Free Republic

Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, who helped shape the political history of the 1960s, facing down segregationists, riding herd on historic civil rights legislation and helping to map Vietnam War strategy as a central player in both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, died on Tuesday night at his home in Skillman, N.J. He was 90.

MEMO: A Report on Obama Administration Violations of Law FROM: Attorneys General Tom Horne, Arizona; Pam Bondi, Florida; Sam Olens, Georgia; Bill Schuette, Michigan; Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma; Marty Jackley, South Dakota; Alan Wilson, South Carolina; Greg Abbott, Texas; Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia DATE: March 5, 2012 --- Introduction As chief legal officers of the states and commonwealths, attorneys general are the last line of defense against an increasingly overreaching federal government. Attorneys general have a duty to uphold the laws of their respective states and uphold the U.S. and state constitutions. One of the ways in which attorneys general protect the...

Nine more members of Congress have told The Daily Caller that they’re calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to resign over his handling of Operation Fast and Furious, more than doubling the number on record before the weekend calling for his ouster. A total of 17 members of Congress have now called for Holder to step down. The latest group of members includes Republican Reps. Dan Burton of Indiana, Allen West of Florida, Lynn Jenkins of Kansas, Trent Franks of Arizona, Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, Mike Pompeo of Kansas, Duncan Hunter of California, Devin Nunes of California and Dennis Ross...

Nine more members of Congress have told The Daily Caller that they’re calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to resign over his handling of Operation Fast and Furious, more than doubling the number on record before the weekend calling for his ouster. A total of 17 members of Congress have now called for Holder to step down. The latest group of members includes Republican Reps. Dan Burton of Indiana, Allen West of Florida, Lynn Jenkins of Kansas, Trent Franks of Arizona, Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, Mike Pompeo of Kansas, Duncan Hunter of California, Devin Nunes of California and Dennis Ross...

Russell and Patricia Caswell are a hard-working couple who may soon have their American Dream taken from them by the unholy alliance of local and federal law enforcement officials seeking to cash in on the Caswell’s property. The Caswells face this dilemma even though they have broken no law and have spent their entire professional career working to combat crime with the very police force that now seeks to take their property though civil forfeiture. What is happening to Russ and Pat, however, is by no means an isolated instance and local law enforcement’s end-run around state laws designed to...

Attorney General Eric Holder to hold a press conference at 2pm

Breaking on Fox ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday sought to distance himself and other senior Justice Department officials from a botched operation to track guns smuggled to Mexican drug cartels, saying they were not involved. The Obama administration has been under scrutiny after revelations that as many as 2,000 guns were sold to suspected gun traffickers, not properly tracked and ended up at crime scenes in the United States and Mexico. The operation, dubbed "Fast and Furious", was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Attorney's office in Arizona. Congressional Republicans have questioned...

The Justice Department is obstructing the congressional investigation of a U.S. law enforcement operation intended to crack down on major weapons traffickers on the Southwest border, according to the embattled leader of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Ken Melson, the acting director of the ATF, lobbed the accusation when he sneaked in for an interview with congressional investigators on July 4, two days ahead of his scheduled interview with the inspector general about the operation known as "Fast and Furious," Fox News has learned. "If his account is accurate, then ATF leadership appears to have been effectively...

Considering the disastrous effect we are witnessing because of the election of an unqualified person as president, who then appoints an even more unqualified individual as attorney general – do we now really want our communities patrolled and protected by unqualified, barely-able-to-tie-their-own-shoestrings police officers? That's exactly what's happening in the Dayton, Ohio, Police Department – and it is happening under the directive of Attorney General Eric Holder's Department of Justice. Obama was to be America's post-racial president, and yet, he has, from the beginning, shown his eagerness to be the polar opposite. Race has led the way in Obama's administration...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday warned against alienating the U.S. Muslim community, in a veiled criticism of a congressional probe into the radicalization of Muslims at home. The House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee will open a series of hearings on Thursday about the increasing terrorism threat against the United States, with the first hearing drawing criticism because of its sole focus on Muslim Americans. The panel chairman, New York Republican Representative Peter King, has repeatedly criticized, saying the Muslim American community has not cooperated with law enforcement agencies and that some mosques encourage radicalization. But...

