Carrie Johnson

Justice Department Secretly Obtains AP Phone Records

Carrie Johnson — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:18 +0000

The Associated Press is protesting what it calls a massive and unprecedented intrusion into its gathering of news. The target of that wrath is the U.S. Justice Department, which secretly collected phone records for several AP reporters last year. The AP says it's caught in the middle of a Justice Department leak investigation.

The scope of the Justice Department subpoenas is what gives David Schultz, a lawyer for AP, pause.

"It was a very large number of records that were obtained, including phone records from Hartford, New York, Washington, from the U.S.

Judicial Vacancies Languish On Key Federal Appeals Court

Carrie Johnson — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:59:57 +0000

The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., is sometimes called the second most important court in the country, regularly delivering the final word on major environmental, labor and national security cases.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has a whopping four vacancies, the most in the nation, including one opening that dates all the way back to 2005, when John Roberts moved to the U.S. Supreme Court.

For some insiders, the Washington appeals court represents the legal version of Triple-A baseball, the last destination before a player hits the majors.

Court Says CIA Can't Have It Both Ways on Drones

Carrie Johnson — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:50:37 +0000

A federal appeals court has rejected an effort by the CIA to deny it has any documents about a U.S. drone program that has killed terrorists overseas, ruling that the agency is stretching the law too far and asking judges "to give their imprimatur to a fiction of deniability that no reasonable person would regard as plausible."

The ruling by a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.

Justice's Voting Rights Unit Suffers 'Deep Ideological Polarization' Says Watchdog

Carrie Johnson — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:55:30 +0000

The Justice Department's voting rights unit suffers from "deep ideological polarization" and a "disappointing lack of professionalism" including leaks of sensitive case information, harassment and mistreatment among colleagues who have political differences, department watchdogs concluded Tuesday.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz said he found "insufficient" evidence to support the most damaging claims Congressmen asked him to investigate: that leaders in the Bush and Obama administrations refused to enforce voting laws on behalf of a particular group of voters, favoring African Americans

When Rand Paul Ended Filibuster, He Left Drones On National Stage

Carrie Johnson — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 12:32:45 +0000

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky launched a nationwide conversation last week with his 13-hour filibuster of the president's nominee to lead the CIA.

Paul vowed to keep talking until the White House clarified whether it has authority to kill U.S.

Government Slowly Changes Approach To Whistle-Blowers

Carrie Johnson — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 11:48:06 +0000

The federal government once considered whistle-blowers a nuisance or worse. But over the past few years, that attitude has slowly started to change.

Court Ruling Upsets Conventional Wisdom On Recess Appointments

Carrie Johnson — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 13:09:13 +0000

In a bombshell decision on the limits of executive power, a federal appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., has invalidated President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.

Legal experts say the court's reasoning upends decades of conventional wisdom and deals a big victory to Senate Republicans in an era of congressional gridlock.

The case was brought by a Pepsi-Cola bottling company in a fight with a union.

Obama Names New Chief Of Staff, New Counterterrorism Adviser

Carrie Johnson — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:33:20 +0000

Saying he is choosing "one of my closest friends and one of my closest advisers" for the job, President Obama on Friday said that longtime aide Denis McDonough will be his next chief of staff.

During a midday event at the White House that was remarkable for the expansive comments the president made about his friend's character, his dedication and the respect he gets from those who work in the administration, Obama said McDonough has "the kind of heart that I want in the White House."

"Despite the unbelievable pressures" McDonough has faced as a top national security adviser, the president

Sponsors Of Assault Weapons Ban Hope Newtown Shooting Changes Minds

Carrie Johnson — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 12:07:42 +0000

Congressional Democrats appeared on Capitol Hill Thursday to push for a new ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

The bill's author, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, started her remarks with a roster of tragedy: "Columbine. Virginia Tech. Aurora. Tucson. Oak Creek. The common thread in these shootings is each gunman used a semiautomatic assault weapon or large-capacity ammunition magazine."

Her new proposal tries to do something about both.

Will U.S. Try To Snuff Out State Marijuana Laws?

Carrie Johnson — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:38:35 +0000

The Justice Department has a big decision to make.

Parts of new laws in Colorado and Washington that legalize small amounts of recreational marijuana will take effect early next month. The Obama administration needs to choose whether it will sue to stop the legislation or let those states go their own way — even though the drug remains illegal under federal law.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, says the message he got from voters is unambiguous.

"Our voters want marijuana to be regulated, like alcohol," Hickenlooper said at a recent news conference.