number of U.S. Attorneys during the Bush administration? The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee predicted today that it will, as he subpoenaed former…

Jan 27, 2009 12:09 AM CST

Bible, Left Out of Obama’s Oath Do-Over, Not a Requirement

When Barack Obama took his oath of office a second time, he got the wording right but this time he didn’t use a Bible. Not that there’s anything constitutionally wrong with that. Swearing on the Bible during inaugurations “is a matter of tradition rather than law,” the Washington Post reports.…

Jan 23, 2009 4:04 PM CST

Blagojevich Lawyer Drafts Suit Challenging Impeachment Trial Rules

Lawyers for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich are preparing a possible lawsuit to challenge procedures being used in his upcoming impeachment trial. But it may never be filed. On Thursday, lawyer Samuel Adam said he and his client were considering whether to file the suit, the Associated Press reports, but another…

Jan 23, 2009 2:37 PM CST

From Xbox to Atari: Obama Aides Adjust to White House Technology

Already equipped with a super-encrypted BlackBerry, President Barack Obama apparently is light years ahead of many of his White House staff on the technological front. His administration, much-admired during his campaign for its avant-garde use of the Internet, is now struggling to update a presidential website on White House computer…

Jan 22, 2009 9:48 PM CST

Obama Signs Orders Closing Guantanamo, Halting Harsh Interrogations

President Barack Obama signed executive orders today closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay within a year and ending harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects. The orders also close any remaining secret prisons run by the CIA, the New York Times reports. The orders require the CIA to use the same rules…

Jan 22, 2009 4:55 PM CST

Will Obamas Seek Royalties for Ty’s New Sasha and Malia Dolls?

The toy maker that sells Beanie Babies is selling two new dolls with the names “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha.” Company spokeswoman Tania Lundeen told Crain’s Chicago Business that the dolls were created to resemble Barack Obama’s daughters, but she had a different spin in an interview with the Associated…

Jan 22, 2009 2:37 PM CST

Obama Reportedly Gets a Super-encrypted BlackBerry

Barack Obama has apparently won his fight to retain his beloved BlackBerry. An unidentified government agency has added a “super-encryption package” to a standard BlackBerry that the president can use for routine and personal messages, according to The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder blog. The device is designed to protect Obama from…

Jan 22, 2009 1:30 PM CST

Obama Retakes Oath of Office Out of ‘Abundance of Caution’

Because he got one word out of sequence when taking the oath of office during his inauguration yesterday, President Barack Obama took it again tonight out of an “abundance of caution,” his legal counsel says. Putting to rest a potential issue that has ignited intense interest among readers of ABAJournal.com…

Jan 22, 2009 1:48 AM CST

Senate Committee Vote on Holder’s Nomination as AG is Delayed a Week

A planned vote today by the Senate Judiciary Committee on whether to support Eric Holder’s nomination as U.S. attorney general has been delayed for a week at the request of Republican members. Describing today’s committee meeting as “rancorous,” CNN says that committee chair Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), was “clearly agitated”…

Jan 21, 2009 10:26 PM CST

1st Black Federal Judge in Ala. Resigns; Waited So Obama Could Fill Vacancy

After almost 30 years on the bench, Alabama’s first African-American federal judge resigned today. U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon had said last year that he planned to retire once President Barack Obama was in office, the Birmingham News reported at the time, and he has now officially notified the new…

Jan 21, 2009 8:59 PM CST

Obama Seeks 120-Day Trial Delay in All Gitmo Cases, Plans to Close Prison

In his one of his first acts in office yesterday, President Barack Obama instructed prosecutors to seek 120-day delays in all cases now before U.S. military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba while his administration evaluates the situation. Meanwhile, his aides are working on an executive order that would close…

Jan 21, 2009 7:41 PM CST

Lawyers Deny They Quit Blagojevich Impeachment Because of Fees

Lawyers who refused to defend Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich at his impeachment trial say their decision was made in protest of an unfair proceeding rather than over fear of unpaid fees. Prosecutors have indicated they will not allow legal fees for the impeachment proceeding to be taken from Blagojevich’s $3.6…

Jan 21, 2009 1:21 PM CST