TPMDC Justice Department
Debt ceiling
OLC Gave Guidance To Obama On 14th Amendment During Debt Ceiling Showdown
President Barack Obama
The Office of Legal Counsel advised President Barack Obama on whether he could ignore Congress and raise the debt ceiling himself under the 14th Amendment. We just don't know what they told him.
TPM filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for any final memo that OLC issued on whether Obama -- as progressives had wanted -- could continue to pay government obligations if Congress had refused to raise the statutory debt limit.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 14th Amendment, Barack Obama, Debt Ceiling, Debt ceiling, Justice Department, Office of Legal Counsel
Occupy Wall Street
Dems Press Eric Holder To Investigate Banks For Colluding Over ATM Fees
Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)
If you're a member of Congress trying to rein in Wall Street, now's your moment, and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) is seizing it.
Welch helped lead the effort in 2010 to limit the "swipe fees" banks can charge retailers for each debit card transaction -- fees retailers passed on to consumers. Those rules went into effect earlier this year and, as if to serve as recruiters for the anti-Wall Street protests spreading across the country, Bank of America and other financial firms decided to recoup the lost profits by imposing an ATM fee on their customers -- a penalty of sorts for having automated access to your own money.
In a functioning market this practice might have ended before it began, as disgruntled customers took their business to firms that didn't attempt to bilk their customers.
That's not happening. So Welch wants Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate these banks for collusive behavior.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Attorney General, Department of Justice, Dick Durbin, Eric Holder, Financial Reform, Justice Department, Occupy Wall Street, Peter Welch, Wall Street
Iran
Obama Predicts Other Middle Eastern Countries Will Punish Iran
President Barack Obama
President Obama said Iran will pay a price for a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, arguing that the Iranian regime has increasingly alienated other countries in the Middle East.
"I have to emphasize that this plot is not simply directed at the United States of America," Obama said at a press conference with the South Korean president. "This is a plot directed at the Saudi ambassador...You're going to see folks throughout the Middle East region questioning their ability to work with Iran."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Iran, Justice Department, Saudi Arabia, White House
Health Care
Obama Administration Moves Aggressively To Put Health Care Law Before Supreme Court
The Obama administration has taken its aggressive legal defense of the new health care law to a new level.
In an unexpected twist, the Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to swiftly overturn an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the law's mandate requiring people to buy insurance is unconstitutional -- the only Circuit Court to rule this way so far.
"[T]oday, the Obama Administration will ask the Supreme Court to hear this case, so that we can put these challenges to rest and continue moving forward implementing the law," wrote Stephanie Cutter, a senior Obama adviser, on the White House blog. "We know the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. We are confident the Supreme Court will agree."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Department of Justice, Health Care, Health care lawsuits, Justice Department
Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame
New York Trial For Somali Terrorism Suspect Reignites Gitmo Debate
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is pushing back against GOP criticism of the Obama administration's decision to bring Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, the Somali man facing terrorism charges, to New York for trial.
Feinstein, an influential and respected voice on intelligence and national security issues, said the intelligence panel has been kept fully informed on Warsame's interrogations and the intelligence they produced, adding that she agreed with the decision to try him civilian court.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, Dianne Feinstein, Eric Holder, Guantanamo Bay, Justice Department, Mark Kirk, Military commisions, Mitch McConnell, Senate intelligence committee
Justice Department
Constitutional Crisis? The Political And Legal Risks Of Ignoring The Debt Limit
President Barack Obama
While the federal government has been playing chicken with U.S. credit, liberal academics -- and even some Democratic members of Congress -- have begun questioning whether the legislative branch actually has the power under the Constitution to force the federal government to default on its debts.
Their argument rests on a unique reading of the fourth section of the 14th Amendment, which seemingly forbids Congress from preventing the country from paying what it owes: "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law...shall not be questioned."
It's an interpretation that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) called "crazy talk," and that President Obama refused to comment on at a recent press conference.
But even if it's correct, and even though Republicans are holding the debt ceiling hostage to unpopular conservative legislative priorities, it's not a step the administration wants to take, or would be able to take lightly.
