Judiciary Committee

WASHINGTON (Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008) – The chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees today sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking the comptroller general to launch an inquiry into the use, award and implementation of contracts by the Department of Justice to outside entities for the monitoring of compliance with out-of-court settlement and deferred prosecution agreements in criminal investigations.    » read more »

WASHINGTON (Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008) – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking the Department of Justice to provide the Committee with information regarding no-bid contracts directed to be awarded to firms affiliated with former Justice Department officials. According to an article in The New York Times, U. S. Attorney Christopher Christie directed the awarding of no-bid contracts to former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s consulting firm, two former U.S.    » read more »

December 20, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) demanded answers from the Justice Department about allegations that department officials delayed a key indictment in the New Hampshire Phone Jamming case to minimize the political impact of the scandal on the 2004 election.    » read more »

December 19, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) gave the following statement at the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee Hearing on "Enforcement of Federal Criminal Law to Protect Americans Working for U.S. Contractors in Iraq." Today, former KBR/Halliburton employee Jamie Leigh Jones, testified that she was raped and held captive by her KBR/Halliburton colleagues while serving as a contractor in Iraq.    » read more »

December 17, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey reiterating the Chairman's request to have a Department of Justice representative testify at Thursday's hearing on the "Applicability of Federal Criminal Laws to the Interrogation of Detainees."    » read more »

December 14, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties today remarked on the resignation of John Tanner as Chief of the Justice Department’s Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division.    » read more »

Leahy-Hatch Legislation Authorizes Funding For Critical National Center

WASHINGTON (Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007) – The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday unanimously reported legislation sponsored by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Committee member Orrin Hatch (R- Utah) to reauthorize funding for the nation’s premier center for the protection and rescue of missing and exploited children. The bipartisan Protect Our Children First Act was introduced in July by Leahy and Hatch.    » read more »

WASHINGTON (Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007) – In a bipartisan vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday found former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten to be in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas issued in connection with the Committee’s investigation into the mass firings of U.S. Attorneys.    » read more »

Fourteen Senators Urge Majority Leader to Take Up Senate Judiciary Committee Version of FISA Bill

December 12, 2007 -- Washington, DC – As the Senate prepares to consider legislation to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a group of senators is urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to make the FISA bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) the base bill to be considered on the Senate floor.    » read more »

December 11, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - The House Judiciary Committee will consider a substitute version of the Miller-Sánchez "Emergency Homeownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007" during a markup TOMORROW, December 12, at 10:15 a.m. in room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The substitute reflects a compromise made with Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) that will help hundreds of thousands of homeowners save their homes from foreclosure while seeking bankruptcy to reorganize their debts.    » read more »

December 07, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Reps. Robert Scott, William Delahunt and Jerrold Nadler sent letters to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Gen. Michael Hayden and Attorney General Michael Mukasey requesting details about today's reports that the CIA destroyed videotapes of interrogation activities.    » read more »

December 04, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) spoke on the House floor in support of H.R. 3887, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization of 2007. Conyers was an original co-sponsor of the bill, which is expected to pass on the House floor this evening and seeks to provide new tools to combat modern day slavery. Last month, his committee held a hearing on the issue. A link to video of Conyers' floor speech is available here. The full text of his remarks is below:    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- Dec. 4, 2007 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday exposed the White House for stalling key nominations for vacancies in the Department of Justice. The Administration Nov. 15 announced it intended to send nominations to Capitol Hill for the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney General, and the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. Almost three weeks later, the Senate has not received the nominations.

Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy,

Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee    » read more »

November 14, 2007 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced legislation to protect personal information, promote data security and prevent cybercrime. The Privacy and Cybercrime Enforcement Act of 2007 strengthens penalties and prosecutions against cybercrime violations and encourages increased cyber security.    » read more »

November 9, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) sent a letter to newly confirmed Attorney General Michael Mukasey restating their October 4 request to receive copies of Justice Department "secret" legal opinions authorizing the use of torture on terror suspects.    » read more »