Michael Mukasey

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

Cautious Mukasey Disappoints Former Backers

It's 'business as usual' in AG's office

(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...

As Congress Caves on FISA, Coalition Urges Fighting Back

'Limitless erosion of core constitutional liberties' abhorrent, Greenwald writes

(Newser) - With a vote set for tomorrow on a new domestic surveillance bill that grants immunity to telecoms involved in warrantless wiretapping of US citizens, Glenn Greenwald urges Salon readers to donate to a "coalition devoted to the preservation of basic constitutional protections and the rule of law." The...

Medicare Fraud Runs Rampant
 Medicare Fraud Runs Rampant 
Jun 13, 2008 1:34 PM CDT

Medicare Fraud Runs Rampant

Most claims are filled automatically

(Newser) - Health care fraud is rampant, especially in South Florida and the LA area, and surprisingly easy to pull off, reports the Washington Post. The 11-digit annual price tag could be smaller if investigators focused more on the fact that Medicare, for example, is "highly vulnerable" to scam artists and...

Executive Privilege Goes to Court
Executive Privilege
Goes to Court
Apr 25, 2008 9:48 PM CDT

Executive Privilege Goes to Court

Ruling in lawmakers' challenge could cement power grab

(Newser) - The civil suit brought by Congress as it investigates the 2005-06 firings of US attorneys is becoming a groundbreaking constitutional tussle that could decide the true scope of executive privilege. The precedent that could be set in the ruling from a US district court is now more significant than the...

Congress Prods Justice Dept. on Secrecy

Dems accuse Mukasey, underlings of stalling on requests

(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...

AG's 'Invented' 9/11 Claim Is Scare Tactic
AG's 'Invented' 9/11 Claim Is Scare Tactic
OPINION
Apr 3, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

AG's 'Invented' 9/11 Claim Is Scare Tactic

Salon scribe blasts Mukasey claim that law blocked key eavesdrop

(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...

Mukasey Open to Spy Bill Deal
Mukasey Open to Spy Bill Deal
Mar 21, 2008 8:18 PM CDT

Mukasey Open to Spy Bill Deal

AG calls for 'creative' solution to debate on phone company lawsuits

(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,...

House Sues Bush Aides Over Subpoenas

Lawsuit calls on Miers, Bolton to talk about fired prosecutors

(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...

First Inmates Freed in Crack Overhaul

More than 3,000 eligible for release this year under new sentencing guidelines

(Newser) - Federal prisons are beginning to release prisoners to comply with new crack-cocaine sentencing guidelines, the Washington Post reports. The US Sentencing Commission made more than 3,000 inmates eligible for release this year by voting in December to even out punishments for crack-cocaine offenses against those involving powdered cocaine; crack...

Mukasey Nixes Bush Aides Contempt Case

AG rejects House request, saying no crime was committed

(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...

Congress Asks Justice Dept. for Clemens Probe

Bipartisan letter wants to look at star's steroids denials for perjury

(Newser) - A congressional committee today asked the Justice Department to examine Roger Clemens’ denials under oath that he used performance-enhancing drugs and determine if they constitute perjury, the AP reports. In the letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Reps. Henry Waxman and Tom Davis cite the pitcher's statements contradicting those of...

Jailed Ex-Gov Wants Special Counsel
Jailed Ex-Gov Wants Special Counsel
Feb 26, 2008 8:47 AM CST

Jailed Ex-Gov Wants Special Counsel

Siegelman seeks probe after '60 Minutes' report; Rove denies role

(Newser) - Lawyers for Jim Siegelman want an outside investigator to look into charges that GOP operatives railroaded the ex-governor of Alabama on bribery charges, reports the AP. "60 Minutes" reported Sunday that prosecutors met over 70 times with the aide that helped put Siegelman behind bars, and had him write...

Stalling Spy Bill Hurts Intel, Admin Asserts

Letter pushes House Dems to pass new wiretapping rules

(Newser) - As House Dems refuse to pass the Senate’s wiretapping bill, the administration is heaping more pressure on them to change their minds, reports Muckraker. A letter to the House intelligence committee from top administration officials claims that the failure to pass the bill is causing “lost intelligence information”...

Look Who's Trying Out Waterboarding
Look Who's Trying Out Waterboarding
Jan 31, 2008 12:38 PM CST

Look Who's Trying Out Waterboarding

Young men sample torture technique to settle debate

(Newser) - As the debate over waterboarding continues unabated, it has occurred to more than one cocky—or conscientious—young man that anyone can see for himself what it feels like, and whether it constitutes torture. The Wall Street Journal talks to several who've tried it—using friends with no special training....

Mukasey Won't Budge on Waterboarding

He again refuses to answer senators' questions on legality

(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,...

Senate Grills Mukasey Today on Waterboarding

Mukasey warns he'll stonewall on questions about legality

(Newser) - A high-noon face off is looming today between Attorney General Michael Mukasey and the Senate Judiciary Committee over waterboarding, the simulated drowning interrogation technique that many consider torture. Committee chair Patrick Leahy said Mukasey faces "serious questions" on the issue at today's hearing. But Mukasey has warned Leahy in...

Waterboarding Returns to Spotlight
Waterboarding Returns to Spotlight
Jan 29, 2008 1:30 PM CST

Waterboarding Returns to Spotlight

Ex-spy chief confirms use of tactic as Mukasey preps for Hill hearing

(Newser) - American interrogators' tactics included waterboarding sometime before 2005, but the tactic "has not been used in years," the ex-director of national intelligence says. John Negroponte's acknowledgment, the most definitive confirmation yet of the Bush administration's use of waterboarding, comes as Michael Mukasey prepares to return to Capitol Hill...

Judge Refuses to Step Into CIA Tape Case

Justice Department's investigation sufficient for now, justice rules

(Newser) - A federal judge today denied a request by a lawyer representing terrorism suspects that he open hearings into the CIA's destruction of interrogation videotapes, the AP reports. Judge Henry H. Kennedy said that he had no evidence that the Bush administration had defied court orders and that the Justice Department's...

Justice to Probe CIA Tapes
Justice to Probe CIA Tapes
Jan 2, 2008 3:02 PM CST

Justice to Probe CIA Tapes

Department launches criminal investigation

(Newser) - The Justice Department has launched a criminal probe into the CIA's destruction of videotapes documenting the interrogation of  two Al-Qaeda suspects. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey appointed John Durham, a federal prosecutor from Connecticut, to head the inquiry. Durham has a reputation as a tough prosecutor; he has overseen investigations...

NSA Deepens Tense Alliance with Telecoms

Both sides await word on possible immunity for carriers

(Newser) - The telecom industry will be all ears to proceedings beginning tomorrow on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers will decide if companies helping the government’s warrantless surveillance program should receive immunity. President Bush personally lobbied Congress to further the NSA’s tenuous alliance with the industry, whose members are increasingly resistant...

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>