Justice Department

Doug Hampton

Hampton: 'Crystal Clear' That Ensign Payment Was Severance

Zachary Roth | November 20, 2009, 10:05AM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Doug Hampton's campaign to bring down the man who slept with his wife continues.

Hampton's latest blast at Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) came in a sit-down with ABC News's Nightline. In excerpts teased on the ABC News site, Hampton doubles down on his contention that the $96,000 he and his wife received from Ensign's parents, after the affair was discovered, was a severance package, not a gift as Ensign has claimed. A severance payment would have violated campaign-finance laws.

Jay Bybee

Legal Defense Fund For Torture Memo Author

Zachary Roth | November 19, 2009, 2:35PM

Jay Bybee

One of the authors of the Bush Justice Department's notorious memos approving torture has set up a legal defense fund to help pay anticipated lawyers' fees in connection with the episode.

A website for the Bybee Legal Defense Fund "explains how contributions may be made to help Judge Jay S. Bybee pay costs and expenses he is incurring or may incur in connection with claims, investigations or proceedings relating to his service as Assistant Attorney General for the Office Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice or his service on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit."

John Ensign

Will Ensign Escape Criminal Probe?

Zachary Roth | November 19, 2009, 12:03PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Is the Justice Department leaning towards laying off Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)?

That's the direction in which Politico's reporting seems to point. According to the new site, DOJ officials "signal that the case is a low-priority matter for them." It adds that "no one close to Ensign or the Hamptons has been contacted by any federal investigators." And it notes that the Senate Ethics committee, which usually stands down when Justice is involved, has been forging ahead with its probe of the philandering Nevada senator.

Eric Holder

Holder: OPR Torture Report Should Be Out By Month's End

Zachary Roth | November 18, 2009, 1:46PM

That long-awaited report on the Justice Department's role in the Bush administration's torture program could finally be ready to see the light of day.

During his testimony before Congress today, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the report, by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, is "in its last stages," and that he expects it will be released by the end of the month.

William Jefferson

Feds Want Jefferson To Serve Up To 33 Years

Zachary Roth | November 9, 2009, 4:05PM

Fmr. Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)

Federal prosecutors want former congressman William Jefferson to serve up to 33 years in prison.

Court documents filed by the Feds today, and reported by Roll Call, state: "The Probation Office has calculated the Sentencing Guidelines for Congressman Jefferson ... in a guideline range of 324 to 405 months or approximately 27 to 33 years of imprisonment."

Obama Administration

Obama Adopts Bush's State Secrets Position -- And Exact Language -- In NSA Spying Case

Justin Elliott | November 2, 2009, 6:03PM

Pres. Obama and Fmr. Pres. George W. Bush

Here's a good catch from Michael Isikoff on the new blog Declassified at Newsweek:

It looks like the Obama Administration is invoking the state secrets privilege in a lawsuit alleging illegal surveillance by the National Security Agency -- and it's using the exact wording used by the Bush Administration two years ago in the very same case.

Alberto Gonzales

Iglesias: Evidence Of Politicization By Arizona Sheriff "Felt Very Familiar"

Zachary Roth | November 2, 2009, 2:37PM

Fmr. US Attorney (NM) David Iglesias

David Iglesias is comparing Sheriff Joe Arpaio's alleged targeting of political foes to the notorious Rove-Gonzales politicization of DOJ, which led to Iglesias's own improper firing.

The evidence against the Arizona sheriff was "very similar to what was going on at the Department of Justice under the Bush administration," Iglesias said in an interview with TPMmuckraker. "It unfortunately felt very familiar."

Joe Arpaio

Report: FBI Probing Controversial Arizona Sheriff For "Investigating" Political Foes

Zachary Roth | November 2, 2009, 1:12PM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the hard-line anti-immigration Arizona sheriff, is being probed by the FBI for allegedly using his authority to retaliate against political adversaries, sources tell a local TV station. One of the key cases cited by Phoenix-based KPHO is one we told you about recently, in which a husband-and-wife team of big-name Washington GOP lawyers was briefly recruited to try to build a case against a local official who had clashed with Arpaio.

In response to the KPHO report, Arpaio bizarrely lashed out at ... David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney who had dared offer an expert opinion to the station.

