John Ashcroft

March 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder issued comprehensive new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidelines today that direct all executive branch departments and agencies to apply a presumption of openness when administering the FOIA. The new guidelines, announced in a memo to heads of executive departments and agencies, build on the principles announced by President Obama on his first full day in office when he issued a presidential memorandum on the FOIA that called on agencies to "usher in a new era of open government."    » read more »

John Ashcroft led DOJ when torture memos were penned; important questions remain on torture timeline and role of NSC principals

WASHINGTON, DC, 7/17/2008 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) calls on former Attorney General John Ashcroft, in today’s House Judiciary hearing, to provide Congress and the American people with answers to questions about when, why and how the use of torture was authorized. Ashcroft presided over the Department of Justice (DOJ) during President Bush’s first term in office, when the legal rationale for using torture and abuse during interrogations of detainees held by the United States was first articulated in a series of legal memos.    » read more »

April 11, 2008 -- Washington, DC -- House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) today invited several current and former Administration officials to a May 6 hearing to explore the development and legal approval of Bush administration torture policies and other potential abuses of executive power.

John Ashcroft: Photo by World Economic Forum (CC)    » read more »

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.    » read more »

November 5, 2007 -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and law enforcement officials from four other states have asked the U.S. Senate to reject retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that let the federal government snoop on private telephone calls without warrants.

Blumenthal, with the Vermont, Maine and New Jersey attorneys general and the Missouri public safety commissioner, submitted testimony last week to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging it to reject immunity.    » read more »

October 4, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Today’s news revealed the Justice Department produced secret memos condoning the use of torture and other abusive interrogation techniques on detainees. U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) asked his colleagues to join him in condemning not only the Administration’s duplicity with Congress and the American people, but also its policy permitting torture. He reiterated his call for the Senate to support his legislation, which prohibits the torture, abuse, or mistreatment of any detainee in United States custody.    » read more »