Michael Mukasey

July 2008

Cautious Mukasey Disappoints Former Backers

newser | New York Times | Jul 23, 08 3:52 AM CDT

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 from torture to mortgage fraud, critics charge. More »

April 2008

Congress Prods Justice Dept. on Secrecy

newser | Washington Post | Apr 8, 08 10:38 AM CDT

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 »
AG's 'Invented' 9/11 Claim Is Scare Tactic

newser | Salon | Apr 3, 08 3:35 PM CDT

Michael Mukasey’s recent claim that surveillance laws barred eavesdropping on a crucial pre-9/11 phone call is either an attempt to scare up support for spying or a revelation of massive US failure, Glenn Greenwald writes in Salon. The 9/11 Commission never mentioned the mysterious phone call—and the executive director tells Greenwald he has no idea what the Attorney General is talking about. More »

March 2008

Mukasey Open to Spy Bill Deal

newser | Reuters | Mar 21, 08 8:18 PM CDT

The nation's top lawman welcomed a deal today on a stalled federal spy bill, Reuters reports. “If somebody has some brilliantly creative compromise, I'm happy to hear that,” Attorney General Michael Mukasey said. A recent House bill would allow lawsuits against phone companies that gave records to Washington, but Bush has vowed to veto it. More »
House Sues Bush Aides Over Subpoenas

newser | Washington Post | Mar 10, 08 6:40 PM CDT

Lawmakers sued two top Bush aides today to make them testify about the sacking of federal prosecutors in 2006. The House Judiciary Committee suit seeks to enforce subpoenas against White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former Bush counsel Harriet Miers, who have refused to testify or supply subpoenaed papers. "We will not allow the administration to steamroll Congress," one lawmaker said. More »
Mukasey Nixes Bush Aides Contempt Case

newser | Reuters | Mar 1, 08 5:12 AM CST

A showdown over executive privilege got more likely yesterday when Attorney General Michael Mukasey said he wouldn't pursue contempt charges against two Bush aides, Reuters reports. Mukasey rejected the request from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to refer the case to a grand jury, arguing that they had committed no crime by refusing to testify to Congress about the controversial firing of 9 US prosecutors. More »

February 2008

Waterboarding Is Illegal: Justice Dept.

newser | Associated Press | Feb 14, 08 8:18 AM CST

A top Justice Department official will declare to a House subcommittee today that waterboarding is no longer legal—a day after Congress defied President Bush's veto threat to explicitly outlaw the controversial interrogation tactic. "The set of interrogation methods authorized for current use is narrower than before, and it does not today include waterboarding," says testimony prepared by Stephen Bradbury, acting head of the Office of Legal Counsel. More »

January 2008

Mukasey Won't Budge on Waterboarding

newser | New York Times | Jan 30, 08 4:47 PM CST

Testifying before a Senate committee today, Attorney General Michael Mukasey frustrated attempts to get him to answer on whether waterboarding constitutes torture. "I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to pass definitive judgment on the technique’s legality,” said Mukasey, hedging in a manner that, as it did in past appearances, infuriated questioning senators, the New York Times reports. More »
Senate Grills Mukasey Today on Waterboarding

newser | Associated Press | Jan 30, 08 3:43 AM CST

A high-noon face off is looming today between Attorney General Michael Mukasey and the Senate Judiciary Committee over waterboarding, the simulated drowning interrogation technique that many consider torture. Committee chair Patrick Leahy said Mukasey faces "serious questions" on the issue at today's hearing. But Mukasey has warned Leahy in a letter that he will not tell the Senate whether or not waterboarding is illegal. More »
Waterboarding Returns to Spotlight

newser | Reuters | Jan 29, 08 1:30 PM CST

American interrogators' tactics included waterboarding sometime before 2005, but the tactic "has not been used in years," the ex-director of national intelligence says. John Negroponte's acknowledgment, the most definitive confirmation yet of the Bush administration's use of waterboarding, comes as Michael Mukasey prepares to return to Capitol Hill to address questions about the interrogation program, Reuters reports. More »
Judge Refuses to Step Into CIA Tape Case

