Attorney General U S

In his farewell speech in the Great Hall of the Justice Department nearly two years ago, James B. Comey, the outgoing deputy attorney general, paid tribute to the work of the department on his watch, and the "reservoir of trust and credibility" its thousands of employees had built up with the public over the years. "It doesn't make me worry about leaving," he said, "because this institution ... was in great shape when I got here and will be in great shape when I'm gone."

In a quiet event during an otherwise well-publicized visit to Los Angeles this week, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder Jr. reached out to local Muslim American youths, calling on them to work with the government to fight violent extremism and pledging that the Justice Department would reinvigorate enforcement of civil rights and work to advance religious freedom.

Attorney general nominee Eric H. Holder Jr. repeatedly pushed some of his subordinates at the Clinton Justice Department to drop their opposition to a controversial 1999 grant of clemency to 16 members of two violent Puerto Rican nationalist organizations, according to interviews and documents. Details of the role played by Holder, who was deputy attorney general at the time, had not been publicly known until now.

President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for attorney general was described on Day Two of his confirmation hearings Friday both as a man of great principle and independence and as a lawman unworthy of the nation's top law enforcement job because he was soft on Puerto Rican nationalists. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, two witnesses sharply criticized Eric H. Holder Jr.

Following sometimes bitter debate, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to send Michael B. Mukasey's nomination as attorney general to the Senate floor, where confirmation is expected soon. With two Democrats, Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Charles E.

Federal prosecutors have dropped their criminal investigation of a subway contractor accused of using substandard materials in building the tunnels under Hollywood Boulevard. The U.S. attorney's office informed Shea-Kiewit-Kenny this week of its decision, nearly 2 1/2 years after the tunnel builder was fired by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its offices were raided by federal agents.

The man President Reagan has chosen to replace Edwin Meese III as attorney general appears to have everything needed to win quick approval from the Senate and to restore the Justice Department's now-clouded image, acquaintances and former colleagues said Monday. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Richard L. Thornburgh, 55, is a Republican moderate who has spent almost two decades as a lawyer and nationally known politician and has emerged scandal-free--and with high marks from both parties. A former U.S.

Democratic senators warned Sunday that Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.), President-elect George W. Bush's nominee for attorney general, faces tough cross-examination over his opposition to a black judicial appointment and his willingness to enforce a law guaranteeing access to abortion clinics. "We'll have a very fair hearing," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said on ABC's "This Week." But, he stressed, "there will be tough questions."

President Reagan on Tuesday dismissed as "unnecessary" and "unwarranted" a highly critical report on former Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III by the Justice Department's internal ethics office and said that it was the work of his longtime associate's "political enemies." Reagan "thinks the attorney general has always acted properly in carrying out the conduct of his office," said White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, adding that he had spoken to the President about the report. Atty. Gen.

Bluntly rejecting a challenge to her authority, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno told a panel of judges Monday that they have no power to stop her from investigating how independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr has carried out his grand jury inquiry into the Monica S. Lewinsky affair. Starr, in his own court papers, agreed that the judges who appointed him should not try to stop the attorney general--at least for the time being.

As Eric H. Holder Jr. gears up to go before the Senate Judiciary Committee today for his confirmation as attorney general, some Republicans say they will question him aggressively about whether his ties to Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich are more extensive than Holder has acknowledged.

Senate Judiciary Committee staffers vetting Eric H. Holder Jr.'s nomination for attorney general said Friday they are seeking testimony from the Justice Department's former pardon attorney as they inquire into Holder's role in the 1999 grant of clemency to members of a Puerto Rican terrorist organization.

Attorney general nominee Eric H. Holder Jr. repeatedly pushed some of his subordinates at the Clinton Justice Department to drop their opposition to a controversial 1999 grant of clemency to 16 members of two violent Puerto Rican nationalist organizations, according to interviews and documents. Details of the role played by Holder, who was deputy attorney general at the time, had not been publicly known until now.

President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., is now coming under fire from Senate Republicans, who have asked to delay what was expected to be a swift and easy confirmation over concerns about his role in some controversial Clinton-era pardons and other matters. Obama's selection of Holder initially was greeted with near-universal acclaim on Capitol Hill after Obama tapped him Dec. 1.

Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey was rushed to the hospital Thursday night after collapsing and losing consciousness during a speech on the war on terrorism, a Justice Department official said. Mukasey slumped to the floor near the conclusion of his remarks before the Federalist Society's annual dinner at a northwest Washington hotel, said Peter A. Carr, chief spokesman for the department.

Senate Democrats assailed Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey on Wednesday for refusing to offer an opinion on the legality of waterboarding, an interrogation method that many consider a form of illegal torture. In often sharp exchanges, the lawmakers accused Mukasey of trying to protect the Bush administration, with one comparing him to a corporate lawyer trying to cover up the misdeeds of his client.

In the end, Democrats showed force but didn't pull the trigger. Republicans proved they could unify under pressure. But the real surprise behind the Senate's 58-42 vote to confirm John Ashcroft as attorney general Thursday was how both sides seemed ready to move on. There were few signs the battle would leave the long-term scars many had assumed would result from the controversial nomination.

Former Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri won Senate confirmation Thursday as attorney general, 58 to 42, surviving a vitriolic six-week debate that triggered the largest opposition vote for the post in more than 75 years. The vote marked the first big political test for President Bush's fledgling administration, and Bush came out of it with a victory far narrower than many Republicans had predicted. Only eight Democrats joined the Senate's 50 Republicans to support Ashcroft.

The Senate voted Thursday night to confirm the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general, despite often emotional opposition from Democrats who said his refusal to disavow a controversial interrogation method made him an unsuitable leader for the U.S. Justice Department. The vote was 53 to 40, with six Democrats -- including Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California -- and one independent supporting the nominee.

Following sometimes bitter debate, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to send Michael B. Mukasey's nomination as attorney general to the Senate floor, where confirmation is expected soon. With two Democrats, Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Charles E.