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Prosecutors rested their capital murder case against Curtis Lavelle Vance, 29, after testimony from the state's deputy medical examiner, who spoke about Pressly's final moments of consciousness. Vance, of Marianna, has pleaded not guilty to murder, rape and burglary. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. Dr. Stephen Erickson said an examination of Pressly's body after her death revealed that her face shattered "like an egg" during the attack. "I could feel crunchiness" while examining Pressly's face, he said. A photo he used showed her nose pushed to one side. Erickson said some type of object likely was used...

A jury has convicted a man of capital murder in the death of an Arkansas television anchorwoman beaten so badly her face was shattered. The panel must now decide whether 29-year-old Curtis Lavelle Vance should be executed for the crime or should spend the rest of his life in prison. The jury also convicted him of rape and burglary charges. Prosecution witnesses said DNA evidence linked Vance to Anne Pressly's death and to a separate rape case in which he has pleaded not guilty. The defense had said police duped Vance into confessing and giving officers a DNA sample to...

A prominent Columbia architecture professor punched a female university employee in the face at a Harlem bar during a heated argument about race relations, cops said yesterday. Police busted Lionel McIntyre, 59, for assault yesterday after his bruised victim, Camille Davis, filed charges. McIntyre and Davis, who works as a production manager in the school's theater department, are both regulars at Toast, a popular university bar on Broadway and 125th Street, sources said. The professor, who is black, had been engaged in a fiery discussion about "white privilege" with Davis, who is white, and another male regular, who is also...

Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va.), a Philadelphia native, and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, Lamar Smith (R-Texas) sent a letter, on November 10, to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting information ...

In a case that raises questions about online journalism and privacy rights, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a formal request to an independent news site ordering it to provide details of all reader visits on a certain day. The grand jury subpoena also required the Philadelphia-based Indymedia.us Web site "not to disclose the existence of this request" unless authorized by the Justice Department, a gag order that presents an unusual quandary for any news organization. Kristina Clair, a 34-year old Linux administrator living in Philadelphia who provides free server space for Indymedia.us, said she was shocked to receive the...

Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to give a keynote speech later this month to a Michigan group which includes the local branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations even though the FBI has formally severed contacts with the controversial Muslim civil rights organization. On Nov. 19, Holder is scheduled to speak in Detroit to the first annual awards banquet of Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust, a coalition of several dozen law enforcement and community groups. An online registration form for the event includes the Council on American Islamic Relations-Michigan on a list of “official & participating...

One of President Barack Obama’s top funders, Code Pink’s Jodie Evans, is encouraging the kidnapping of former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura, according to new statements issued this week by Jodie Evans and Code Pink. While it might be tempting to look at this latest effort by Code Pink as an innocuous publicity campaign, Code Pink’s history of working with state sponsors of terrorism and supporting violent protest against President Bush–and their near successful arrest of then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales–is cause for concern. Two weeks after meeting Obama at a high dollar fundraiser in San Francisco, Jodie...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - Plans to close Guantanamo are not sitting well with the Sept. 11 victims' relatives who sat stunned while two alleged terrorists declared they were proud of their role in the plot.

Six Chinese Muslims who were held in the Guantánamo Bay prison camp for almost eight years have arrived on the tiny Pacific island of Palau. The detainees from the Turkic Uighur minority were arrested in Afghanistan during the opening days of military operations in 2001 and held as suspected militants until last year when a US military tribunal decided they were not 'enemy combatants'. The release of the men, who were greeted on arrival by Palau's President, Johnson Toribiong, is another small step in US President Barack Obama's struggle to close the controversial prison camp by January. Palau, situated 500...

Mr. Holder and Miss Schmaler, however, are not the only powerful Obama administration officials who want to redefine one of our society's central institutions. Cass Sunstein, Mr. Obama's powerful "regulatory czar," is equally out of touch. In a new edition of his book "Nudge," coauthored with Richard Thaler, the authors call marriage an "anachronism" and its benefits "surprisingly low." The book goes on to complain that marriage, "produce* unnecessary polarization. ... the most obvious difficulty is that religious organizations insist that they should be permitted to define marriage as they like, while same-sex couples insist that they should be able...

