Michael Chertoff

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US Faces 'Terror Attack Threat From Europe'

Security chief envisions stricter safety measures

(Newser) - Americans face a "real risk that Europe will become a platform for terrorists," US Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff told the BBC yesterday. America will likely boost security measures to protect the country from such a threat, but will also make an effort not to unduly hinder travel...

New Fed ID Law Puts States in Costly Bind

Homeland Security pushes back deadline for revamped licenses

(Newser) - A new federal ID law has 17 states in an uproar over the cost of new driver's licenses and a rushed timetable, the AP reports. Michael Chertoff laid out final details of the REAL ID program today, including an extended timetable with one short deadline: Residents of states that don't...

Feds to Unveil New ID System
Feds to Unveil New ID System
Jan 11, 2008 8:22 AM CST

Feds to Unveil New ID System

States get more time to phase in more secure licenses

(Newser) - Homeland Security officials will unveil plans today for new super-secure drivers' licenses but will give reluctant states more time to comply, the AP reports. Every American under 50 will have to switch to the new licenses by 2011 and those older by 2018. The licenses will be linked to a...

Spy Satellite Charter May Calm Privacy Fears

Chertoff expects plan to be finished this week

(Newser) - A federal satellite-surveillance program will move one step closer to reality this week with the expected release of its new charter, the Wall Street Journal reports. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who is spearheading the project, will also reveal plans for a $15 billion program to protect the country’s...

Bush Declares Calif. Emergency
Bush Declares Calif. Emergency
Oct 23, 2007 12:16 PM CDT

Bush Declares Calif. Emergency

(Newser) - Federal aid will soon be pouring into Southern California: President Bush today declared a state of emergency for the fire-scorched region. Wildfires ripping across seven counties have forced half a million people to evacuate. “We extend our prayers and our thoughts” to them, Bush said. Homeland Security chief Michael...

IEDs Pose Growing Risk on US Soil
IEDs Pose Growing Risk
on US Soil
Oct 20, 2007 12:01 PM CDT

IEDs Pose Growing Risk on US Soil

Bush administration slow to develop strategy, say critics

(Newser) - Improvised bombs—terrorists' weapon of choice in Iraq and elsewhere—pose a growing threat on US soil, but the Bush administration has been slow to devise a strategy against them, the Washington Post reports. The Bush team will soon issue a long-overdue plan to counter the so-called IEDs, but critics...

Homeland Security Sues Illinois Over Worker Plan

Claims state law is protecting illegals

(Newser) - Homeland Security is suing Illinois for effectively protecting illegals from a new federal crackdown, the Chicago Tribune reports. A DHS plan has companies submit data on workers, but Illinois' governor says the Feds are too slow and no good: "The Internet-based program has a less than 50 percent accuracy...

Olson May Be Top Dog on AG Roster
Olson May
Be Top Dog
on AG Roster
Sep 12, 2007 1:40 AM CDT

Olson May Be Top Dog on AG Roster

But conservative stalwart would face tough confirmation fight

(Newser) - Conservative stalwart Theodore Olson is the likely top choice to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Reuters reports. The former solicitor general may have a partisan reputation among Democrats—he represented President Bush in the Florida election battle and was accused of trying to dig up anti-Clinton scandals in the 1990s—...

Bush Zeros In on Next AG
Bush Zeros In
on Next AG
Sep 10, 2007 6:21 AM CDT

Bush Zeros In on Next AG

Candidate list down to five; decision expected this week

(Newser) - President Bush is down to five candidates to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. Of his current choices, Michael Mukasey, a former chief judge for the US Southern District of New York, has the most bi-partisan appeal, while Ted Olson, winning lawyer in the Supreme Court Bush v. Gore election case,...

At Justice, Chertoff Played Party Politics

AG frontrunner prosecuted Hillary Clinton fundraiser

(Newser) - Michael Chertoff, a frontrunner to replace Alberto Gonzales, has impressive judicial credentials, but the LA Times reports that he also has a background tinged with partisan politics. While head of the Justice Department's criminal division, the current Homeland Security secretary met with conservative activists and brought controversial charges against an...

Chertoff Eyed as AG Nominee
Chertoff Eyed as AG Nominee
Aug 27, 2007 10:00 AM CDT

Chertoff Eyed as AG Nominee

DHS chief would step in for Gonzales

(Newser) - Michael Chertoff is the top candidate to replace resigning AG Alberto Gonzales, White House sources tell CNN. The Department of Homeland Security chief served as an assistant AG early in the Bush years. Speculation about Chertoff's promotion began as early as Friday, as a US News & World Report blog...

Feds Simplify Security Plan
Feds Simplify Security Plan
Aug 9, 2007 8:28 PM CDT

Feds Simplify Security Plan

Names to be screened through watch lists

(Newser) - The Homeland Security department unveiled a plan today to screen all airline passengers’ personal data through US watch lists. The proposal, a revision of an earlier plan that provoked congressional action over privacy concerns, will be tested beginning this fall, the AP reports. "Secure Flight will not harm personal...

Terrorism Probe Focuses on Chertoff Advice

Chiquita, now under investigation, sought counsel, got nowhere

(Newser) - Chiquita is under investigation for supporting terrorism, but the company lays the blame on Michael Chertoff. In 2003, Chiquita met with Chertoff, then assistant AG, and admitted to paying protection money to a Colombian paramilitary force on the US list of terror groups. Chiquita's lawyers say they sought advice, the...

Al Qaeda Amps Up PR War
Al Qaeda Amps Up PR War
Jul 16, 2007 4:49 PM CDT

Al Qaeda Amps Up PR War

The terrorist group's propaganda machine is more polished, prolific than ever

(Newser) - Whether or not Al Qaeda has regained its pre-9/11 operational capacity,  the terrorist group has certainly beefed up its PR. Al Qaeda’s media arm has released at least 63 audio and video messages this year, compared with 58 for all of 2006, according to AP figures. And they're...

Chertoff Bares 'Gut Feeling' of Mounting Terror Threat

Be vigilant, warns security chief

(Newser) - America faces a heightened risk of attack this summer and must be more vigilant, warned Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, who told the Chicago Tribune he has a "gut feeling" al-Qaeda is mobilizing. "We worry that they are rebuilding their activities," he said. A report from his...

Homeland Security Faces Staffing Crisis

A quarter of top positions remain vacant; Congress warns of safety threat

(Newser) - Nearly 150 top-level management positions at the Department of Homeland Security—nearly a quarter of all available jobs—remain unfilled, a new congressional report warns. The gaps, which include high-level positions at FEMA, immigration agencies, and the Coast Guard, could seriously affect the nation's preparedness for a terrorist threat, according...

US Plays Down New Terror Attack Warning

No specific evidence, Homeland Security Chief maintains

(Newser) - Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff has minimized reports of an al-Queda terrorism "spectacular" this summer, described in a secret US law enforcement document. There is no "specific, credible evidence" of an impending attack on the US, Chertoff says, according to the Boston Herald. But one senior official notes...

Secret Service Guards Obama
Secret Service Guards Obama
May 3, 2007 3:58 PM CDT

Secret Service Guards Obama

Chertoff assigns detail to protect candidate at request of campaign

(Newser) - Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff has authorized Secret Service protection for presidential candidate Barack Obama, CNN reports. A spokesman would not explain the reason for the assignment but said the secretary acted at the campaign's request. The Secret Service said the coverage is not in response to a specific threat,...

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