Justice Department

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CIA Can Skirt Torture Laws, Justice Claims

Letters justify legal 'latitude' for tactics to prevent terrorism

(Newser) - International anti-torture laws don't necessarily apply to CIA agents fighting terrorism, the Justice Department has explained to Congress in letters recently made public, reports the New York Times. The letters reveal the White House position that interrogators have some legal "latitude" outside the Geneva Conventions protecting detainees from "...

Bowl System May Violate Federal Law
Bowl System May Violate Federal Law

Bowl System May Violate Federal Law

Congress explores launching antitrust probe, backing playoff

(Newser) - A Congressional resolution could have the Justice Department looking into whether the college football bowl system is illegal, the AP reports. The authors of the resolution say  the system restricts trade because only the biggest schools seem to have a shot at being voted into the championship game. A look...

Justice Makes Corporate Deals, Avoids Trials

'Deferred prosecutions' cheaper, but may tempt companies to cheat

(Newser) - Instead of indicting major corporations for fraud and other forms of malfeasance, the Bush administration is relying more and more on deferred prosecutions, allowing companies to pay a fine and accept monitoring instead of going to trial. The name of the monitor and the details of the agreement are often...

Congress Prods Justice Dept. on Secrecy

Dems accuse Mukasey, underlings of stalling on requests

(Newser) - Congress is redoubling its efforts to get info from the Justice Department, the Washington Post reports. Requests for classified documents have languished for as long as 3 years, and the contretemps between Congress and Alberto Gonzales over their disclosure has improved little under the new AG, Michael Mukasey. "We...

Justice Dept. Sues Fox Over Raunchy Reality Show

Latest round in indecency battle

(Newser) - The Justice Department has stepped in to force Fox to pay up $56,000 in indecency fines levied by the FCC but challenged by the broadcaster, Variety reports. Eight Fox-owned stations are being sued to collect fines for a 2003 episode of "Married by America" that featured men at...

Bush Threw Out 4th Amendment After 9/11

Newly revealed Yoo memo voided search and seizure protections

(Newser) - Just a month after Sept. 11, 2001, the Justice Department concluded that anti-terror military operations on US soil were not constrained by the Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure. The conclusion was detailed in a memo written by John Yoo, the theorist behind many of President Bush's expansions of...

This Is What a War Criminal Looks Like
This Is What a War Criminal Looks Like
OPINION

This Is What a War Criminal Looks Like

Newly released docs show ex-deputy AG's 'depraved criminality'

(Newser) - John Yoo, who as deputy AG wrote a crucial memo justifying torture, is a war criminal, Salon columnist Glenn Greenwald bluntly argues: Newly released documents reveal "a government official who, in concert with other government officials, set out to enable a brutal and systematic torture regime, and did so....

Probe Blames Feds for Utah Mine Horror

Labor Dept. cites negligence by mine safety agency

(Newser) - A federal probe into a Utah mine disaster that killed nine people has accused the federal agency overseeing mine safety of negligence. The finding by the Labor Department's Office of Inspector General does not rule out the possibility that the owner of the site used undue influence on the Mine...

Delta-Northwest Deal May Be Back On, Without Pilot Input

Dispute over seniority scotched initial merger agreement

(Newser) - Northwest is trying to resuscitate the Delta merger that nearly went through in February with a deal that wouldn’t need pilot agreements or include anticipated salary increases, the Wall Street Journal reports. The pilots' inability to agree on seniority rules appeared to derail the deal, which didn't require labor...

Bankrupt Lender's Audit Lapses 'Mind Boggling'

Bankrupt subprime lender, auditor ripped in report on business practices

(Newser) - Auditors at now-bankrupt New Century Financial—once one of the nation’s largest subprime lenders and one of the earliest to fail—were accused of “mind boggling” lapses in a Justice Department report on the debacle released yesterday. Partners at accounting firm KPMG are said to have ignored “...

Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle
 Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle 

Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle

Justice Dept. doesn't see threat to competition; FCC must still weigh in

(Newser) - The Justice Department today approved the proposed merger between satellite radio firms Sirius and XM, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FCC must still sign off, but the pair appears to have allayed antitrust concerns about the merger of the industry's two largest companies by arguing that they face competition...

Feds Defend Tough Pursuit of Spitzer

Corruption fears spurred unusually zealous hunt

(Newser) - The Justice Department's unusual pursuit of the Emperor's Club—and its most famous client—grew out of suspicions of corruption, not moral turpitude, department officials tell the New York Times. Agents tailed Eliot Spitzer, tapped his phone, and pored over his financial records, steps more costly and intrusive than prostitution...

Court Hears Gun Case Today
 Court Hears Gun Case Today 

Court Hears Gun Case Today

Nation's firearms laws in the balance as Supremes hear arguments

(Newser) - One of the oldest and most hotly debated constitutional amendments—the right to bear arms—comes under scrutiny by the Supreme Court today. The court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of Washington DC's stringent ban on handguns. The ruling, which will arrive in June, is sure to have a...

Audit Slams FBI Over Terror Watch List

Agency provides inaccurate, outdated info on suspects

(Newser) - The FBI provides inaccurate information about suspects on the nation's terror watch list, leaving innocent people on it too long and failing to provide timely updates about those who pose genuine threats, a Justice Department audit shows. The FBI says it will fix the problems within 6 months, the AP...

US Families Sue Chiquita Over FARC Murders

Claim protection cash to Colombia rebels tied to missionary slayings

(Newser) - Fruit giant Chiquita stands accused in a federal lawsuit of contributing to the deaths of five US missionaries at the hands of Colombian rebel group FARC during the 1990s, the Wall Street Journal reports today. Families of the missionaries say protection money the Cincinnati-based company admitted to secretly paying the...

Dems Slam Ashcroft for 'Backroom' $52M Contract

Ex-AG denies charges in House hearing

(Newser) - John Ashcroft angrily denied congressional Democrats' allegations today that a lucrative no-bid contract the Justice Department awarded him represents a conflict of interest, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Democrats characterized the contract as a “backroom sweetheart deal” because Ashcroft's ex-subordinates selected his firm to monitor a medical supply company...

Feds Forge National Crime Dragnet
Feds Forge National Crime Dragnet

Feds Forge National Crime Dragnet

Link data of local police agencies for instantaneous search

(Newser) - Law enforcement agencies all over the country are building a new information "dragnet" that will dramatically boost data-sharing,  the Washington Post reports. This month the Justice Department will begin hooking up local and county police forces to the new federal National Data Exchange, creating a "one-stop-shop" that...

FBI Begins Clemens Probe
FBI Begins Clemens Probe

FBI Begins Clemens Probe

Agency looking into allegations pitcher lied to Congress about steroids

(Newser) - The FBI today began investigating whether Roger Clemens committed perjury when he told Congress that he never used performance-enhancing drugs, Bloomberg reports. The agency opened a preliminary review one day after a House panel told the Justice Department it suspected Clemens of lying. The pitcher insists he never took steroids...

1 in 100 Americans in Prison
1 in 100 Americans in Prison

1 in 100 Americans in Prison

'Tough on crime' proving expensive stance as state resources dwindle, study reports

(Newser) - One American adult out of 100 is incarcerated, a new study shows—the first time in US history such a high proportion of the population is behind bars. The Pew Center on the States reports the nationwide prison population grew by 25,000 last year, to 1.6 million, with...

House Panel May Go After Clemens on Perjury

Panel drafts letter asking Justice Dept. to investigate

(Newser) - The congressional panel that questioned Roger Clemens about steroids has drafted a letter asking the Justice Department to investigate whether he committed perjury, the New York Times reports. The letter doesn't name his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who testified the same day and insisted Clemens is lying, but that could...

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