Note: The following text is a quote: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Eric Holder at the University of Maine's William S. Cohen Lecture Series Orono, Maine ~ Friday, October 23, 2009 Before I begin, I’d like to thank President Kennedy and Chancellor Pattenaude for welcoming me to this wonderful university. Chief Justice Saufley and First Lady Baldacci, thank you for being here as well. And I’d like to recognize the distinguished representative of the Justice Department in Maine, United States Attorney Paula Silsby. I especially want to thank our host and my friend, Secretary Bill Cohen, and...

After dropping some popular immigration-enforcement measures, Congress on Tuesday passed the 2010 homeland security spending bill that gives President Obama the authority to transfer terrorism-suspect detainees to the United States for trial, though only after he submits a plan to Congress. The Senate voted 79-19 to pass the $44.1 billion bill, following the House's approval last week. Mr. Obama is expected to sign it. "It has been eight years, eight long years since the attacks of 9/11. There are some people in this country who have become complacent about the threat of another attack. Don't count me as one of...

Note: The following text is a quote: Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMonday, October 19, 2009 Attorney General Announces Formal Medical Marijuana Guidelines Attorney General Eric Holder today announced formal guidelines for federal prosecutors in states that have enacted laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The guidelines make clear that the focus of federal resources should not be on individuals whose actions are in compliance with existing state laws, while underscoring that the Department will continue to prosecute people whose claims of compliance with state and local law conceal operations inconsistent with the...

Media Bias: Not long after pro football welcomed a convicted felon back on the playing field, Rush Limbaugh is dropped for his opinions from a group seeking to buy an NFL franchise. Won't someone throw a flag? When even Keith Olbermann says back off, you know the politically correct critics of the conservative icon and megaradio talk host's proposed part ownership of the St. Louis Rams are guilty of piling on. The prospect of the leading conservative voice in America participating in the purchase of a football team sent the liberal elites into cardiac arrest and into a frenzied campaign...

What constitutes a "hate crime?" According to the FBI, a subdivision of the Department of Justice, the official definition is a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation." Sounds pretty fair, eh? I mean, we'd all agree that crime itself is bad enough, but targeting someone just because of their skin color makes it worse, right?

Are you a conservative or libertarian blogger? Do you take issue with and write pieces that don't mesh with Obama's policies? If you do, Eric Holder, United States Attorney General, is possibly getting feedback on what you've been blogging about.

There are rumors floating around that the Department of Justice has hired a group of ex-democratic bloggers to troll the internet for websites that are critical to President Obama and post comments that demand support for his policies. I can say that I have seen some troll activity on this site from lefties, but I didn't think anything of the situation...until now! The Muffled Oar first reported on this revelation: The Muffled Oar has received a great number of tips from DOJ employees about activities taking place within the Department since Holder became Attorney General.

Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, October 9, 2009 United States Transfers Two Guantanamo Bay Detainees to Kuwait and Belgium WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today announced that two detainees have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the governments of Kuwait and Belgium. As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of each of these cases. As a result of that review, these detainees were approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance with Congressionally-mandated...

Pittsburgh was treated to an impressive show the week of the recent G20 conference. A nice assortment of military choppers of various types and missions, along with odder aircraft difficult both to identify and explain. Both police and the National Guard were out in force, with downtown nearly sealed off. None of this hardware was used against the "3,000 - 4,000" (more like a few hundred) anarchist demonstrators when they turned their righteous wrath on a dozen Starbucks and a Whole Foods store. No serious confrontation was expected and none occurred. Because all of it - the Guard troops, the...

Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, has apparently hired a cadre of left-wing, Democrat campaign bloggers to troll through the Internet looking for news stories and blog posts that denigrate the Obama agenda. After such websites are found it is the job of these secret lefty bloggers to leave comments that come to the support of Obamaism in the comments sections. It seems that Eric Holder has created his own little propaganda unit in a valiant effort to become the Bloggi Riefenstahl of the Obama era. As reported at The Muffled Oar, a blog that first broke the story of Holder’s...

Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder, has apparently hired a cadre of left-wing, Democrat campaign bloggers to troll through the Internet looking for news stories and blog posts that denigrate the Obama agenda. After such websites are found it is the job of these secret lefty bloggers to leave comments that come to the support of Obamaism in the comments sections. It seems that Eric Holder has created his own little propaganda unit in a valiant effort to become the Bloggi Riefenstahl of the Obama era. As reported at The Muffled Oar, a blog that first broke the story of Holder's...

