Michael Mukasey

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May 2009
- Groups Move to Disbar Bush Lawyers Over Torture
  
  Blog of Legal Times | May 18, 09 12:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A coalition of mostly left-leaning organizations is attempting to get a gaggle of Bush officials disbarred for sanctioning torture, the Legal Times reports. In complaints filed with five state bar associations today, the groups accuse ex-attorneys general Michael Mukasey, Alberto Gonzalez, and John Ashcroft—along with nine others—of violating professional standards, the Constitution, domestic laws, and international treaties. More »
April 2009
- Bush AG, CIA Chief Slam Obama on Torture Memos
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 17, 09 7:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama made a dangerous mistake in yesterday releasing Justice Department memos about interrogation techniques from 2005, say former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and former CIA Director Michael Hayden. By releasing the details of these methods, Obama is eliminating a crucial intelligence tool—not just for his own administration but forever, the two argue in an outraged Wall Street Journal op ed. They'll be ruined for future presidents, as well, because our enemies will know their precise limits. More »
January 2009
- Holder: Waterboarding Is Torture
  
  Associated Press | Jan 15, 09 10:40 AM CST
  
  (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 to question Holder about the Marc Rich pardon, which he readily admitted to regrets about. More »
December 2008
- Mukasey Steps Off Madoff Case
  
  Bloomberg | Dec 17, 08 1:26 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Attorney General Michael Mukasey is recusing himself from the Bernard Madoff investigation because his son is representing an employee involved with the fraud case, Bloomberg reports. Mukasey also graduated from an Orthodox Jewish school where Madoff’s wife has taught and which placed $6 million in the fraudulent scheme. A spokesman said today Mukasey himself “has no financial investments involved in the case.” More »
November 2008
- Mukasey Released From Hospital
  
  ABC News | Nov 21, 08 11:27 AM CST
  
  (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, ABC News reports. "Everything looks great," said a Justice Department spokeswoman. More »
- Mukasey Collapses During Speech
  
  Associated Press | Nov 20, 08 10:11 PM CST
  
  (AP) - Attorney General Michael Mukasey collapsed during a speech last night and was rushed to a hospital after briefly losing consciousness. He appears to be doing fine now. "The attorney general is conscious, conversant and alert," said a Justice Department spokesman after doctors admitted Mukasey to George Washington University Hospital for the night. More »
- NYPD Clashes With Justice on Surveillance
  
  New York Times | Nov 20, 08 10:24 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Department of Justice has firmly rejected efforts by the New York Police Department to relax restrictions on eavesdropping, triggering a war of words between the agencies’ heads, the New York Times reports. The NYPD wants broader latitude for electronic surveillance, and less red tape for its requests, but Justice insists that expansion would hinder, rather than help, efforts to stop terrorists. More »
September 2008
- Mukasey Taps Prosecutor for Attorney Firings Case
  
  Reuters | Sep 29, 08 1:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Michael Mukasey appointed a special prosecutor today to look into the attorney firing scandal today, Reuters reports, after an internal investigation came up empty-handed. Many top witnesses, such as Karl Rove, didn’t cooperate, but could now be subpoenaed by Connecticut prosecutor Nora Dannehy. More »
- Mukasey Steps Into Genital Mutilation Case
  
  CNN | Sep 23, 08 7:29 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In an extremely rare move, the US attorney general has stepped into a low-level immigration case and ordered that a victim of female genital mutilation be given another chance at asylum, CNN reports. AG Michael Mukasey slammed a previous decision that said the African woman had no reason to fear further persecution, citing an earlier case in which a woman was mutilated multiple times. More »
August 2008
- FBI Looks to Expand Powers of Investigation
  
  New York Times | Aug 21, 08 2:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Department of Justice is aiming to relax restrictions on the FBI so agents can investigate people without any clear reason for suspicion, congressional Dems tell the New York Times . The plan, which may be revealed in September, has attracted concern, including a letter from four Democratic senators warning that people will be scrutinized based merely on "race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or on protected First Amendment activities." More »
- No Charges for Biased Justice Officials: Mukasey
  
  New York Times | Aug 12, 08 2:33 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
July 2008
- Mukasey Can't Reach Dems Across Gulf on Terror Law
  
  Newsweek | Jul 24, 08 4:34 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The refusal by Democrats to give Michael Mukasey a hearing during a Hill appearance yesterday is evidence of a “huge and poisonous gulf” between the legislative and executive branches that threatens to delay action on judicial process until 2009, Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball write in Newsweek . The attorney general wants new laws on review for Gitmo prisoners, but Dems were too suspicious to hear the good parts. More »
- Cautious Mukasey Disappoints Former Backers
  
  New York Times | Jul 23, 08 3:52 AM CDT
  
  (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 from torture to mortgage fraud, critics charge. More »
April 2008
- Congress Prods Justice Dept. on Secrecy
  
  Washington Post | Apr 8, 08 10:38 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Salon | Apr 3, 08 3:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Reuters | Mar 21, 08 8:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Washington Post | Mar 10, 08 6:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Reuters | Mar 1, 08 5:12 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - 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.
  
  Associated Press | Feb 14, 08 8:18 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  New York Times | Jan 30, 08 4:47 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - 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 »