Conyers and Sánchez Demand Ashcroft Testimony About $52 Million No-bid Contract

January 30, 2008 -- (Washington, DC) - House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. and Commercial and Administrative Law (CAL) Subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sánchez have called upon former Attorney General John Ashcroft to testify at the CAL Subcommittee hearing, “Deferred Prosecution: Should Corporate Settlement Agreements be without Guidelines.” The hearing will address the alarming growth of secret corporate monitoring contracts awarded in the settlement of corporate fraud cases.

"Mr. Ashcroft’s experience lends a valuable perspective to the hearing as his firm was the recipient of a no-bid monitoring contract from a deferred prosecution settlement worth between $28 million to $52 million," said Conyers. "Recent reports that the current Attorney General sought a similar, lucrative arrangement before his confirmation underscores the need for an extensive public examination of these sole-source, no-bid contracts."

"The revelation that Attorney General Mukasey was seeking a corporate monitoring contract as he was nominated for Attorney General adds another intriguing piece to the secret deals made between the government and corporations under threat of prosecution," said Sánchez. "We look forward to hearing from the Department and from former Attorney General Ashcroft on how to remove the appearance of sweetheart no-bid deals for corporate monitors."

Source: House Judiciary Committee

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