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana deputy attorney general "is no longer employed" by the state after Mother Jones magazine reported he tweeted that police should to use live ammunition against Wisconsin labor protesters, the attorney general's office said Wednesday. The magazine reported Wednesday that Jeffrey Cox responded "Use live ammunition" to a Saturday night posting on its Twitter account that said riot police could sweep protesters out of the Wisconsin capitol, where thousands have been protesting a bill that would strip public employees of collective bargaining rights.

President Barack Obama has determined that a federal law that barred gay marriages was unconstitutional and told government lawyers to stop defending it in court, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, a move that will likely anger some conservative voters. A U.S. judge had ruled that a key provision of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) banning gay marriages was unconstitutional, but the administration had appealed, stating that it was obligated to defend federal laws when challenged. The hot-button issue of same-sex marriage is the focus of a number of judicial and political battles. It is banned in...

Planned Parenthood Videos Shock VA Governor, Attorney General The governor and attorney general in Virginia are shocked by the video footage released last week by Live Action, which conducted undercover investigations of Planned Parenthood abortion clinics. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/02/07/planned-parenthood-videos-shock-va-governor-attorney-general/

Attorney General to Probe Second Gosnell Abortion Center Dover, DE -- Much of the attention in the national attention-getting case of Kermit Gosnell has been focused on the Pennsylvania abortion center he ran where he killed and injured women in failed abortions and kills newborn infants by snipping their spinal cords. Now the focus is turning towards an abortion center in Delaware that employed him. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/01/28/attorney-general-to-probe-second-gosnell-abortion-center/

Virginia Democrats have introduced legislation to scale back government power. That's right. Could it be that after recent election defeats the party of big and bigger government sees the error of its ways? No, not exactly. The recently introduced legislation would limit the authority of Virginia's small-government constitutional conservative Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. One Virginia state senator introduced legislation to curb the ability of Mr. Cuccinelli to file civil suits without authorization from the governor or legislature. It seems Cuccinelli's efforts to protect the Constitution with his round-one victory in the ObamaCare litigation was just too much good news for...

New Attorney General Kamala Harris took office Monday with a rapid-fire barrage of promises to target everything from violent gangs to online scams to truancy and prison recidivism rates. Minutes after her swearing-in, Harris sent a message that she plans to be an activist as California's top cop, an innovator with a motto identical to the title of her book: "Smart On Crime." "Ultimately, being smart on crime is about doing more preventing and less reacting, it's about being tough and being tough-minded, doing more of what works and less of what doesn't," she said. Harris, who narrowly defeated Los...

No sooner did Attorney General-elect Kamala Harris declare victory than the stargazers of the political universe begin speculating where she will end up in California's Democratic constellation. Right in the center, was the short answer."She is going to have an incredibly long reach," said former state party Chairman Art Torres. "Her office will be in the forefront of everything from civil rights to the environment to consumer issues."She will certainly have no problem making national impact," Torres said.Judging by her victory speech Tuesday, Harris is already thinking big.Her bipartisan transition team features no fewer than two former U.S. secretaries of...

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris claimed victory in the hard fought race for state attorney general today, the deadline for counties to finish counting votes. "We did it," said the Democrat, who will be the state's first female, first African-American and first Indian-American attorney general when she is sworn in next month. Speaking in front of a room full of supporters in Los Angeles, Harris listed tackling mortgage fraud, the state's 70 percent recidivism rate, environmental issues and civil rights as some of her priorities.

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris will be California's next attorney general, after her Republican opponent conceded today - a full three weeks after the Nov. 2 election. Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley had declared victory on election night, only to see the race flip-flop between the two candidates in the coming days as counties around the state continued to tally mail-in and provisional ballots. This morning, Cooley called Harris - who is now leading by 50,000 votes - to concede and congratulate her.She will become the state's first female attorney general. In a written statement,...

It's looking more likely that Democrat Kamala Harris will be the state's next attorney general, as the San Francisco prosecutor continues to hold on to her lead in the still-undecided race. In the days after the Nov. 2 election, the results had see-sawed between Harris, a Democrat, and her Republican opponent, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley. For the last week, however, Harris has maintained a comfortable lead - as of Friday afternoon she was up by about 43,000 votes, according to the secretary of state. There are still an estimated 500,000 ballots left to be counted in a race...