Wednesday, October 07, 2009 Lamar Smith: Special Prosecutor Should Investigate ACORN   [Robert Costa] Rep. Lamar Smith (R., Tex.) is calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate ACORN. “There are obvious conflicts of interest in the Department of Justice doing any type of investigation itself,” Smith tells NRO. “Just look at all the ties President Obama has to ACORN, starting off with how he trained ACORN members, served on boards and foundations that gave to ACORN, and paid $830,000 to an ACORN subsidiary during his presidential campaign to get out the vote.”“Then we have a...

Note: The following text is a quote: Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference DENVER, COLO. ~ Monday, October 5, 2009 Remarks as prepared for delivery. Thank you, Chief Laine, for that kind introduction. Chief Whitman, thank you for hosting the IACP in your home city. And IACP Executive Director Dan Rosenblatt, thank you for your strong leadership of this outstanding organization. Officers and Members of the Board of Directors, friends, and colleagues. It is my great pleasure to be able to join you today for the first time as Attorney General....

LISTEN TO THE REAL REVEREND JESSE ON THE INTERNET OR A RADIO STATION IN YOUR AREA......BOND Action, Inc...Educatinroymasters@yahoogroups.comg, Motivating and Rallying Americans! The Jesse Lee Peterson Radio Show Streamed live online from 6-9 a.m. PST / 9-12 a.m. EST. Call in the same times usually. For Live Questions or Comments Call 1-888-77-JESSE(5-3773) You can email comments and questions to radio@bondaction.org For more information on getting The Jesse Lee Peterson Show picked up on a station in your local area call Ermias Alemayehu at 1-877-WE ACT77 (932-2877) Go to HERE and order a truckful of these bumper stickers as Jesse says.....

The latest count shows ACORN under investigation in 20 states, its employees were charged with more than 50 counts of “election-related fraud,” and that ACORN has spent more than $1 million on restitution to avoid criminal prosecutions (although the Louisiana AG says that number is closer to $5 million).The is more than enough evidence to show that ACORN is corrupt throughout its vast organization and in so many ways. For weeks these pages have been calling for a special prosecutor.We cannot rely on the the politically appointed Democratic Party-led justice department to run an investigation, especially when you consider the...

While a backlash emerged Tuesday among French politicians of all stripes about whether their government and others should have rushed to embrace the cause of the jailed film director Roman Polanski, his American legal team picked up an influential new member: the lawyer Reid Weingarten, a well-known Washington power player and close friend and associate of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. For two days, European political leaders and cultural figures from around the globe had offered public support for Mr. Polanski, 76, who was arrested last weekend at Zurich’s airport on a 31-year-old fugitive warrant from the United States...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Senate Republicans on Friday pulled out of a bipartisan investigation into controversial "war on terror" detentions and interrogations, including tactics widely condemned as torture. The move by the opposition party dealt a sharp blow to the Senate Intelligence Committee's efforts to find out exactly what methods were used when and whether they paid off -- without prosecuting witnesses or agents thought to have committed abuses. Senator Kit Bond, the panel's top Republican, blamed Attorney General Eric Holder's investigation into alleged CIA abuse of detainees, which he said made it impossible for current or former CIA officials...

Note: The following text is a quote: Attorney General Establishes New State Secrets Policies and Procedures Attorney General Eric Holder today issued a memorandum instituting new Department of Justice policies and procedures in order to ensure greater accountability in the government’s assertion of the state secrets privilege in litigation. "This policy is an important step toward rebuilding the public’s trust in the government’s use of this privilege while recognizing the imperative need to protect national security," Holder said. "It sets out clear procedures that will provide greater accountability and ensure the state secrets privilege is invoked only when necessary and...

A good friend writes:Eric Holder is a senior partner with Covington & Burling, a prestigious Washington, D.C. law firm, which represents 17 Yemenis currently held at Gitmo. From the C & B website: The firm represents 17 Yemeni nationals and one Pakistani citizen held at Guantánamo Bay. The Supreme Court will soon review the D.C. Circuit’s ruling that ordered the dismissal of a number of habeas petitions filed by Guantánamo detainees; some of our clients are petitioners in the Supreme Court case. We expect to play a substantial role in the briefing. We also plan to petition the Supreme Court...

