Attorney General Eric Holder came under fire today from his predecessor at the Justice Department for pursuing criminal action against CIA employees involved in the enhanced interrogation of terrorists. Following a speech at The Heritage Foundation, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey called Holder’s handling of matter “absolutely outrageous.” He said the cases involving CIA employees were settled by career prosecutors who determined the prosecutions should not go forward. “The current attorney general, when he took office, without reading the memos, directed that those investigations be reopened,” Mukasey said. “I think …
I have previously posted about the failure of the Justice Department and its Civil Rights Division to enforce the Help America Vote Act against the Wisconsin election board and the Ohio Secretary of State over their failure to verify the accuracy of voter registration forms. Today’s question is why is the Department not enforcing the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act against the State of Virginia? The McCain Campaign has been forced to file suit under UOCAVA because of the failure of Virginia counties like Arlington to send out …
Update: I have just learned that there was a conference call today between DOJ personnel and Congressional staff. The Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, which is responsible for enforcing the Help America Vote Act, was asked whether the Division was planning to pursue the Ohio Secretary of State for her violation of the verification requirements of HAVA. Her answer (unbelievably) was that DOJ shouldn’t involve itself in election litigation just before an election. This is an absolutely astonishing assertion by the no. 2 official in …
When the Supreme Court vacated the stay that had been issued in Ohio Republican Party v. Brunner last week, it did so based on the view that the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) does not authorize a lawsuit by a private party. The stay had ordered the Ohio Secretary of State to comply with the requirement in HAVA to verify the accuracy of the information provided on voter registration applications. The Supreme Court took some pains to make clear it was not disputing the district court and the …
Want a preview of what an Obama Department of Justice would look like? Look no further than Obama for America general counsel Bob Bauer’s letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey last Friday. Bauer wants the special prosecutor investigating the U.S. attorney firings to start investigating John McCain, Sarah Palin and other Republicans such as Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Their crime? Calling on our nation’s law enforcement officers to investigate widespread reports of vote fraud. Bauer writes: As Election Day approaches – just as in 2004 …
