Attorney General

Washington, D.C. -- November 17, 2009 -- "Good afternoon. I am joined here by some of my partners in the new effort we are launching today, Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shawn Donovan, and Robert Khuzami, the Director of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, who is here representing SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro.    » read more »

WASHINGTON (Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009) – Ten state Attorneys General are backing legislation authored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to repeal the health insurance and medical malpractice insurance industries’ exemption from federal antitrust laws.

In a letter dated November 13, Attorneys General from Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Oregon, Arizona, Iowa, Montana, Florida and Wyoming urge Congress to end the decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws, which are designed to encourage competition and protect consumers. Dating back to the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act, health insurers and medical malpractice insurers have been exempt from these laws. Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held a hearing on the exemption in October.    » read more »

Speech of Attorney General Eric Holder

Washington, D.C. -- Friday, November 13, 2009 -- Good morning. Just over eight years ago, on a morning our nation will never forget, nineteen hijackers working with a network of Al Qaeda conspirators around the world launched the deadliest terrorist attacks our country has ever seen. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in those attacks, and in the years since, our nation has had no higher priority than bringing those who planned and plotted the attacks to justice.

One year before, in October 2000, a terrorist attack on the USS Cole killed seventeen American sailors.

Today we announce a step forward in bringing those we believe were responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the attack on the USS Cole to justice.    » read more »

November 13, 2009 -- (New York) - The Obama administration's decision to prosecute the September 11 suspects in federal court represents an important step forward for justice, Human Rights Watch said today. Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that five of the suspects facing pending military commission charges at Guantanamo would be transferred for federal trial in the United States.

"The Obama administration recognized that a trial of this historic importance belongs in a fair and time-tested justice system," said Joanne Mariner, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program director at Human Rights Watch. "The military commissions at Guantanamo are simply not up to the task."    » read more »

November 13, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Representative of Ground Zero and Lower Manhattan as well as Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, issued the following statement on the announcement today by the Department of Justice regarding certain Guantanamo detainees:    » read more »

October 19, 2009 -- Attorney General Eric Holder today announced formal guidelines for federal prosecutors in states that have enacted laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The guidelines make clear that the focus of federal resources should not be on individuals whose actions are in compliance with existing state laws, while underscoring that the Department will continue to prosecute people whose claims of compliance with state and local law conceal operations inconsistent with the terms, conditions, or purposes of those laws.    » read more »

Remarks as prepared for delivery.

DENVER, COLO. ~ Monday, October 5, 2009 -- Thank you, Chief Laine, for that kind introduction.

Chief Whitman, thank you for hosting the IACP in your home city.

And IACP Executive Director Dan Rosenblatt, thank you for your strong leadership of this outstanding organization.

Officers and Members of the Board of Directors, friends, and colleagues. It is my great pleasure to be able to join you today for the first time as Attorney General.    » read more »

September 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – This morning, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner hosted Attorney General Eric Holder, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Jim Freis and attorneys general from 12 states to discuss emerging trends and proactive strategies to combat fraud against consumers in the housing markets as well as best practices to bolster coordination across state and federal agencies.

This meeting follows up on an announcement by the Obama Administration in April of a multi-agency crackdown on foreclosure rescue scams and loan modification fraud designed to protect homeowners from predatory financial practices.    » read more »

Washington DC -- June 22, 2009 -- The NAACP issued the following statement today in response to the United State Supreme Court Ruling in the Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Eric Holder, a case challenging Section Five of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“The NAACP commends the Supreme Court Justices today for upholding one of the most crucial enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act,” said Benjamin T. Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP. “As Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, ‘[t]he historic accomplishments of the Voting Rights Act are undeniable.’ In 2006 Congress voted to reauthorize Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and now in 2009 the Supreme Court has upheld Section 5, “President and CEO Jealous continued.    » read more »

June 17, 2009 -- "I welcome Attorney General Holder back to the Senate Judiciary Committee, as we continue our oversight of the Justice Department. I commend the Attorney General and his team for their hard work and commitment to the difficult task of once again making the Department of Justice an agency worthy of its name.    » read more »

Cardin Calls On Ag Holder To Aggressively Combat Predatory Lending Practices; Senator also announces July hearing on GTMO detainees

June 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, participated today in the first oversight hearing with Attorney General Eric Holder. During the hearing, Senator Cardin called upon the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate allegations of predatory lending across the country.    » read more »

June 5, 2009 -- Today, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske released President Obama’s strategy to stem the flow of illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the Southwest border and reduce associated crime and violence in the region.    » read more »

Former State Representatives Be Released

June 4, 2009 -- The Department of Justice today asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to remand the cases of former Alaska State Representatives Victor Kohring and Peter Kott, who were convicted on corruption charges in 2007, to the District Court. The Department also asked the Court of Appeals to release the two on personal recognizance, after the Department uncovered material that appears to be information that should have been, but was not, disclosed to the defense prior to trial.

Attorney General Eric Holder also instructed the Department’s Criminal Division to review the Department’s public corruption investigation in Alaska to ensure that all other discovery obligations have been met.    » read more »

Initiates New Rulemaking to Govern Immigration Removal Proceedings

June 3, 2009 -- Attorney General Eric Holder today vacated the order issued in Matter of Compean by Attorney General Mukasey in January and announced his intention to initiate a new rulemaking proceeding for regulations to govern claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in removal proceedings.    » read more »

May 29, 2009 -- Today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced a new International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2) that will marshal the resources and information of nine U.S. law enforcement agencies, as well as federal prosecutors, to collectively combat the threats posed by international criminal organizations to domestic safety and security. Attorney General Holder made the announcement today in Rome at the G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial.    » read more »