My Op-ed in The Australian By Leah Farrall, Australia I have an op-ed piece out in today’s edition of The Australian called “Detentions come back to bite” It’s about Guantanamo blowback now having very real strategic consequences: the formation of a new strategy to kidnap civilians in Afghanistan in order to secure the release of prisoners taken by America. Sally Neighbour has a front page piece derived from my op-ed here “Afghan foreigner kidnap order by al Qaeda leader Mustafa Hamid”. I haven’t seen the broadsheet yet, so I’m not sure if the photos I provided of Hamid are on...

The Justice Department investigation into CIA torture allegations may have already jeopardized American intelligence capabilities, seven former CIA directors told President Obama have claimed. In a letter, the spy chiefs urge him to reverse Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to re-review case files of a dozen interrogations for possible criminal prosecution. Letter to President Obama from Former DCIs and DCIAs.

"Elections have their consequences." In countries without the democratic tradition of America, those consequences may include putting the former leaders in jail, or worse. But that has never been the tradition in the US. The history of America has been that those consequences have been political, a change in policy, appointment of advisers who were hated by the old regime, etc. But has not been the Obama way. Since his election, Obama and his team have attempted to appease their political left by publicly denouncing the Bush Administration's national security policies which kept us safe, even as they claimed Obama...

With a couple of student journalists ripping the scab off of the stinking boil on the body politic that is acorn, who is best suited to investigate what is clearly the biggest political scandal since Watergate? Eric Holder's DOJ? Yeah, thats' a hoot, as he won't even look into documented intimidation by nightstick wielding thugs outside of a polling place on election day. The FBI?, in a perfect world that would work, except that DC is perfect only in the same way a swamp is, it tends to eat the weak and give up only stinky noxious gases. Budget considerations...

House Minority Leader John Boehner introduced legislation Tuesday that would break all federal government ties with ACORN, and Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., wrote Attorney General Eric Holder requesting an investigation by the Justice Department House Minority Leader John Boehner introduced legislation Tuesday that would break all federal government ties with ACORN -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. And Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., wrote Attorney General Eric Holder requesting an investigation by the Justice Department. He cited reports that ACORN may "have been engaged in illegal activity" by aiding and abetting tax evasion, prostitution, human trafficking, fraud and...

Since the Race Card has again been thrust upon us via Joe Wilson's yelling "Liar" at the President, and then, consequently, being accused of a being one of those Southern Bible Belt Racists, I thought it might be time to look at some real racism running rampant throughout the United States. Maureen Dowd and other desperate liberal pundits have been waiting to pounce on us bigots at the Tea Parties, Town Halls, conservative radio stations, and in good ole American families but nothing has stuck. Thank be to God for Joe Wilson who has opened the door to expose those...

As was the case with Obama’s US Attorney General Eric Holder reversing the conviction for overt voter intimidation by New Black Panthers—who supported Barack Obama in his presidential run—the logical question is “Will Obama’s Department of Justice block any and all investigations of ACORN?” Both ACORN and the New Black Panthers worked almost tirelessly to “elect” Obama—by any means necessary

The attorney general, by definition, is "the chief law officer of a nation or state who represents the government in litigation." As the nation watched on Election Day 2008, most were appalled by the spectacle of Black Panther party thugs intimidating white voters at a Philadelphia precinct. Most Americans believed these thugs would be swiftly and justly prosecuted. Months passed, and it was finally released that Eric Holder, the attorney general of the United States, would not pursue criminal charges against these men. Why? Had this event been three men in white hooded robes intimidating black voters, the drive-by media...

Note: The following text is a quote: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Holder at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial September 11 Ceremony Friday, September 11, 2009 - Washington, DC Thank you, Craig, for your kind introduction, and for all the work you do on behalf of our nation’s police officers and families. Several months ago, I stood here at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at the annual candlelight vigil. That night I had the solemn honor of leading the recitation of the names of officers who had been killed in the line of duty. On...