Stewart Nozette

Prosecutor: Top Scientist Nozette Admitted Actual Spying For Israel

Justin Elliott | October 30, 2009, 11:32AM

Stewart Nozette

Did a federal prosecutor just make the inflammatory accusation that top government scientist Stewart Nozette has admitted to giving classified information to the Israeli government?

By our reading of this AP story, that's exactly what happened at a hearing in U.S. district court in Washington yesterday.

Mary Beth Buchanan

U.S. Attorney Who Played Role In Firings Scandal To Step Down -- Congressional Bid Next?

Zachary Roth | October 30, 2009, 10:04AM

Mary Beth Buchanan

Mary Beth Buchanan, the Bush-appointed federal prosecutor who had a cameo in the U.S. attorney firings scandal and was charged with pursuing politically motivated prosecutions, is stepping down.

Buchanan, a Republican, is said to be mulling a run for Congress against incumbent Democrat Rep. Jason Altmire. In a statement yesterday, she said she was "looking forward to the next chapter of my professional career," without elaborating.

Global Warming

Could Coal Lobby Chief Be Probed For Perjury?

Zachary Roth | October 29, 2009, 4:49PM

CEO of ACCCE Steve Miller

Could apparently false statements made by the head of a coal-industry lobby group before Congress this morning end up being referred to the Justice Department for a criminal perjury probe? Congressional investigators aren't ruling it out.

As we reported, Steve Miller, the director of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), appears to have twice misled Congress while under oath during his testimony this morning over those forged letters sent on the coal lobby's behalf by Bonner and Associates.

Bill Allen

Docs: Feds Pressed Police To End Child-Sex Probe Of Bill Allen

Zachary Roth | October 28, 2009, 2:47PM

Bill Allen, former owner of VECO

Hat tip Alaska Dispatch...

Did U.S. prosecutors pressure police to end a child-sex-crimes investigation in order not to endanger the federal probe of corruption in Alaska politics, then withhold evidence about the episode? That's what court documents filed on behalf of a former state lawmaker convicted in the investigation are charging.

Alaska

Bill Allen Gets Three Years For Role In Alaska Public Corruption Scandal

Justin Elliott | October 28, 2009, 2:40PM

Fmr. VECO chief Bill Allen outside of federal court today.

Bill Allen, the former chief of an Alaska oil services company who became the key government witness in the Ted Stevens trial last year, was sentenced to three years in prison today for his role in the wide-ranging public corruption scandal in the state.

Allen was also fined $750,000.

The Anchorage Daily News reports from the courtroom:

Chris Christie

Did FOIA Request On Financial Ties To Christie Prompt Top Aide's Departure?

Zachary Roth | October 27, 2009, 1:16PM

Fmr. top aide Michele Brown (inset) and NJ Gov. Candidate Chris Christie (R)

Hat tip Marcy Wheeler at Firedoglake...

Did Chris Christie's top aide resign as a top prosecutor this summer in order to prevent information about her financial ties to Christie from becoming public? Let's look at the facts:

Mary Beth Buchanan

New Allegations Against Bush-Appointed U.S. Attorney Linked To Firings Scandal

Zachary Roth | October 23, 2009, 2:00PM

Mary Beth Buchanan

The office of a top Bush-appointed federal prosecutor who played a role in the U.S. attorney firings scandal received improper recordings of telephone calls between defense lawyers and their clients, and appears not to have turned them over to authorities, as required by law.

On Wednesday evening, Lisa Freeland, a Pittsburgh-based federal public defender, sent a lengthy email to fellow defense lawyers, reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, exposing the episode. "I am incensed," Freeland wrote.

Head Of DOJ Unit That Botched Stevens Case Steps Down

Zachary Roth | October 22, 2009, 4:39PM

Fmr. Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK)

The head of the Justice Department's beleaguered Public Integrity unit is stepping down.

William Welch, who supervised the department's botched prosecution of former Alaska senator Ted Stevens, will remain with DOJ but return to Massachusetts, the Washington Post reported yesterday.

Voting

DOJ Vet: Plan For Panther Hearings Shows Key Voting-Rights Panel Is "Kind Of A Joke"

Zachary Roth | October 22, 2009, 3:24PM

USCCR Commissioner Todd Gaziano

Democrats and civil-rights advocates are slamming conservative members of a key federal voting-rights panel for a plan to hold hearings on the controversial "New Black Panthers" voter intimidation case, and are expressing intense concern that the commission is being shifted away from its traditional role as a protector of the rights of minority voters.