Conversations with experts indicate that the president would likely need one of the most powerful offices in the government to agree with this view before they could blow past the debt limit. And even if Obama got the go-ahead, the White House would have to be prepared for epic political and legal battles with the GOP, which would no doubt follow if Obama took such drastic action.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Debt, Debt Ceiling, Justice Department
Libya
Obama Administration Allies Criticize White House's Legal Process In Libya Decision
Nominee for Office of Legal Counsel Dawn Johnsen
Critics across the ideological spectrum have criticized President Obama for overruling a determination by Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel that continued action in Libya is unlawful. But some of the White House's natural allies in the liberal legal community -- including those close to the administration -- are troubled by a separate, and in some ways more fundamental, part of this story.
In addition to overruling the OLC -- the Justice Department office tasked with establishing the bounds of lawful conduct for the executive branch -- the Obama administration also circumvented the basic process administrations typically follow in assuring its policies are legal.
"Here, if what's being reported is accurate, the White House counsel played the role of OLC, by soliciting the views of different agencies," said Dawn Johnsen, in an interview. "That's the big problem here. You're more likely to end up with bad legal decisions when you deviate from that process."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Dawn Johnsen, Justice Department, Libya, Walter Dellinger , White House
John Ensign
DOJ Access To Ensign Emails Could Determine His Legal Fate
Former Sen. John Ensign's (R-NV) legal fate may hinge on a gray area of the law governing the separation-of-powers between the legislative and judicial branches of government.
The Senate Ethics Committee's decision to hand over all of its evidence in the case against Ensign to the Justice Department - which includes hundreds of e-mails as Reuters' Murray Waas reported Thursday -- has raised new questions about the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution and whether it can prevent DOJ prosecutors from using those e-mails and other documents obtained in the panel's investigation that ended the Nevada Republican's once promising political career.
Topics: Constitution, Cynthia Hampton, Doug Hampton, John Ensign, Justice Department, Senate Ethics Committee, speech and debate
Justice Department
Citing Rape Of Two Year Old, Feds Argue For More Data Retention
Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Jason Weinstein
The Justice Department wants Congress to mandate that internet service providers retain data on their users' internet usage for a longer period of time. And to illustrate how important the feds think the having access to that IP data is, they're using the story of how law enforcement failed to track down the maker of a video depicting the rape of a two-year-old girl.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Justice Department
Gay Marriage
Behind A Major Law Firm's Decision To Ditch Its Defense Of DOMA
When the Atlanta-based law firm King & Spalding announced on April 18 that it would represent the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, it apparently didn't realize what a mess it had made for itself.
Exactly one week later, the firm reversed its decision, prompting a high-profile partner -- former Solicitor General Paul Clement -- to resign publicly, and House Speaker John Boehner's staff to issue a statement criticizing the firm for "its careless disregard for its responsibilities to the House in this constitutional matter."
As public relations debacles go, this was a doozy. But the firm must have calculated that the alternative would have been worse. In the intervening week, a series of public and behind-the-scenes developments made it clear that the firm would suffer recriminations for defending what many of its top clients and future recruits -- not to mention gay rights advocates -- consider to be an anti-gay law.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Conservative, Conservatives, DOMA, Eric Holder, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, John Boehner, Justice Department, Paul Clement, White House
BP
BP To Cut Tax Bill By $13B But Won't Say What It's Paying IRS For 2010
An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
BP plans to cut its overall tax bill by nearly $13 billion by writing off costs related to last year's mammoth oil spill as the Gulf Coast continues to grapple with the devastating environmental and economic costs of the disaster one year later.
The international oil giant suffered a $40.9 billion loss as a result of the oil spill, making its net losses for 2010 a total of $4.8 billion (BP had $36.1 billion in profits before factoring in the spill), according to its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and analysis by several tax experts consulted by TPM.
Under U.S. corporate law, companies can take credits on up to 35 percent of their losses. In this case, that means U.S. taxpayers are indirectly subsidizing at least part of cleanup cost and the $20 billion fund BP created to compensate people, fisherman and businesses along the Gulf Coast hurt by the spill.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: BP, Barack Obama, EPA, Eliot Engel, Energy, Environment, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Justice Department, Tax Breaks, Tax Day
Barack Obama
Father of 9/11 Hero Has Searing Words For Holder
David Beamer
The father of 9/11 hero Todd Beamer tore into Attorney General Eric Holder for standing by his earlier decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed in New York civilian courts even as he reversed course and announced Monday that KSM and his co-conspirators would be tried in military commissions.
Holder and the White House got a thorough drubbing by critics and supporters alike Monday for reversing course and breaking a campaign promise to close the detainee prison facility at Guantanamo Bay and try KSM and 9/11 co-conspirators in civilian courts. But one of the most searing critiques came Tuesday morning from David Beamer, the father of Todd Beamer, the renowned hero of United Airlines flight 93 who fought the terrorists before the plane crashed in Shanksville, Pa.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 9/11, Barack Obama, Eric Holder, House Republicans, James Sensenbrenner, Justice Department, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Military commisions, Todd Beamer, detainees, families of 9/11 victims
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Obama Praised, Pummeled on Gitmo and KSM
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
President Obama took a long-awaited drubbing on his broken campaign promise of closing the detainee prison facility at Guantanamo Bay after news broke Monday that Attorney General Eric Holder had reversed plans to try 9/11 conspirators in federal court in New York City and will instead have them stand trial before military commissions at the U.S. base in Cuba.
The administration's decision is a 180-degree about-face from earlier plans announced in November 2009.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 9/11, Chuck Schumer, Eric Holder, House Judiciary Committee, Justice Department, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Lamar Smith, Lindsey Graham, Military commisions
Health Care
DOJ Appeals Florida Court Decision Voiding Health Care Law
President Barack Obama
Coming in under the seven day deadline set by Judge Roger Vinson, the DOJ has appealed his ruling voiding the entire health care law to the 11th circuit court of appeals. You can read the filing here.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Department of Justice, Health Care, Justice Department
Health Care
Florida Judge Stays Decision Voiding Health Care Law
President Barack Obama
Roger Vinson, the Florida district court judge who voided the entire health care law has issued a stay of his own ruling, giving the Obama administration a week to file an appeal.
His decisions sowed confusion -- sometimes opportunistic confusion -- about whether states were required to implement the law during the appeal process. The Department of Justice sought clarification from Vinson last month to ease that confusion. In his clarification, Vinson also stayed his own decision, on the condition that the DOJ file its appeal with a higher court within seven days.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Department of Justice, Health Care, Health care lawsuits, Justice Department, Roger Vinson, White House
Health Care
DOJ Will Appeal Health Care Lawsuit, Says It Shouldn't Be Fast Tracked
Attorney General Eric Holder
The Justice Department said Tuesday that they'll appeal a federal judge's ruling that the individual mandate contained in the health care law is unconstitutional and said the case shouldn't head straight for the Supreme Court.
"We intend to appeal the district court's ruling in Virginia to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals," Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler told TPM in a statement.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Bob McDonnell, Health Care, Health care lawsuits, Henry E. Hudson, Henry Hudson, Justice Department, Ken Cuccinelli
Stem cell research
DOJ: Stem Cell Ruling Would Have 'Devastating Impact' On Current Research
Scientists work on stem cell therapies for retinal degeneration.
The Obama administration on Tuesday filed a notice stating that it will appeal a court decision which halted federal funding of stem cell research, and filed an emergency motion requesting the court stay its preliminary injunction which banned the use of the funds.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Justice Department, Stem cell research
Guantanamo Bay
Gov. Quinn, Sen. Durbin 'Encouraged' Obama Memo Suggests Thomson To Be Gitmo Replacement
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Gov. Pat Quinn said they are encouraged that a draft memo has surfaced indicating Thomson Correctional Center may be the choice to replace the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Andrew Breitbart has the memo here.
An administration official tells TPMDC it is a "draft, predecisional document that lawyers at various agencies were drafting in preparation for a potential future announcement about where to house GTMO detainees."
"Drafts of official documents are often prepared for any and all possibilities, regardless of whether a decision has been made about the policy or if the document will be used," the official said.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Dick Durbin, Guantanamo Bay, Justice Department, Pat Quinn, Thomson Correctional Center, White House
Arlen Specter
In Limbo: Dawn Johnsen's Nomination Stalls Thanks to Democrats
For several weeks--while torture revelations have dominated headlines and with the scandal still very much alive--Dawn Johnsen has been waiting. She's Obama's pick to head the Office of Legal Counsel--the same Justice Department shop that famously blessed Bush-era interrogation policies--and her strong stance on that issue has united Republicans against her. But that's not her biggest problem. Her biggest problem is that Harry Reid has not been able to muster enough Democrats to overcome a filibuster threat.
Here are the numbers as they stand right now:
Votes Against Johnsen: 37 Republicans
Votes for Johnsen: 57 Democrats plus Indiana Republican Richard Lugar
Undecideds: Republicans Olypmia Snowe and Susan Collins and Democrats Arlen Specter and Ben Nelson
Reid frames the issue by saying he needs a couple Republicans to cross the line before he has the 60 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster. But as the numbers show, it's just as much an issue of Reid not being able to muster the entire Democratic caucus in support of Johnsen.
The nomination isn't dead yet, but with Reid trying to put the onus on the White House to shore up support for the beleaguered nominee and the White House staying mum about what it role in all this is, or should be, Johnsen's nomination isnt going anywhere fast.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)Topics: Al Franken, Arlen Specter, Ben Nelson, Dawn Johnsen, Dick Lugar, Filibuster, Justice Department, Olympia Snowe, Senate, Senate Judiciary Committee, Susan Collins, Torture
Jeff Sessions
Sessions Hires Torture, Wiretapping, Political Prosecutions Apologist As Key Aide
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is bringing aboard an almost entirely new staff to back up the minority members on the Judiciary Committee. Among the senior aides is one Brian Benczkowski. Does that name ring a bell?
If it does, you're probably a long time reader of Talking Points Memo, and we salute you. Benczkowski was Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General under Michael Mukasey, and a key figure working behind the scenes to cover up corruption in the Bush Justice Department.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Jeff Sessions, Justice Department, Republicans, Senate, Senate Judiciary Committee
Justice Department
Sessions: A Moderate On Judicial Nominees?
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the freshly minted ranking member on the judiciary committee surprised Neal Cavuto last night by saying he could easily see voting for a pro-choice Supreme Court nominee.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chuck Grassley, Dawn Johnsen, Jeff Sessions, Justice Department, Republicans, Senate, Senate Judiciary Committee, Sonia Sotomayor
Barack Obama
Obama: State's Secrets Privilege Too Broad. I Know! I've Used It!
Time's Michael Scherer just asked an excellent question. During the campaign, Obama took the position that the Bush administration had abused the state's secret privilege, but since coming into office he has used it repeatedly to argue that crucial national security cases be thrown out of court.
Scherer asked the President to reconcile that contradiction. And Obama's answer was...a bit disingenuous. "I actually think that the state secrets doctrine should be modified," he said. "I think right now it's overbroad."
So why has he been hiding behind its breadth? "We're in for a week, and suddenly we've got a court filing that's coming up...and we don't have the time to think up what an overarching form that doctrine should take."
But it's hard to square that with what the administration's actually done. DOJ lawyers haven't asked the courts for more time, or to withhold key pieces of information. Rather, they've argued that these cases--Jewel v NSA, Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v Obama, and Mohammed v Jeppesen Dataplan--be tossed out entirely. And they've done that by invoking the state secrets privilege. In fact, in Jewel, the administration went so far as to claim "sovereign immunity" for the government from just about any lawsuit involving wiretapping. That position is even more radical than Bush's was.
It's hard to imagine Obama walking that claim back. But as far as state secrets go, now he's on the record. The administration, he said, is "searching for ways to redact to carve out certain cases to see what can be done... there should be some additional tools so that it's not such a blunt instrument." That's news--the White House hasn't always been so straightforward. But there are incipient efforts in Congress to do just what Obama said, and if I had been offered a followup question, I might have asked whether this means he'll throw his full weight behind them.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Barack Obama, Justice Department
Arlen Specter
Will the Republicans Filibuster Dawn Johnsen?
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Republicans are weighing the possibility of using their much-beloved filibuster to block Obama judicial and DOJ appointees.
The current Republican focus is on a pair of nominees: Mr. Obama's first selection for a federal appeals court seat, David F. Hamilton, and his choice to head the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department, Dawn Johnsen. (By coincidence, the two are in-laws.)
But will they actually prevent an up or down vote? Democrats say early signs are troubling.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Arlen Specter, Barack Obama, Dawn Johnsen, Justice Department, Republicans
Justice Department
Deputy AG Nominee Held By GOPers as Conservative Activists Plot Strategy
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) confirmed today that Republicans are holding up approval of David Ogden, President Obama's nominee to be deputy attorney general. From Leahy's remarks in the committee this morning:
Despite the strong support from law enforcement groups, children's advocates, civil rights organizations and former Democratic and Republican officials, and despite this Committee's bipartisan vote, Republican Senators have now chosen to filibuster the second of President Obama's nominations reported by this Committee. This is not a good start.
Ogden did win approval in committee, as Leahy notes, from senior Judiciary GOPer Arlen Specter (PA) as well as Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). But we know who doesn't like him: the right.
Family Research Council fellow Cathy Ruse, in a recent op-ed for CNSNews.com, outlined the conservative case against Ogden, focusing on his past defense of abortion providers and the porn industry. Focus on the Family is also mobilizing its members this week to call for Ogden's defeat.
Late Update: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to file for cloture on Ogden's nomination this week, according to Leahy's office -- meaning that Republicans will be challenged to put their money where their mouth is soon enough.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Justice Department, Republicans, Senate
Barack Obama
Second Democrat Hits Obama Over Defending Bush's State Secrets Claim
The Obama administration recently made the dismaying decision to defend the Bush-era Justice Department's use of the "state secrets" privilege in a lawsuit filed by alleged victims of extraordinary rendition. As TPM alum Greg reported yesterday, Sen. Russ Feingold (WI) was the first Democratic lawmaker to openly criticize the Obama DoJ's decision ... and now we have a second.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (7)Topics: Barack Obama, Democrats, Justice Department, Torture
Democrats
Post-Bush Truth Commission May Not Take the Form of a Senate Bill
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy's (D-VT) call yesterday for an independent "truth and reconciliation commission" to investigate the abuses committed under the Bush administration is meeting with strong support from at least two of his panel's Democratic members.
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) just released a statement hailing Leahy's "leadership" on the issue and stressing the need for accountability: "We cannot simply sweep these assaults on the rule of law under the rug." Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) was the first to weigh in with support for the idea yesterday.
But one key question remains unanswered: Will senators follow the lead of their House colleagues and actually offer a bill to set up an independent investigative panel to shed sunlight on the misdeeds of the Bush years, from interrogations to warrantless wiretapping?
As Whitehouse told me today, the answer may be no -- but here's why.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Democrats, George W. Bush, Guantanamo Bay, Justice Department, Senate
Justice Department
You Won't Believe Who's Helping Push the Anti-Solis Campaign
Ask yourself this: Who is the most insanely inappropriate person to be cheerleading from the sidelines as GOP senators put the brakes on Rep. Hilda Solis' (D-CA) nomination to lead the Labor Department?
(Alberto Gonzales would be a good guess, but he's job hunting right now.)
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Barack Obama, Justice Department, Labor
Barack Obama
Hey, Republicans: Bush Allies Love Obama's Solicitor General Nominee
If you enjoyed rolling your eyes at the GOP's antic attempts to hold up Eric Holder's Senate confirmation, get ready for the Judiciary Committee hearing next week on Elena Kagan's nomination.
Kagan, the former dean of Harvard Law School, would be the first female solicitor general. She comes to the job with stellar credentials, but that hasn't stopped conservative senators (joined by the the Christian Coalition, naturally) from signaling that they intend to fight her hard on her past support for limits on military recruiters' access to law school campuses.
In fact, GOP senators have a history of blocking Kagan -- in 1999, as Judiciary panel chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) notes her, they "pocket-filibustered" her nomination to become a federal judge under Bill Clinton by refusing to hold a committee hearing.
But any Republican itching to filibuster Kagan should give a call to Brad Berenson, who worked under Alberto Gonzales as associate White House counsel to George W. Bush. He's all for Kagan. In fact, he wrote to the Judiciary Committee last week that ...
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Justice Department, Republicans, Supreme Court
CIA/DNI/Intelligence
Did Holder Make a Telecom Immunity Promise to Senator Bond?
We were amused to find yesterday that no one except Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) was buying the claim that Eric Holder made Republicans a secret promise not to prosecute Bush intelligence officials -- not senior Democrats and not Holder himself.
But Bond made another assertion to the Washington Times yesterday that would be news ... if it's true:
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: CIA/DNI/Intelligence, Justice Department, Senate, Torture
Justice Department
Holder Aide: We Made No Special Promises to Bond
My colleague Zack at TPMmuck just heard from an aide to Attorney General nominee Eric Holder. The aide definitively denied Sen. Kit Bond's (R-MO) claim that Holder had given him "assurances" of avoiding future prosecutions of Bush intelligence officials who engaged in torturous interrogations.
"Eric Holder has not made any commitments about who would or would not be prosecuted," the aide said via e-mail. "He explained his position to Senator Bond as he did in the public hearing and in his responses to written questions."
The aide pointed to Holder's written response to a question from Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ):
Prosecutorial and investigative judgments must depend on the facts, and no one is above the law. But where it is clear that a government agent has acted in "reasonable and good-faith reliance on Justice Department legal opinions" authoritatively permitting his conduct, I would find it difficult to justify commencing a full-blown criminal investigation, let alone a prosecution.PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)
Topics: Justice Department, Republicans, Senate, Torture
Senate
Leading Senate Dems Dismiss Report That Holder Promised No Torture Prosecutions
The Washington Times reported today that Attorney General nominee Eric Holder has privately assured Sen. Kit Bond (MO) and other Republicans that the Obama DoJ will not prosecute intelligence officials who engaged in harsh interrogations.
A Bond aide told the Times that the senator "strongly considered blocking the nomination based on questions arising from some of Mr. Holder's public statements," but that Bond now planned to support the nomination after "having received assurances that [Holder] was not intent on going after intelligence officials who acted in good faith."
The implication of the piece is fairly clear: Holder promised Bond to eschew prosecutions, and Bond promised not to block his nomination. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Judiciary Committee -- which approved Holder today -- strongly denied that such an exchange could have occurred.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Guantanamo Bay, Justice Department, Senate, Torture
Barack Obama
Judiciary Committee Approves Holder, 17-2
Attorney General nominee Eric Holder was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning on a 17-2 vote.
The full Senate must sign off on Holder before he can officially join Obama's DoJ, but today's vote effectively removes the political obstacles that stood in the way of full confirmation. We'll let you know soon which two Republicans voted no on Holder.
Late Update: The two GOP nos were Sens. John Cornyn (TX) and Tom Coburn (OK).
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Barack Obama, Justice Department, Senate, Tom Coburn
Arlen Specter
Specter: Psych! I'll Back Holder
It may be time to coin the phrase "pulling a Specter," because Sen. Arlen Specter (PA), the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, just did it again. After making a huge fuss questioning the independence of Eric Holder, Specter just caved and said he'll support the attorney general nominee.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)Topics: Arlen Specter, Justice Department, Senate, Torture
Senate
Specter Still Playing it Coy on Holder Nomination
When last we left the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, John Cornyn (TX) was taking a stand against accountability by insisting that Attorney General nominee Eric Holder promise not to prosecute any intelligence official for possible interrogation abuses at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took a more pragmatic view of Holder's ability to promise such sweeping immunity before court action on detainee cases is complete. But where is Arlen Specter (PA), Judiciary's senior Republican, in all of this?
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (5)Topics: Justice Department, Republicans, Senate, Torture
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