Swearing-in ceremony for Edward Levi as attorney general at the Department of Justice. Levi’s right hand is raised, while his left hand rests on a Bible held by his wife, Kate Levi. President Gerald Ford, at right, looks on as Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, at left, reads the oath of office on Feb. 7, 1975. (Photo: David Hume Kennerly/National Archives and Records Administration)
When Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco attended meetings as a young Justice Department lawyer during the Clinton administration, the portrait of a department luminary peered over the conference room.
Attorney General Edward Levi took office in 1975 at a time the department was battered by a series of scandals, including Watergate and the abuses of power by former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Levi, who at the time was president of the University of Chicago, was tapped by President Gerald Ford to restore public faith in the institution.
