Free Republic

Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages AUSTIN — Texans: Are you really married? Maybe not. Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state. The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares: "This state...

“TIME AND LOCATION CHANGE--Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice” Senate Judiciary CommitteeFull Committee DATE: November 18, 2009TIME: 09:30 AMROOM: Dirksen Ground-50 OFFICIAL HEARING NOTICE / WITNESS LIST: November 13th, 2009 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING TIME CHANGE TO 9:30 A.M. LOCATION CHANGE TO SDG-50 The hearing on "Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice" scheduled by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for Wednesday, November 18th, will now begin at 9:30 a.m., rather than the previously scheduled time of 10:00 a.m. and will now be held in Room G-50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, instead of Room 226 of...

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Legal Newsline) - Ryan Leonard, a Republican candidate for Oklahoma attorney general, pledged Thursday to do what he can to promote a favorable business climate in the Sooner State as its chief legal officer.

A top-ranking Republican lawmaker is calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). In a letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder and obtained by The Hill on Monday, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) argues that President Barack Obama’s political ties to the scandal-plagued community-activist group and its affiliates will “taint” any potential Justice Department investigations. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has not announced whether it has launched a probe of ACORN, but Smith said any such investigation could be compromised. “I am very concerned that the president’s previous...

WASHINGTON -- It’s no surprise that former Vice President Dick Cheney is opposed to the Justice Department’s decision to investigate the torture of prisoners during the Bush-Cheney administration. After all, Cheney has acknowledged that he was "aware" of waterboarding (simulated drowning) of detainees to get them to talk. It’s fair speculation that the orders for this method of torture came from on high. And in the Bush-Cheney administration, no one was higher than the vice president. Cheney has blasted Attorney General Eric Holder’s appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate abuse of prisoners. The duty fell to veteran Connecticut lawyer...

Rep. Wolf Challenges Holder Says Holder won't answer mail...ignores Congress about Black Panther dismissal...watch the video... http://video.newsmax.com/?bcpid=20972460001&bclid=22770166001&bctid=32670114001&s=al&promo_code=8517-1

The Democrats, Eric Holder, and the CIA are all the ingredients needed for the recipe of self destruction. At a time when the general public still rates national security high on the list of priorities, it seems the Obama Administration is determined to press forward with investigating Dick Cheney and CIA policies and programs following 9/11. Despite the fact that Obama himself has stated that he is not interested in pursuing the policies of the past administration, Eric Holder has taken it upon himself, either out of contempt for the wishes of his Commander and Chief, or mounting pressure from...

Attorney General Wants Video Showing Planned Parenthood Sex Abuse Coverup Montgomery, AL -- Alabama Attorney General Troy king wants a copy of the full video footage activist Lila Rose took showing Planned Parenthood stuff covering up a potential case of sexual abuse. The video also shows the abortion business telling her how she could violate the state's parental consent law. See http://www.LifeNews.com/state4275.html

(p. 26) The decision by the Corporation and the U.S. Attorney to cut out OIG and agree to this Settlement Agreement was injurious to the Federal government as a whole and specifically to the Corporation and the hard-working and dedicated staff of the Office of Inspector General. First, the settlement sends the signal that acceptance of a grantee or its principal as “responsible” can be purchased in a monetary settlement, overriding all evidence of wrongdoing previously found to warrant a suspension, without the presentation of any contradicting evidence. Settlement Agreements are supposed to settle the liability of the grantee and...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-147 Daniel S. Sullivan Named Attorney General June 16, 2009, Soldotna, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin today announced the appointment of Alaska attorney and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel S. Sullivan to serve as Alaska’s Attorney General. “Dan Sullivan brings to the attorney general position a broad array of expertise, experience, and judgment that will significantly benefit Alaska,” Governor Palin said. “He has a strong Alaska legal background and public service record in the state. His leadership and negotiating achievements at the highest levels of the U.S. government, including on issues of vital importance...

Gov. Sarah Palin announced that her second nominee to replace Talis Colberg as Alaska's attorney general is Daniel S. Sullivan, a former Anchorage attorney who served in the Bush White House and the State Department. Her first choice to succeed Colberg, Wayne Anthony Ross, failed to win the approval of the legislature. Though he must be confirmed by the Legislature, Sullivan will serve as attorney general until that body reconvenes in January. Sullivan's legal resume is impressive: Sullivan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with an undergraduate degree in economics. He earned a Juris Doctor/Master of Science dual degree in...

Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose office has issued subpoenas in a widening public pension fund corruption probe, has received $52,500 in recent campaign contributions from relatives and a company of the two California businessmen he's now investigating. The contributions from four family members of Sacramento lobbyist Darius Anderson and the company of Los Angeles political fundraiser Daniel Weinstein went to Brown late last year – months before his office reportedly subpoenaed companies run by the two men. They have not been charged in a public pension scandal that has migrated west from New York and resulted in a handful of...

A state senator wants to know what security risks justified the installation of two security doors valued at $15,000 in the attorney general's office. Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, sent a letter Thursday asking the legislative auditor to look into why Attorney General Lori Swanson should be concerned about security in her office and what recommendations a 2007 security assessment had made. Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles said the questions are likely to be part of a larger audit of the attorney general's office scheduled to begin in May. Hann's letter followed reports that Swanson, a DFLer, sought a security assessment...

We have plenty of basis and evidence that [Binyam] Mohammed is dangerous. But Holder’s sense of “responsibility ... as attorney general ... for the safety of this nation” did not stop him from agreeing to Mohammed’s release and transfer to England — where he now plots freely while on the British dole. Naturally, having discerned that all the tough talk was just that, talk, British authorities are back on the administration’s doorstep, demanding the release of Shaker Aamer. He’s a bin Laden confidant who trained aspiring terrorists at al-Qaeda camps, met with shoe-bomber Richard Reid, and traveled widely in the...

The president of the Susan B. Anthony List has characterized as “bizarre” the views of pro-abortion activist Dawn Johnsen as a vote nears in the U.S. Senate on her nomination as assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. "Dawn Johnsen does not represent mainstream America or the type of common ground abortion policy President Obama promised this nation," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List. "Her bizarre characterizations of pregnancy as 'slavery' and mothers as 'losers in the contraceptive lottery' expose an unacceptable disdain for commonsense abortion restrictions and motherhood in general. Furthermore, Johnsen's opposition...

JUDGES should interpret the Constitution according to other nations' legal "norms." Sharia law could apply to disputes in US courts. The United States constitutes an "axis of disobedience" along with North Korea and Saddam-era Iraq. Those are the views of the man on track to become one of the US government's top lawyers: Harold Koh.

March 26, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin today announced the appointment of Wayne Anthony Ross as Attorney General. Ross, currently in private practice, will fill the vacancy created last month by the resignation of Attorney General Talis Colberg. The governor thanked Acting Attorney General Rick Svobodny for his support and counsel during this transition. Svobodny will resume his position as Deputy Attorney General for the Criminal Division. “Wayne Anthony Ross will be a great defender of Alaska and the people he serves," Governor Palin said. "With his vast legal knowledge, experience and integrity, he will make an exceptional...

Gov. Sarah Palin will announce her new attorney general today at 1:30 p.m. in Anchorage. Legislative leaders in Juneau, meanwhile, canceled their meeting today with the governor's aides regarding the stimulus, saying they wanted to meet with Palin herself.

Bobby Shriver, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the brother of California first lady Maria Shriver, is mulling a run for state attorney general next year, according to his political adviser. The 54-year-old Democrat is a member of what is perhaps America's most famous political dynasty, the Kennedy clan. His father, Sargent Shriver, was the 1972 Democratic candidate for vice president. Of his other uncles, Robert Kennedy was U.S. attorney general and U.S. senator, and Ted Kennedy has served in the U.S. Senate for years. "There's been a wide variety of people who have come to him and...

Federal authorities arrested more than 750 people across the country in what they describe as "the largest and hardest hitting" operation to ever target the "the very violent and dangerously powerful" drug cartel known as Sinaloa. "International drug-trafficking organizations pose a sustained, serious threat to the safety and security as of our communities," Attorney General Eric Holder said in prepared remarks at a Washington press conference Wednesday afternoon... "As the world grows smaller and international criminals step up their efforts to operate inside our borders, [we] will confront them head-on to keep our communities safe." Through "Operation Xcellerator," authorities say...