Yesterday, Main Justice reported that the commission, dominated by Bush appointees, planned to hold hearings on the New Black Panther case, which the Justice Department dismissed earlier this year. In a now-famous incident from Election Day 2008, a member of a group called the New Black Panther Party was caught on camera clad in combat boots and brandishing a night stick at a Philadelphia polling station.

Chris Christie

Lautenberg To DOJ: Christie-Brown Ties Raise "Serious Concerns"

Zachary Roth | October 21, 2009, 5:27PM

Fmr. top aide Michele Brown (inset) and NJ Gov. Candidate Chris Christie (R)

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has released a letter he sent today to the Justice Department calling for an investigation into the possible politicization of the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey in the service of Chris Christie's campaign for governor.

In the letter to Mary Patrice Brown, who runs DOJ's internal ethics unit, Lautenberg, the chair of the Jon Corzine campaign, focuses on ties between Christie, a Republican, and his former top aide Michele Brown, which Lautenberg says raise "serious concerns." We laid out many of those ties here.

David Safavian

Former DOJ Prosecutor: Ring Case Was "Extremely Problematic" From The Start

Zachary Roth | October 16, 2009, 3:17PM

Kevin A. Ring

A former prosecutor with the Justice Department's Public Integrity unit has called the case against Kevin Ring "an extremely problematic prosecution," since the favors that Ring was accused of doing for public officials weren't in themselves illegal.

A mistrial was declared in the case yesterday, after jurors deadlocked on the charges against the former Team Abramoff lobbyist.

Kevin Ring

Judge Will Declare Mistrial In Kevin Ring Case

Justin Elliott | October 15, 2009, 2:08PM

Kevin A. Ring

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. plans to declare a mistrial on seven of eight counts in the case of top Jack Abramoff operative Kevin Ring, the Legal Times reports.

Ring was indicted last year on charges of bribing government officials and members of Congress with meals and event tickets in return for help for clients of Abramoff's lobbying firm.

The Legal Times reports:

John Ensign

Criminal Probe Of Ensign Seen As Likely

Zachary Roth | October 14, 2009, 1:40PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Could the worst be still to come for John Ensign?

An expert consensus may be forming that the Justice Department will likely launch a criminal investigation into the philandering Nevada senator and his relationship with Doug and Cynthia Hampton.

Gale Norton

Gale Norton Subpoenaed By Grand Jury: Report

Zachary Roth | October 9, 2009, 5:32PM

Fmr. US Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton

Gale Norton is being investigated by a federal grand jury for allegedly talking to Shell about a job, while she was Interior Secretary in 2006, reports National Journal. Both Norton and Shell are said to have received subpoenas.

The existence of the federal investigation was first reported last month by the Los Angeles Times. In a nutshell, the Feds have been looking at an episode in which Norton's Interior Department awarded three oil shale leases on federal land in Colorado -- potentially worth hundreds of billions -- to a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell. Two months later, Norton resigned, saying she had no job lined up. But later that year, she was hired by Shell as in-house counsel.

Joe Arpaio

'America's Toughest Sheriff' Teams With Beltway GOP Power Couple In 'Inquisition' Of Arizona Official

Zachary Roth | October 7, 2009, 3:41PM

Republican lawyers Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing

Notorious anti-immigrant sheriff Joe Arpaio is working with a husband-and-wife GOP lawyer team that was one of Bill Clinton's biggest tormentors during the 90s, to go after a local Arizona official. But critics are calling the effort a politically motivated fishing expedition. And the defense lawyer on the case knows something about politicized justice: he was one of the US attorneys improperly fired by Alberto Gonzales.

Here's the back-story. It's got a few twists and turns. But stay with us -- it's worth it:

John Ensign

Ensign: I Followed Ethics Laws When I Helped Clients Of Mistress's Husband

Zachary Roth | October 6, 2009, 3:18PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

The John Ensign story is back on the front-burner, thanks to last week's New York Times report that the philandering Nevada senator actively helped Doug Hampton, the husband of his former mistress, get set up as a lobbyist, then acted to benefit Hampton's new clients.