newser | Associated Press | Jan 9, 08 7:31 PM CST

A federal judge today denied a request by a lawyer representing terrorism suspects that he open hearings into the CIA's destruction of interrogation videotapes, the AP reports. Judge Henry H. Kennedy said that he had no evidence that the Bush administration had defied court orders and that the Justice Department's own investigation would suffice. More »
Justice to Probe CIA Tapes

newser | Associated Press | Jan 2, 08 3:02 PM CST

The Justice Department has launched a criminal probe into the CIA's destruction of videotapes documenting the interrogation of two Al-Qaeda suspects. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey appointed John Durham, a federal prosecutor from Connecticut, to head the inquiry. Durham has a reputation as a tough prosecutor; he has overseen investigations into FBI and other law enforcement corruption, as well as organized crime. More »

December 2007

Mukasey Tells Congress to Back Off CIA Tapes Inquiry

newser | Washington Post | Dec 14, 07 3:44 PM CST

Michael Mukasey isn't about to open up to Democratic lawmakers who want details of the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the CIA’s destruction of interrogation tapes, the Washington Post reports. In letters sent today, the new AG also restated his objections to appointing a special prosecutor to investigate, as Joe Biden and other Senate Democrats have demanded. More »
Bush Blocking Plame Probe, Says Waxman

newser | Washington Post | Dec 4, 07 8:13 AM CST

A House committee chairman investigating the Valerie Plame affair says the White House is blocking special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald from providing key documents from his investigation, the Washington Post reports. Fitzgerald agreed to hand over his findings before the Bush administration stepped in, says Henry Waxman, who has called on Michael Mukasey to overrule his new boss at the White House. More »

November 2007

FBI's Mental Health Gun-Ban List Doubles

newser | Washington Post | Nov 29, 07 5:38 PM CST

Spurred by April shootings at Virginia Tech, new reporting of mental health data has doubled the number of Americans banned from purchasing guns on such grounds, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said today. Nearly 220,000 names have been added to the FBI list, highlighting the data-sharing gap that allowed shooter Seung Hui Cho to buy guns though a court deemed him mentally defective. More »
At Mukasey Ceremony, Bush Vows Justice Makeover

newser | Associated Press | Nov 14, 07 11:15 AM CST

President Bush looked on as Michael Mukasey was ceremonially sworn in today as attorney general today, the AP reports, and promised to rebuild the ravaged Justice Department behind him. “Michael Mukasey has my complete trust and confidence,” Bush said. “And he's going to have the trust and confidence of the men and women of the Department of Justice.” More »
Senate Confirms Mukasey as AG

newser | Associated Press | Nov 8, 07 10:32 PM CST

The Senate tonight approved retired judge Michael Mukasey to be the next attorney general, AP reports. Mukasey, whose refusal to declare that waterboarding is illegal nearly torpedoed his nomination, will replace Alberto Gonzales. "This is the only chance we have," said Dianne Feinstein before the 53-40 vote, referring to Democratic hopes of reforming the Justice Department and Bush's reluctance to nominate anyone else. More »
Mukasey Would Enforce New Torture Law, Senator Says

newser | New York Times | Nov 6, 07 10:15 AM CST

Michael Mukasey has told Chuck Schumer he would enforce a law specifically prohibiting waterboarding and other torture practices, the senator writes in today's Times. The AG nominee's personal assurance and respect for the rule of law earned him the New York Democrat’s support in this morning's 11-8 Judiciary Committee vote, which advanced the nomination to the full Senate. More »
2 Key Dems Support Mukasey

newser | CNN | Nov 2, 07 5:05 PM CDT

Despite controversy over Michael Mukasey's cagey responses to questions about waterboarding and torture, Charles Schumer and Dianne Feinstein will vote to confirm the AG nominee, the Democratic senators said this afternoon. Their votes, along with Republican committee members', are expected to tip the scales in Mukasey's favor and send his nomination to a full Senate vote, CNN reports. More »
Bush Criticizes Mukasey Inquisitors

newser | Washington Post | Nov 1, 07 1:39 PM CDT

Interrogation techniques held the spotlight today as President Bush accused Senate Democrats of asking attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey "unfair" questions about waterboarding and torture. Bush claimed Mukasey "doesn't know whether we use that technique or not," and lauded the candidate for not telling "an enemy what we're doing," the Washington Post reports. More »