Stories related to: Justice Department

International anti-torture laws don't necessarily apply to CIA agents fighting terrorism, the Justice Department has explained to Congress in letters recently made public, reports the New York Times . The letters reveal the White House position that interrogators have some legal "latitude" outside the Geneva Conventions protecting detainees from "outrages upon personal dignity." More »

A Congressional resolution could have the Justice Department looking into whether the college football bowl system is illegal, the AP reports. The authors of the resolution say  the system restricts trade because only the biggest schools seem to have a shot at being voted into the championship game. A look at the leglsiators' home addresses suggests a personal angle, however. More »

Instead of indicting major corporations for fraud and other forms of malfeasance, the Bush administration is relying more and more on deferred prosecutions, allowing companies to pay a fine and accept monitoring instead of going to trial. The name of the monitor and the details of the agreement are often kept secret, the New York Times reports. More »

Congress is redoubling its efforts to get info from the Justice Department, the Washington Post reports. Requests for classified documents have languished for as long as 3 years, and the contretemps between Congress and Alberto Gonzales over their disclosure has improved little under the new AG, Michael Mukasey. "We agree that there is always room for improvement in our effort to be responsive to Congress," said a DoJ spokesman. More »

A federal probe into a Utah mine disaster that killed nine people has accused the federal agency overseeing mine safety of negligence. The finding by the Labor Department's Office of Inspector General does not rule out the possibility that the owner of the site used undue influence on the Mine Safety and Health Agency to secure approval of operations, reports the Salt Lake City Tribune . More »

Northwest is trying to resuscitate the Delta merger that nearly went through in February with a deal that wouldn’t need pilot agreements or include anticipated salary increases, the Wall Street Journal reports. The pilots' inability to agree on seniority rules appeared to derail the deal, which didn't require labor agreements; both parties want it fast-tracked so the Bush Justice Department staffers will still be in a position to vet it. More »

Auditors at now-bankrupt New Century Financial—once one of the nation’s largest subprime lenders and one of the earliest to fail—were accused of “mind boggling” lapses in a Justice Department report on the debacle released yesterday. Partners at accounting firm KPMG are said to have ignored “significant improper and imprudent practices” in order to keep the company’s business, the New York Times reports. More »

The Justice Department today approved the proposed merger between satellite radio firms Sirius and XM, the Wall Street Journal r eports. The FCC must still sign off, but the pair appears to have allayed antitrust concerns about the merger of the industry's two largest companies by arguing that they face competition from all music providers, including conventional radio. More »