Let’s face it. Barack Obama and Eric Holder gambled their entire national-security credibility on the Ahmed “Foopie” Ghailani trial, arguing that they could get convictions of detainees captured abroad by military and intelligence assets while using federal courts as a venue rather than the military commissions that Congress repeatedly authorized for that purpose. Holder scolded critics who pointed out all of the reasons that such a strategy was much more likely to fail for “politicizing” the process, especially in regard to the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, whose case is more problematic than Ghailani’s, where the FBI did a large...

San Francisco -- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris squeezed past her GOP opponent overnight to take a narrow lead in the race for state attorney general. With 99.2 percent of precincts reporting, Harris is barely ahead of Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley by just one-third of a percentage point, according to the secretary of state. She is leading by 22,299 votes, though things could still change: Complete results from Riverside County, a GOP stronghold have not yet come in, and all of the absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be tallied. Cooley claimed victory after taking a...

California's political watchdog agency has dismissed a complaint by Democrat Kamala Harris, candidate for attorney general, that a national Republican group is conducting an illegal $1.6 million advertising campaign against her. Harris' complained Monday that the 30-second attack ad by the Republican State Leadership Committee was required to contain a disclaimer listing their top two donors and failed to do so. The Fair Political Practices Commission tossed the complaint out Tuesday, ruling that the ad is exempt from the requirement because it is "issue advocacy" that does not specifically encourage a vote for or against a candidate. The FPPC already...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: COMPETING CANDIDATE ASKS ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN TO WITHDRAW AS CANDIDATE FOR NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL DUE TO SCHNEIDERMAN’S EFFORTS AS SENATE LEADER TO GIVE AWAY AQUEDUCT CASINO OPERATING RIGHTS WORTH $60 BILLION FOR 1/2000 OF VALUE NEW YORK, October 23, 2010 -- Carl Person, the Libertarian Party candidate for New York State Attorney General states: “The numbers don’t add up. Why should State Senator Eric Schneiderman and his ally, Democratic Senate leader John L. Sampson, agree to give away $60 billion in Aqueduct casino operating rights for only $300 million?” “Schneiderman is corrupt or incapable, and NYS voters should...

Well, it looks like the New Black Panther Party is finally back in the news once again. A couple of months ago, as many of you will remember, Attorney General Eric Holder dropped the voter intimidation case against the Philadelphia chapter after they were caught on video carrying batons at a polling station in ’08, which led to a firestorm of videos being released against the group. Now, a new video has surfaced showing King Samir saying that whites use black babies as ‘alligator bait’, while lambasting Fox News for the coverage after it was found the case was dropped....

On the day before Easter 2004, David Lee Hill fatally shot San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza and wounded his partner with an AK-47 assault rifle as they approached him for acting suspiciously in the city's Bayview area. District Attorney Kamala Harris' decision not to seek the death penalty has become a lightning rod in this year's race for state attorney general pitting her against Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, a leader in sending killers to death row. "Voters are going to want an attorney general who does not impose his or her own personal ideology or political...

<p>State Sen. Eric Schneiderman -- a candidate for attorney general, the highest law-enforcement post in New York -- was involved in a minor car accident outside the New York 1 studios in Chelsea and then fled the scene, the cable news station reported last night.</p>

Career prosecutors Steve Cooley and Kamala Harris won the GOP and Democratic primaries for attorney general Tuesday, paving the way for a tough November race between the moderate Republican district attorney from Los Angeles and the liberal San Francisco prosecutor. Harris, whose campaign has been dogged by fallout from a scandal at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab, beat out a crowded field of challengers that included three state assemblymen, a former Los Angeles city attorney, and Silicon Valley executive Chris Kelly, who poured $12 million of his own money into the race. "This campaign was about who we...

Sacramento -- Attorney General candidate Kamala Harris is battling increasing criticism of her performance as San Francisco district attorney both at home and on the campaign trail with only eight days left before the primary. On May 20, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo ripped into Harris, saying she violated defendants' rights by failing to disclose to defense attorneys damaging information about a police drug lab technician who's under investigation for allegedly skimming cocaine from evidence files. Problems intensified for Harris last week when The Chronicle disclosed that a toxicologist at the San Francisco coroner's office had been labeled...

