Laurie Kellman

July 23, 2007 | Daily Report Online

By Laurie Kellman

4 minute read

March 04, 2008 | National Law Journal

The Senate on Monday unanimously confirmed Mark R. Filip, a federal judge from Chicago, as Attorney General Michael Mukasey's second-in-command, restoring the top tier of a Justice Department that had lost many of its officials to a scandal over the firings of nine federal prosecutors. A conversation between White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., over stalled nominations led to Filip's confirmation, according to a Senate Democratic aide who requested anonymity.

By Laurie Kellman

3 minute read

September 18, 2008 | Daily Report Online

WASHINGTON AP - The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to open the first impeachment probe of a sitting judge in almost two decades.With little discussion, the Democratic-led panel voted unanimously to launch an investigation against U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous, a Louisiana jurist, who is charged with presiding over a trial in which the lawyers involved had given him money.

By LAURIE KELLMAN

4 minute read

July 16, 2008 | Daily Report Online

WASHINGTON AP - President Bush invoked executive privilege to keep Congress from seeing the FBI report of an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney and other records related to the administration's leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003.The president's decision drew a sharp protest Wednesday from Rep.

By LAURIE KELLMAN

4 minute read

October 17, 2007 | National Law Journal

Attorney General-designate Michael Mukasey told Senate Democrats Tuesday exactly what they wanted to hear during his confirmation hearings: That he'd be willing to say "no" to the White House and review the administration's eavesdropping and interrogation techniques.

By Laurie Kellman

4 minute read

October 25, 2007 | National Law Journal

By a vote of 59-38, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed Judge Leslie Southwick to a 5th Circuit seat after Republicans overpowered objections by Democrats who said he wasn't sensitive enough to the region's history of race relations. The nomination tested a fragile agreement to block President Bush's judicial nominations only in "extraordinary" circumstances. Some Democratic opponents said Southwick's writings, combined with the troubled racial history of the circuit, met this amorphous standard.

By Laurie Kellman

4 minute read

March 29, 2007 | Daily Report Online

WASHINGTON AP Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wrongly stated he was not involved in discussions about the firings of federal prosecutors, his former chief of staff told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday.''I don't think the attorney general's statement that he was not involved in any discussions of U.

By Laurie Kellman

5 minute read

May 25, 2006 | National Law Journal

The FBI's raid on a Democrat's office rippled through Capitol Hill Wednesday, with majority Republicans demanding that the agency surrender documents and other items its agents seized under what lawmakers said were unconstitutional circumstances.

By Laurie Kellman

4 minute read

July 12, 2007 | National Law Journal

For President Bush, one witness under oath was plenty. Former political director Sara Taylor was still hours from her subpoenaed appearance before a congressional panel when the White House canceled Harriet Miers'. The letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., was the latest shot in a broader battle over the boundaries of Bush's executive power and Congress' duty to conduct oversight. The exchange nudged all sides closer to contempt of Congress citations and perhaps federal court.

By Laurie Kellman

4 minute read

May 18, 2007 | National Law Journal

Support for Alberto Gonzales sank further Thursday as Democrats proposed a no-confidence vote, a fifth GOP senator urged his resignation and another Republican predicted he won't survive a congressional investigation. The White House shrugged off the vote idea, but GOP officials privately admitted Republicans were still reeling from testimony that Gonzales, as White House counsel, had pressed AG John Ashcroft to certify the legality of Bush's eavesdropping program while Ashcroft was in intensive care.

By Laurie Kellman

5 minute read