'CZAR' Sunstein Shoots Himself In The Foot Gun Hater Lautenberg Proposes "Extraordinary Powers" Be Given To the U.S. Attorney General To Limit Gun Sales. Obama and the White House are looking the other way as Lautenberg seeks to ban guns from 1,000,000 US citizens on a secret FBI terrorist watch list. Obama has deliberately and repeatedly lied to America's 90 million gun owners across the country when he insisted that he would not try to take away anyone's firearms. Now Obama's silence endorses Lautenberg's latest attempt at banning guns. Lautenberg has now introduced bill S. 1317 that would give the...

According to sources, Rep. Frank Wolf R.Va. and Rep. Lamar Smith R-Tx received a letter today from the Dept. of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility (DOJ) about the voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense ( NBP), which was mysteriously dismissed by the DOJ after President Obama took office. Questions about this unusual dismissal have been asked by Messrs. Wolf ...

If you were to say that the Obama White House and its Justice Department, vis-à-vis Attorney General Eric Holder, et al., were attempting to prosecute those involved in the successful extraction of information from captured terrorists – which has saved American lives and protected American interests – in an attempt to ultimately charge former Vice President Dick Cheney and former President George W. Bush as well – you would be correct. But don't stop there. Another reason Obama, Holder, et al., are attempting to bring down the Justice Department is because terrorists are like a family of cockroaches, ergo when...

The U.S. Justice Department is urging a federal judge in California to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutional eligibility of Barack Obama to hold the office of president.

South Phila. Native: ‘I Am A Believer In The Voting Rights Act’ Rep. Frank Wolf R- Va., told The Bulletin in an exclusive interview, that he fully intends to learn why Attorney General Eric Holder’s Justice Department voluntarily dismissed a lawsuit — for which they already obtained a judgment — against two members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense for violation of the Voting Rights Act that occurred last Election Day in North Philadelphia. Mr. Wolf is the ranking member of the House subcommittee, which has jurisdiction of the Dept. of Justice (DOJ). He is an unapologetic staunch...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2009 AT 2:56 PM Ethics Update Posted by Norm Eisen We have previously reported six limited waivers that have been granted by the White House pursuant to the President’s Executive Order on Ethics for Executive Branch personnel – the strongest ethics standards in U.S. government history. Three of these waivers involved lobbying-related issues and three did not. We blogged about them here, here, and here. Several months ago, the public interest community suggested that we also make available in a central place limited waivers...

The tendency of Democrats to try to destroy the CIA is nothing new. On December 23, 1975 a wonderful man and classical scholar named Richard Welch, who was a year ahead of me in high school, and who was the Harvard-educated CIA station chief in Athens, Greece, was shot to death on his front steps shortly after being outed by Senator Kennedy and Senator Church (of the Church Committee). Here we go again with another war on the CIA by liberal Democrats.

Ralph Peters is spot-on in regards to the investigations into CIA operatives who kept our country safe during the Bush administration ("Punishing Patriots," PostOpinion, Sept. 1). It seems that President Obama & Co. care more about the rights of terrorists, violent criminals and sex offenders than they do about the safety of American citizens. Law-enforcement officers should use any reasonable interrogation method to ensure that sickos like Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Phillip Garrido are unable to cause any further harm to humanity. For some delusional reason, the left is in disagreement. M. Nugent Staten Island *** What will it take...

WASHINGTON - "Attorney General Eric Holder warned his Scottish counterpart in June that the man convicted of blowing US-bound Pan Am Flight 103 out of the sky could get a hero’s welcome if allowed to return to Libya, according to the head of a group representing the families of victims."

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...

In February, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. noted that it was hard to talk about race, but cowardly not to try. In that spirit, he should answer questions being raised about the dismissal of a voter-intimidation case involving a hate group in Philadelphia. If you missed the incident, it's understandable. It was a YouTube blip on a historic election day. On Nov. 4, two black men in paramilitary uniforms, one wielding a nightstick, were reported harassing voters at a polling place. It had no effect on Barack Obama's landslide win in the city. He doesn't condone the hate group...

This week, President Obama made two incredibly dangerous and arrogant decisions involving the war on terror. The creation of an interrogations unit to be supervised directly by the White House is a breathtaking power grab by Mr. Obama, who has already demonstrated his penchant for expanding executive control by appointing three dozen issue-specific "czars" who are accountable to no one but him. Mr. Obama now aims to run terrorist interrogations right from the Oval Office.