Dear Mr. Attorney General: Like yourself, I am a non-combat veteran of the US Armed Forces. I served four years active duty in the United States Army. I served honorably as a “cold warrior” in a tactical intelligence unit near the East German Border in the FRG as an intelligence analyst and Russian translator. I’ve not only listened to the news recently, I’ve focused on what you’ve said, the import (literal and colloquial) of the words, and listened to it in context. Though proud to state what I believe, at times forcefully, I am not prone to histrionics, and believe...

Lehi » The Utah Attorney General's Office reportedly has launched an investigation into whether the Lehi Police Department covered up several alleged crimes over the past five years. KUTV News reports that the allegations come from the city's prosecutor, Dave Clark. Clark claims knowledge of eight cases -- ranging from theft and DUI to a hit-and-run crash -- that Lehi police purportedly chose to bury. Clark, the city's prosecutor for more than seven years, says he tried to handle his complaints internally, but the city's administration has done nothing. The City of Lehi is "where people who have committed crimes...

CA-SEN: Fiorina and the GOP Launch Last-Minute Back-Door Attack on Chuck DeVore Posted on 09 May 2010 by admin   Carly Fiorina: Win at all costs?  California Senate Race 2010:  Carly Fiorina and the GOP Launch Last-Minute Back-door Attack on Chuck DeVoreBy Jane Jamison, Copyright 2010, UNCOVERAGE.net Apparently, the Republican party “establishment” in California has forgotten about Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.”  It was postulated by Reagan after he was viciously attacked in the primary for the California governor’s race in the 1960s.  (Read his whole speech about it here.)What is happening right now...

In the wake of the Times Square bombing plot, the Obama administration said on Sunday it wants to work with Congress on possible limitations of the constitutional rights afforded terrorism suspects — even for American citizens. Attorney General Eric Holder said changes may be needed to allow law enforcement more time to question suspected terrorists before they are told about their Miranda rights to a lawyer and to remain silent under interrogation. As the nation debates how to proceed against terrorist attacks, particularly as they have become the work of individuals who are difficult to detect in advance, the administration...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A Connecticut official has won the right to run for state attorney general after she had to sue herself to prove her qualifications. A superior court judge ruled Wednesday that Democratic Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz (BYE'-suh-wits) had enough experience as a lawyer to run.

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said he won’t sue Washington to challenge the federal health care reform law. “Based on that extensive analysis, I do not believe that Kansas can successfully challenge the law,” Six, a Democrat, said in a statement released Friday. “Our review did not reveal any constitutional defects, and thus it would not be legally or fiscally responsible to pursue this litigation.” U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Topeka Republican, publicly urged Six to file suit earlier this month; she was later joined by U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt and numerous state lawmakers. Now the question is whether some...

Arkansas State Representatives Bryan King, Dan Greenberg, and Donna Hutchinson spoke at a news conference on how the State of Arkansas can resist IRScare. Around 200 people and most media outlets attended the event. There was also a democrat named John who filmed the event. There was a Q & A session with the press and the audience. Jim Holt, Candidate for U.S. Senate, led a march to Governor Beebe's office. Beebe happened to be leaving his office and was asked questions by the audience. There are 8 videos of this event http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PQJfgieCpk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rff_yuzyTgkv http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnj3cd3xzlM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qhbcoo_vu4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGjH3aQufWM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tN4YT31e6Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvtl-yiDZoI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ8Nq-mNHX4

Quietly, Democratic lawmakers have already moved to make it harder for Attorney General Rob McKenna to spend money suing the federal government over health care. The reaction to the Republican lawman joining a 13-state attack on President Obama's health care bill has come swiftly. Not only are Democrats considering a budget proviso blocking the lawsuit, but McKenna already faces new controls on his spending. Office of Financial Management Director Victor Moore sent a letter Tuesday revoking McKenna's blanket exemption to a freeze on state contracts. The exemption, which Moore had granted days earlier, allowed the attorney general's office to pay...

...Recall that, over the past several months, many citizens of South Carolina have filed with your office complaints of election fraud against various members of both the DNC Services Corporation – Howard Dean; Joseph Sandler; Alice Germond; and The Honorable Nancy Pelosi (in her non-governmental role as Chair of the 2008 DNC Services Corporation Convention) – and the South Carolina Democratic Party – Carol Fowler and Kathy Hensley - charging that they Certified to officials in the South Carolina Election Commission that Barack Obama is a Natural Born Citizen to get them to print his name on our general election...