Today brought several new developments:

U.S. Attorneys

US Attorney's "Convenience Store Initiative" Probed Middle Easterners For Terror Ties

Zachary Roth | September 29, 2009, 3:35PM

In the period after 9/11, law-enforcement agencies around the country suddenly made rooting out anyone with possible ties to terrorism a top priority. But did one Bush appointee take that zeal too far by targeting people based on little more than an Arabic-sounding name?

The Convenience Store Initiative was the farcical-sounding name of a program launched by the office of Jim Greenlee, the US attorney for Mississippi's northern district, according to documents obtained by the state's Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

Jack Abramoff

Former Rep. Doolittle Named As Unindicted Co-Conspirator In Trial Of Abramoff Crony

Zachary Roth | September 29, 2009, 11:07AM

Fmr. Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA)

Former California GOP congressman John Doolittle has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of Jack Abramoff crony Kevin Ring.

Ring, a former top aide to Doolittle, was indicted last year for allegedly bribing lawmakers and members of the executive branch, after he left Capitol Hill and went to work for Abramoff. The indictment charged that, among other crimes, Ring provided lavish meals and events tickets to members of Doolittle's staff, and that Ring provided Doolittle's wife, Julia, with a lucrative non-profit job, arranged by Abramoff. Julia Doolittle has also been named as a co-conspirator.

Hassan Nemazee

Nemazee's Brother-In-Law Charged As Accomplice In Alleged Ponzi Scheme

Zachary Roth | September 25, 2009, 4:52PM

Hassan Nemazee

Hassan Nemazee's brother-in-law has been charged as an accomplice in the same alleged $292 million Ponzi scheme that Nemazee himself was indicted for earlier this week.

Shahin Kashanchi, 46, of Telluride, Colorado, was charged with helping Nemazee -- a major fundraiser for the Democratic party -- to submit fraudulent documents and correspondence to the banks Nemazee allegedly swindled.

FBI

Feds: Zazi Bought Beauty Products To Build Bomb

Zachary Roth | September 24, 2009, 12:26PM

Najibullah Zazi

The accused terror plotter indicted this morning by the Feds seems to have spent a lot of time in recent months shopping for beauty and home improvement products.

According to a document filed by prosecutors, the FBI found on the computer of Najibullah Zaz instructions for making explosives, including Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP). That's the explosive that was used by the London train bombers of 2005, and by Richard Reid, the "shoe-bomber," in 2001. It's made from hydrogen peroxide, acetone, and strong acid such as hydrochloric acid.

FBI

Alleged Terror Plotter Indicted

Zachary Roth | September 24, 2009, 11:11AM

Najibullah Zazi

Najibullah Zazi has been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to use a weapons of mass destruction -- explosive bombs -- the Justice Department has announced.

Zazi, who lives outside Denver, had previously been charged with making false statements to investigators, after he was questioned by the FBI in connection to that New York City terror probe.

ACORN

ACORN Hidden Camera Scandal Being Probed By Feds, Brooklyn DA

Zachary Roth | September 23, 2009, 4:54PM

ACORN has been contacted by the FBI and the Brooklyn district attorney's office in connection to the recent scandal in which staffers were caught on video advising two people posing as a pimp and a prostitute on how to break the law.

The news was revealed by Arthur Schwartz, ACORN's general counsel, on a conference call with reporters moments ago. (Full disclosure: Almost a decade ago, I was hired by Schwartz to work on a political campaign.) Schwartz said that the requests for information were not subpoenas, but confirmed that they were part of investigations into possible criminal activity revealed by the videos. He added that ACORN is cooperating with those requests.

John Guandolo

The Strange Case Of The Philandering, Muslim-Threat-Hyping FBI Agent

Justin Elliott | September 23, 2009, 2:01PM

John Guandolo

An FBI agent who worked on the corruption case of former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson resigned after superiors found a list he wrote of his sexual conquests with agents and a confidential source, according to court documents.

The same agent, John Guandolo, who is married and who unsuccessfully solicited a $75,000 donation for an anti-terrorism group from a wealthy witness in the Jefferson case with whom he was having an affair, resigned from the FBI and appears to have landed on his feet on the speaking circuit playing up the threat of Islamic terrorism.

