Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

NEWS ABOUT: Attorney General

Senate Committee OKs Holder for Attorney General

Cornyn, Coburn dissent in 17-2 vote; full body could confirm tomorrow

(AP) - Senate Republicans did little to stop the progress of Barack Obama's choice for attorney general, with the Judiciary Committee voting 17-2 today to endorse Eric Holder; John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Republicans both, were the lone dissenters. The Senate could vote as early as tomorrow to... More »

Paterson's Poll Numbers Tank After Debacle With Caroline

Guv cancels Davos trip to shore up support

(Newser) - New York Gov. David Paterson's poll numbers have hit the toilet as he grapples with a $15.8 billion deficit and reaction to his handling of the Caroline Kennedy Senate decision, reports the New York Daily News. The numbers have so spooked Paterson that he's decided to ditch his trip... More »

Babs Backs Holder for AG

Streisand urges fellow lefties to fight for Obama nominee

(Newser) - Barbra Streisand is using her star power to push for the speedy confirmation of Eric Holder as attorney general, Politico reports. In a letter, Babs asks like-minded people to sign a petition supporting a man who is “committed to liberty, the rule of law, and our constitutional rights.”... More »

Holder Slams Rendition, Tribunals

Attorney-general nominee signals clear break with Bush practices

(Newser) - Attorney General-designate Eric Holder continued his forceful rebuke of Bush administration policies at his confirmation hearing today, Politico reports. Holder slammed rendition, saying it “should not be the policy or practice of our great nation,” and criticized the military commissions trying Guantanamo detainees. They don’t “have... More »

Holder: Waterboarding Is Torture

But supports FISA, Patriot Act

(Newser) - Eric Holder minced no words when asked about waterboarding in his confirmation hearing today. “Waterboarding is torture,” the AG-designate said, a declaration neither Michael Mukasey nor Alberto Gonzales was willing to make. He said that, even in emergencies, the president couldn’t override the constitution. Republicans also leapt... More »

Holder Pushed Clemency for Puerto Rican Militants

Obama's attorney-general pick helped commute sentences for PR nationalists

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s attorney-general nominee fought for clemency for 16 militant Puerto Rican nationalists during his time in the Clinton administration, the Los Angeles Times reports. Eric Holder pushed Justice Department subordinates to pave the way to Clinton’s clemency grant, documents show, sparking fury from law-enforcement officials who’d... More »

Republicans Picking a Fight Over Holder

Dems need one GOP vote to move AG pick out of committee

(Newser) - Senate Republicans seem to have settled on attorney-general-designate Eric Holder as their main target for a tough confirmation hearing. Thanks to his liberal leanings and his role in the Clinton administration—especially the controversial 11th-hour Marc Rich pardon—Holder will get a grilling in the Judiciary Committee. Ranking Republican Arlen... More »

Bell, Carter's AG, Dead at 90

Bell defanged Jim Crow as appellate court judge

(Newser) - Griffin Bell, a Southerner who opposed racial segregation and led the Justice Department under President Carter, died today at age 90, the New York Times reports. Bell handled damage control as a post-Nixon attorney general, de-politicizing the Justice Department and the FBI. His earlier rulings as an appeals court judge,... More »

Holder's Nom Raises Ghost of Rich Pardon

AG pick played key—if inadvertent—role in clearing fugitive

(Newser) - Eric Holder has earned a lot of praise in his career, but there’s one glaring blemish on his resume: the pardon of Marc Rich. Critics say Barack Obama’s attorney general pick was the driving force behind the fugitive’s backdoor pardon, while supporters say he’s an innocent... More »

Mukasey Released From Hospital

(Newser) - Michael Mukasey is out of the hospital with a clean bill of health after collapsing during a speech last night. The attorney general spent an "uneventful night" at the hospital and passed a battery of tests. Doctors have seen no indication that he suffered a stroke or heart attack,... More »

