Category: USDoJ

The Stench Gets Some Air Freshener

by · Jun 15, 2021 7:44 am

Yesterday, I wrote that the stench of politics had taken hold at the Justice Department when, at the last minute, it decided to deep-six a brief supporting the sound analysis of the Eleventh Circuit in a crack cocaine sentencing case and argue instead that the overall “intent” of two leniency-oriented statutes, the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, should displace their plain text.  A unanimous SCOTUS made short work of DOJ’s lame appeal to duck the words Congress chose in favor of a more Oprah Winfrey-like approach.  The only conceivable reason for the Department’s unprincipled, embarrassing and (fortunately) futile action was politics  —   specifically, that pro-drug and pro-criminal elements in the President’s political base simply wanted what they wanted.  That DOJ at its highest levels would so easily be chased away from a sober approach to its legal obligations is alarming.

I’m happy to report that, today, we saw a different face.

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The Stench of Politics at DOJ

by · Jun 14, 2021 8:37 pm

Remember all the stuff we were hearing during the Presidential campaign about how we needed to make a change in order to get politics out of the Justice Department?  It was all a joke  —  on us.  Ed Whelan has the story today of what would surely be a scandal if Bill Barr tried it, and is a scandal today, squarely on the plate of Merrick Garland  —  a man I’m sure knows better.

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The Redundant Federal Charges Against Derek Chauvin

by · May 9, 2021 8:48 pm

Last week, the Justice Department indicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the same conduct  —  the killing of George Floyd  — for which a Minnesota state jury convicted him of murder.  Contrary to the wailing of a goodly portion of the defense bar, such a successive prosecution by a different sovereign is permitted by the Constitution, as SCOTUS reaffirmed in its 7-2 opinion two years ago in Gamble v. United States.    But that does not end the inquiry:  Although the prosecution is permitted, is it wise?  Is it fair?  Does it serve a distinct federal interest sufficient to be worth the cost and risks?

I have considerable doubts about all those things, as explained below.  But I want to say one thing by way of preface.  This should not become yet another “oh-the-government-is-so-bad” festival.  The trouble here started with Chauvin, not the government.  If he had shown more restraint, judgment and professional care, we wouldn’t be in this situation.  The best way to avoid having to deal with the outcroppings of criminal behavior is to avoid the behavior to begin with.  In Chauvin’s case, as in most, it’s just not that hard.

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USDOJ Targets Ransomware

by · Apr 21, 2021 10:17 am

“The Justice Department has formed a task force to curtail the proliferation of ransomware cyberattacks, in a bid to make the popular extortion schemes less lucrative by targeting the entire digital ecosystem that supports them,” Dustin Volz reports for the WSJ. Continue reading . . .

Should a High Officer of the Justice Department Support Cop Killers?

by · Apr 9, 2021 9:25 pm

One might think the question answers itself.  On the other hand, when a major corporation openly urges its employees to be “less white,” we have entered a world where once obvious answers now seem as fraught as trying to do geometry while you’re on LSD.

President Biden’s nominee to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Ms. Kristen Clarke, is on record as carrying the flag for cop killers.  This was not while she was in high school or even college.  It was when she was holding forth at Columbia Law School.  Among others whose cause she championed was Mumia Abu-Jamal, who gunned down Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner 40 years ago and has yet to apologize.

This was not a problem for Ms. Clarke, and evidently is not one for President Biden either.  Paul Mirengoff of PowerLine has the story.

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The Dishonesty of Biden’s Choice for No. 3 at the Justice Department

by · Mar 12, 2021 12:45 pm

President Biden has nominated Vanita Gupta to be Associate Attorney General, the third highest position in the Justice Department.  Gupta was Assistant AG for Civil Rights under Obama.  As such, she was asked by the Attorney General, then Loretta Lynch, for a recommendation whether DOJ should seek the death penalty against the mass killer of black worshipers, Dylann Roof.  Gupta recommended against it on the preposterous grounds that mitigating factors outweighed aggravating ones.

She was asked about her role in making that recommendation at her Senate confirmation hearing.  Instead of telling the truth, she did a fancy dance designed to mislead the Judiciary Committee.  It was a deception worthy of a pickpocket, not someone who hopes to get a job overseeing the prosecution of criminals.  For her flagrant deceit alone, she should be rejected (indeed, her nomination should be withdrawn).

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Scheduling Spat on Garland AG Nomination

by · Feb 2, 2021 12:00 pm

Sarah Lynch at U.S. News and World Report reports on a spat between the Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat and Republican over scheduling the confirmation hearing for AG-Nominee Merrick Garland. Incoming Chairman Dick Durbin wants the hearing February 8 for one day, but outgoing Chairman Lindsay Graham says one day is not enough. Continue reading . . .

Merrick Garland to Become Attorney General

by · Jan 6, 2021 11:13 am

Joe Biden has chosen Judge Merrick Garland of the DC Circuit to be the new Attorney General, numerous reports say.  Among those being mentioned (Sen. Doug Jones, former Acting AG Sally Yates, and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick), Garland is easily the best choice.  He’s liberal  —  make no mistake  —  but he believes in law, and believes there is a difference between law and politics.  He is a gracious person and a man of integrity.  He also has considerable experience as a prosecutor, having, among other things, led the capital prosecution of Timothy McVeigh as Principal Deputy AG in the Clinton years.  Biden deserves credit for this choice.  Now that the Senate will be controlled by his party, he could have gotten away with a lot worse.

The country will miss the determined and law-driven leadership of Bill Barr, who left a millionaire’s practice to put up with a boatload of headaches from his superior and an even bigger boatload of brickbats from his grossly partisan critics.  Many thanks are due him for his focused and courageous service.

Bill Barr, Like Jeff Sessions, Acted on Principle

by · Dec 11, 2020 4:02 pm

For full disclosure purposes, I should begin by saying that I know Bill Barr slightly and spoke with him on the phone a while back about matters not involving either the election or the Supreme Court.  With that out of the way, let me say this:  It’s time for Barr’s enemies to step up to apologize for their numerous false and scurrilous attacks on him.  He has proven to be a worthy successor to Jeff Sessions  —  another man who put principle before ambition  —  and has shown himself to be an honorable leader of the Justice Department.

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A Surprise Backer for the New Independent Counsel

by · Dec 2, 2020 6:56 pm

It’s not news by now that AG Barr has appointed US Attorney John Durham as an Independent Counsel to continue to pursue the investigation of the Russia probe that fueled the failed impeachment effort against President Trump.  Although some of Barr’s opponents have criticized the appointment as a political stunt, one prominent lawyer wrote this in defense of precisely this sort of appointment:

“The need for a special counsel who is to some extent independent of the Attorney General and free of the conflicts of interest that exist when an Administration investigates alleged wrongdoing of its own officials has unfortunately been demonstrated several times in [the last] century.”

Who is the mystery author?

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