Barack Obama

ACLU And Nadler: New State Secrets Policy Falls Short

Zachary Roth | September 23, 2009, 1:03PM

Civil libertarians are criticizing the Obama administration's new policy limiting the government's ability to claim state secrets, saying it doesn't go nearly far enough in reversing the expansion of executive power.

Ben Wizner, a lawyer with the ACLU, told TPMmuckraker that the new Justice Department policy, announced this morning in a memo by Attorney General Eric Holder, "falls far short" of what's needed.

Barack Obama

Obama Admin. Announces New Policy On State Secrets

Zachary Roth | September 23, 2009, 12:03PM

Over the last few months, we've given voice to concerns that the Obama administration has been mimicking its predecessor in its approach to executive power and the war on terror -- in particular by invoking the states secrets privilege in seeking to hide information relating to national security tactics.

But today brings news that may represent a sharp break with the Bushies' failed policy on that issue. In a memo signed by Attorney General Eric Holder, the Justice Department has announced new limits on the government's ability to assert the privilege. (You can read the memo here.)

Justice Department

Big Dem Donor Nemazee Indicted In Alleged $292 Million Scheme

Zachary Roth | September 21, 2009, 6:10PM

Hassan Nemazee

Federal prosecutors have accused a major Democratic fundraiser with ties to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that involved swindling several major banks out of hundreds of millions of dollars, and using some of the proceeds to fund political candidates and PACs.

According to a Justice Department press release, Hassan Nemazee was indicted this afternoon by a grand jury, charged with using fake documents and signatures to bilk Citibank, Bank of America, and HSBC out of over $290 million, in an alleged scheme that dates back to 1998. Nemazee alleged used the Citibank money to repay the B of A loan, and vice versa. And even after being questioned by FBI agents about the Citibank loan last month, Nemazee allegedly went to HSBC to fraudulently draw down a line of credit, which he tried to access funds to pay back Citibank.

You can read the indictment here.

ACORN

DOJ To Review Whether It Funded ACORN

Zachary Roth | September 21, 2009, 5:22PM

Some Republican foes of ACORN have been calling since last week for a Justice Department investigation of the beleaguered group, in the wake of the now-famous hidden camera scandal.

And it looks like a DOJ probe, of a kind, will indeed go forward.

Barack Obama

Ex-CIA Directors To Obama: Shut Down Torture Probe

Zachary Roth | September 18, 2009, 5:35PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Seven former CIA directors have sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to overturn Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to appoint a torture prosecutor.

Holder's decision, they wrote "creates an atmosphere of continuous jeopardy for those whose cases the Department of Justice had previously declined to prosecute." they added that the probe "will seriously damage the willingness of many other intelligence officers to take risks to protect the country."

Jack Abramoff

Ashcroft Aide Pleads The Fifth In Trial Of Abramoff Crony

Zachary Roth | September 17, 2009, 5:19PM

CEO of Ashcroft Group David Ayres

We told you it was likely to happen. And now it has.

John Ashcroft's top aide from the Justice Department has pleaded the fifth in the trial of a member of Team Abramoff.

ACORN

House Votes To Strip ACORN Of All Federal Funds

Zachary Roth | September 17, 2009, 3:04PM

In the wake of a scandal in which employees were caught on tape advising people posing as a prostitute and pimp in how to break the law, the House of Representatives voted today to strip ACORN of all federal funding.

The vote was 345-75 on a measured pushed by GOP House leader John Boehner. The Senate voted earlier this week to withdraw housing and urban development funding. But the House bill would remove all federal funding.

Dick Cheney

Feds Probing Gale Norton For Corruption: LAT

Zachary Roth | September 17, 2009, 12:23PM

Fmr. US Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton

Did Gale Norton, President Bush's far-right interior secretary, illegally use her position to benefit an oil company that later hired her? Justice Department investigators want to know, reports the Los Angeles Times.

In a nutshell, here's what DOJ is looking into:

Justice Department

Judge Dismisses Large Part Of Hiring Case Against Bush DOJers

Justin Elliott | September 17, 2009, 10:39AM

Fmr. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

A federal judge has thrown out most of the class action suit alleging the Bush-era Justice Department improperly rejected intern applicants, the Legal Times reports.

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