Mukasey vows corruption crackdown - Democratic Underground

maddezmom

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Thu Mar-27-08 03:55 PM
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Mukasey vows corruption crackdown

Edited on Thu Mar-27-08 04:05 PM by maddezmom

Source: AP

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorney General Michael Mukasey vowed anew Thursday to crack down on crooked politicians and public officials, dismissing critics who accuse the Justice Department of letting partisan loyalties interfere with corruption cases.

Mukasey's comments came hours after prosecutors charged Puerto Rico's Democratic-leaning governor in a campaign finance probe that began more than two years ago.

The attorney general has called curbing public corruption one of his top priorities. The issue was at the heart of an afternoon speech delivered to a sparsely attended luncheon at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

"It's often in the interest of someone to charge politicization whenever a prominent public figure is investigated or prosecuted," Mukasey said. "I find it notable that they make these accusations in the media, rather than before a court."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080327/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/mukasey_corruption

that would be laughable if it was so freaking sad.

Oh yeah and then there is this:

Feinstein grills Mukasey about closed corruption unit
By Susan Crabtree
Posted: 03/27/08 05:58 AM
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to explain the decision to eliminate the public corruption unit in Los Angeles that has been investigating Rep. Jerry Lewis's (R-Calif.) ties to a lobbying firm.

The U.S. Attorney for the central district of California in Los Angeles reassigned the 17 lawyers in the public corruption unit and disbanded it earlier this month. The decision has stirred ill will and low morale within the office and raised questions about whether pending and future public corruption cases will be rigorously pursued, according to press accounts.

Attorneys in the Los Angeles office have spent years reviewing an FBI investigation into Lewis's connection to a lobbying firm and the earmarks its clients received. Lewis has doled out more than a million dollars in attorney fees related to the probe.

Attorneys in the special corruption unit were assigned to other sections of the office and were told that their cases against public officials would be mixed in with other cases. Because cases against public officials require extensive work and result in fewer prosecutions, Feinstein is concerned they would be shunted aside for those that result in more convictions.

more:http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/feinstein-quizzes-mukasey-about-closed-corruption-unit-2008-03-27.html

Mukasey spurs controversy at BC Law
Amid mixed reactions from faculty and students, on Jan. 23 the Boston College Law School announced that U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey will be speaking at the 2008 Law School commencement. With commencement just two months away, nearly two dozen faculty members have made a final plea to the administration and to the Attorney General's office that Mukasey not speak at the event.

"A commencement speaker is rather different than someone coming to speak on a matter of public interest - a commencement speaker is someone held up to the students and the world as an embodiment of the school," said James Rogers, a professor at BC Law School. "It strikes me as very problematic that the school has invited a commencement speaker who refuses to acknowledge that waterboarding is a form of torture."

On March 11, Rogers and 21 other faculty members sent a petition to Mukasey's office, respectfully requesting that he withdraw his offer to speak at the commencement on May 23. Copies of the signed letter were also forwarded to Dean of BC Law School John Garvey and University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.'s office.

more:http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2008/03/27/News/Mukasey.Spurs.Controversy.At.Bc.Law-3286712.shtml