Holder Is 'Sept. 10' Pick for AG

Conservative mag urges GOP to vote against Obama's Justice nominee

(Newser) - Eric Holder is “a conventional, check-the-boxes creature of the Left,” the editors of the National Review write of Barack Obama’s reported choice for Attorney General, and his selection reveals a “September 10 mentality” and a “lack of seriousness about the terrorist threat.” They add,... More »

Obama Taps Holder for AG

DC lawyer, who has accepted post, oversaw VP selection; confirmation looks likely

(Newser) - Eric Holder, a former US Attorney, judge, and deputy attorney general under Bill Clinton, will be Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Justice Department, Newsweek reports. Sources say Holder has been considered for the post from the beginning, and he ran the Democrat’s vice-presidential search along with Caroline... More »

Cuomo Raises Pressure on Merrill

He says company faces lawsuit over auction-rate securities

(Newser) - With Wachovia locked in to buying back $9 billion in auction-rate securities from clients, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has his sights set next on finance titans Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg reports. Cuomo says Merrill faces an "imminent" lawsuit after offering to buy back $10 billion... More »

No Charges for Biased Justice Officials: Mukasey

Former employees have already faced internal consequences, AG says

(Newser) - Michael Mukasey said today the ex-Justice Department employees who discriminated against candidates in hiring for political reasons will not face criminal charges, the New York Times reports. Prosecution would be inappropriate, the AG said, because the biased hiring practices violated federal civil service law, not criminal law. More »

In Politicizing Justice, 'Appalling' Betrayal

By injecting politics into hiring, Gonzales & Co. shatter public's faith

(Newser) - New confirmation that the Justice Department used political criteria in hiring for career positions shouldn’t just outrage the maybe-liberals they discriminated against, derailing careers because they were gay, say, or had a wife who was a Democrat, a former Clinton administration official writes in the Washington Post. It’s... More »

Cautious Mukasey Disappoints Former Backers

It's 'business as usual' in AG's office

(Newser) - Attorney General Michael Mukasey's cautious approach has disappointed one-time backers who hoped for a new direction at the Justice Department, reports the New York Times. He has been reluctant to probe the US attorney firings that triggered predecessor Alberto Gonzales' downfall, and has moved at a snail's pace on issues... More »

Ohio AG Quits Amid Sex Harassment Scandal

Offices raided by state troopers following complaints

(Newser) - The Ohio attorney general who once vowed to dismantle the state's "culture of corruption" resigned yesterday just hours after a raid on his office by state troopers seeking evidence of illegal activity. Democrat Marc Dann is embroiled in scandal linked to an affair with an aide and was under... More »

No Joy in Job Hunt for Ex-Attorney General

Employers say thanks, but no thanks to Alberto Gonzales

(Newser) - Ex-attorneys general often enjoy elite private sector jobs, but disgraced Alberto Gonzales is still job-hunting since he resigned last August, the New York Times reports. Lawyers say perjury allegations concerning testimony about eavesdropping and his role in the politically motivated firing of federal prosecutors are the biggest problems with Gonzales'... More »

Dems Slam Ashcroft for 'Backroom' $52M Contract

Ex-AG denies charges in House hearing

(Newser) - John Ashcroft angrily denied congressional Democrats' allegations today that a lucrative no-bid contract the Justice Department awarded him represents a conflict of interest, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Democrats characterized the contract as a “backroom sweetheart deal” because Ashcroft's ex-subordinates selected his firm to monitor a medical supply company... More »

Jailed Ex-Gov Wants Special Counsel

Siegelman seeks probe after '60 Minutes' report; Rove denies role

(Newser) - Lawyers for Jim Siegelman want an outside investigator to look into charges that GOP operatives railroaded the ex-governor of Alabama on bribery charges, reports the AP. "60 Minutes" reported Sunday that prosecutors met over 70 times with the aide that helped put Siegelman behind bars, and had him write... More »

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne