Holder Justice Department
June 13, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Last week, I argued that Eric Holder’s submission to a court suggested that Fox News’ James Rosen was a flight risk. This representation — coupled with the statement that Rosen was “an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator” in illegal obtaining, national security materials from a government official also under investigation — led me to conclude that Holder lied to Congress when he testified that he has never been “involved in” “potential
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June 7, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Eric Holder’s interview with Pete Williams of NBC News is, as John says, a classic. It seems to me that Holder’s statements during the interview nail down the case that he lied to Congress or to a court. According to NBC’s account of the interview [note that NBC's written account does not appear to track word-for-word the video of the interview NBC posted along with its account], Holder said: I
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June 6, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Barack Obama is the bystander president; nothing that happens in his administration has anything to do with him. Michael Ramirez illustrates the point: Eric Holder is the perfect attorney general for the Obama administration. As his Department of Justice sinks deeper and deeper into scandal, he retains a remarkable objectivity. Nothing that happens in the department that he ostensibly runs is, apparently, his doing. His NBC interview with Pete Williams
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June 5, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Two distinguished law professors and star bloggers — Jonathan Adler and Orin Kerr — have, in separate posts, argued that there is no case for the proposition that Eric Holder lied when he testified to Congress that he has never been “involved in” “potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material.” Many, including me and John, have suggested that Holder’s testimony doesn’t square with statements in an affidavit,
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May 30, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
When President Obama nominated Eric Holder for Attorney General, the Republican establishment was not displeased. As I wrote at the time, “most members of that establishment feel more comfortable with their fellow Washington insider than they do with taking their chances on an Obama nominee to be named later.” At Power Line, though, we had major concerns about Holder. Prominent among them was his lack of honesty. For one thing,
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May 29, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Michael Ramirez has a unique genius for summing up the absurdities of the Obama administration. Here we have Inspector Holder, searching for a clue:
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May 29, 2013 — John Hinderaker
In his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Eric Holder was asked whether the Justice Department could prosecute reporters under the Espionage Act of 1917. This was his answer: In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material — this is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy. Later, the Department of Justice disclosed that Holder had
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May 29, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
To my knowledge, Karl Rove was the first commentator to focus attention on a massive problem from which even Eric (“Nine Lives”) Holder may not be able to escape. Two weeks ago, testifying under oath before the House Judiciary Committee, Holder was asked whether the Justice Department could prosecute reporters under the Espionage Act of 1917. His response (emphasis added) was: In regard to potential prosecution of the press for
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May 14, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Scandals are besetting the Obama administration so rapidly that it is hard to keep track of them. So far, I don’t believe we have said anything about the revelation that the Department of Justice secretly accessed several months worth of Associated Press telephone records. The AP is on the warpath: Reporters across The Associated Press are outraged over the Justice Department’s sweeping seizure of staff phone records — and they
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April 29, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is as perplexed as I am about the circumstances associated with the Mirandization of the surviving Tsarnaev terrorist. Accordingly, he has written a letter to Eric Holder posing questions for the Attorney General. Concerned that the interrogation of Tsarnaev may have been “conducted in a manner that prematurely cut off a lawful, ongoing FBI interview to collect public safety information,” Rogers tells
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April 28, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
That’s the question posed on Fox Sunday News by Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House homeland security committee. McCaul stated: “I think the experts all agree that there is someone who did train these two individuals.” It’s easy to understand this consensus. The Tsarnaev brothers had a fairly sophisticated operation — seemingly beyond what they could have picked up solely from the do-it-yourself websites they apparently frequented. But if
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April 27, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
I have never practiced criminal law (except briefly at the international level) and have not studied it since 1974. Thus, like most Americans, much of what I think I know about criminal procedure comes from watching television and movies. My viewing experience does not include any instances in which a judge read a criminal defendant his or her Miranda warning in the middle of police interrogation. Thus, I was shocked
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April 26, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Earlier this week, Eric Holder had this to say to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund: Creating a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in this country is essential. The way we treat our friends and neighbors who are undocumented–by creating a mechanism for them to earn citizenship and move out of the shadows — transcends the issue of immigration status. This is a
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April 18, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Tom Perez is President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Labor. There are many reasons why he should not be confirmed. I discussed some of them here and here. My complaints about Perez pre-date his most recent nomination. In a 2009 Washington Times op-ed, I objected to his nomination to head Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. It is not easy to block a cabinet nominee on policy grounds, nor should
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April 5, 2013 — Scott Johnson
The Wall Street Journal published a book review by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey yesterday. Judge Mukasey (as I will refer to him here) is one great American. He was the trial judge in the case of the Blind Sheikh and a man who answered the call of duty by resigning from the bench to take the position of Attorney General for the last two years of the Bush administration.
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March 18, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is investigating the latest scandal involving Tom Perez, who is reported to be President Obama’s choice for Secretary of Labor. Committee Chairaman Darrel Issa has confronted the Department of Justice (where Perez now serves as Assistant Attorney General) with charges that Perez arranged a quid pro quo for the City of St. Paul, Minnesota to drop the Supreme Court case of Magner v. Gallagher.
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March 13, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, the Justice Department’s Inspector General released a damning report about the Voting Section of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. The Civil Rights Divison is run by Tom Perez, President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Labor. You can read the Report, which exceeds 250 pages, here. I’ll provide a few of the lowlights: [W]e found that starting in April 2009, there were serious discussions among senior leadership in the Division and
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