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli seems determined to use an attack on health care reform to bring us back to the 1830s. To cheers from the Tea Party crowd, Cuccinelli went to court this week to overturn the new law, which he says conflicts with a Virginia statute "protecting its citizens from a government-imposed mandate to buy health insurance." "Normally, such conflicts are decided in favor of the federal government," he said, "but because we believe the federal law is unconstitutional, Virginia's law should prevail." The Republican attorney general's move reveals how far into the past America's New Nullifiers want...

Here is his Thurbert Baker's campaign site.Here are the people running against him.Here is why he refused the Georgia Governors request to sue the Federal Government over the Health Care fiasco.Attorney General Baker Responds to Governor Perdue's Request To Initiate Healthcare Reform LitigationPRESS ADVISORY Wednesday, March 24, 2010 Attorney General Baker Responds to Governor Perdue's Request To Initiate Healthcare Reform Litigation Attorney General Thurbert Baker responded today to Governor Sonny Perdue’s request that he file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Health Care Reform legislation passed by the United States House of Representatives this week. Baker ultimately concluded that...

Attorney General Thurbert Baker told Gov. Sonny Perdue on Wednesday he will not file a federal lawsuit to block federal health care reform legislation signed into law this week. Baker, a Democrat seeking his party’s nomination for governor, told the Republican Perdue that he was “unaware of any constitutional infirmities and do not think it would be prudent, legally or fiscally, to pursue such litigation. I must therefore respectfully decline your request.” Perdue had asked Baker to join more than a dozen other attorneys general from around the country — all of whom are Republicans — to sue to block...

The war against mandated socialist insurance. Lawsuits are being prepared by states and individuals. Michelle Bachman has introduced legislation to repeal HR3590. Some states are passing laws to make their state exempt. The leaders of several states have been fighting the war against socialized insurance for almost a year, but the leadership of Arkansas has been silent. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has announced that he will not file suit to keep Arkansas legally exempt from mandated healthcare. In addition, McDaniel is stalling another Secure Arkansas ballot initiative that would "provide that no law shall directly or indirectly compel a person,...

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced on March 22, 2010, the State will be joining other states in challenging the health-care reform legislation that passed in the U.S. House last night 219-212. "The federal health care legislation passed tonight violates the United States Constitution and unconstitutionally infringes upon Texans' individual liberties," said Abbott. "To protect all Texans' constitutional rights, preserve the constitutional framework intended by our nation's founders, and defend our state from further infringement by the federal government, the State of Texas and other states will legally challenge the federal health care legislation," Abbott announced. Virginia's Attorney General Ken...

After the U.S. House's historic vote Sunday night passing the health care reform bill, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster issued the following statement: "The health care legislation Congress passed tonight is an assault against the Constitution of the United States. It contains various provisions and federal mandates that are clearly unconstitutional and must not be allowed to stand. A legal challenge by the States appears to be the only hope of protecting the American people from this unprecedented attack on our system of government. The key question involved is whether personal freedom, state sovereignty and constitutional law will survive...

On February 18th at 12:29 PM, Steve Christopher submitted petitions containing approximately 2,750 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. The petitions were submitted to place Christopher on the Republican Primary Ballot this May. The signatures on these petitions were obtained by numerous circulators working to seat a common-sense conservative in the State of Ohio Attorney General’s Office. At the time of submission, a receipt for these signatures was given to Christopher. We have a copy of this receipt that can be sent to any media source upon request. The top portion of this receipt was filled out by...

SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline)-Oregon Attorney General John Kroger could be just days away from having the statutory authority to prosecute lenders under the Beaver State's consumer protection laws.

Attorney General Eric Holder says the corralling of Afghan native Najibullah Zazi before he could bomb New York subways proves the Justice Department is well equipped to combat terrorism. Not so fast. Yes, Zazi pleaded guilty Monday in a Brooklyn federal court to assorted terrorism charges -- including conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction. The "martyrdom operation" -- a suicide bombing set for last Sept. 14-16 -- was interrupted when Zazi realized the feds were on to him. Now Holder says Zazi coughed up valuable intelligence -- demonstrating that the Justice Department belongs on the front lines in the...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-Amid dwindling state resources, it will largely be up to California's trial lawyers to enforce consumer protection laws, a leading state lawmaker and candidate for attorney general said.