Campaign at Justice: Former Bush administration officials John Yoo and Jay Bybee, both the targets of an ethics probe into lawyers who approved harsh detainee interrogation techniques, have launched a behind-the-scenes campaign urging the Justice Department to soften the ethics report, according to the WaPo. Representatives for both men have encouraged former Justice and White House officials to contact current officials to emphasize the troubling precedent of imposing sanctions on legal advisers, the WaPo says, citing two sources familiar with the efforts. Yoo's lawyer, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Miguel Estrada, and Bybee's lawyer, Latham & Watkins' Maureen Mahoney, both declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement.
Stepping Down: The BLT reported last night that Judge Michael McConnell, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, is leaving the bench to become director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School. McConnell is one of the most influential federal appeals court judges in the country, says the BLT.
Fond Farewell: Referencing poets and federal appeals judges, retiring Supreme Court Justice David
Souter bid farewell yesterday to the judges and lawyers of the 3rd Circuit, bringing tears to a few eyes, according to The Legal Intelligencer. Souter, who has served as the "circuit justice" for the 3rd Circuit, also swore that he "was not the leak," referring to reports last week that his decision to retire had been revealed by his failure to hire law clerks for the next term.
Reason for Hope: The WSJ takes a closer look at the death of David Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac found dead at his Vienna, Va. home last month. Police believe Kellerman committed suicide. Still, the WSJ reports he had reason to be hopeful the night before his death. Kellermann had won a favorable accounting ruling from the SEC, and his boss, acting chief executive officer John Koskinen, had instructed him to take the rest of the week off.
Comments