Calling it a “lively discussion,” Main Justice has reported on Saturday’s NAFUSA WikiLeaks panel.
Should the U.S. government prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for disclosing a vast trove of classified State Department cables and military documents?
The pros and cons of prosecution– and whether WikiLeaks is legally distinguishable from newspapers and other traditional media – were debated Saturday at the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys annual conference in Santa Fe, N.M.
In another article about the conference, Main Justice reports on the J. Michael Bradford Award.
Ken Sorenson said he was “speechless” when former District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jay Stephens called to tell him on behalf of NAFUSA he’d won the J. Michael Bradford award. He thanked the organization for “thinking about the guys out there in the trenches.”
Sorenson won the Award for his prosecution of a military technology espionage case. Main Justice has the details.
Nathan A. Fishbach, a former United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Wisconsin in 1993, died of cancer on September 17, 2011. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and three sons, Jeffrey, Brian and Michael. He was 58. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Nathan Fishbach Student Development Fund at Marquette University School of Law.
Fishbach served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for over 13 years, where a major focus of his work was in the prosecution of complex financial cases. He was a shareholder at Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek in Milwaukee, which he joined upon leaving the U.S. Attorney post in 1993. He was the Founding President of the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association. He was a graduate of Villanova University Law School.
Main Justice, which covers insider news about the Department of Justice, kicked off its coverage of NAFUSA’s Santa Fe conference with a podcast interview of incoming NAFUSA President Richard H. Deane, Jr. In addition, a second podcast interview of NAFUSA Membership Chair Jack Selden has been added.
NAFUSA’s annual conference will open in Santa Fe on Thursday, September 29, 2011. Janet Napolitano, the third Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, will be the keynote speaker at the closing banquet on Saturday evening, October 1.
Prior to becoming secretary, Napolitano was in her second term as Governor of Arizona. She was the first woman to chair the National Governors Association. She also served as the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. Secretary Napolitano is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.
The reservation deadline for the conference hotel was August 30, 2011, but there may be a few rooms available due to cancellations. Call La Posada at 505.954.9686 or the overflow hotel a few blocks away, the Inn and Spa at Loretto, at 866-582-1646. Mention NAFUSA and ask for the conference rate of $249 per night plus $12 resort fee.
Santa Fe advertises itself as “The City Different” and in many ways lives up to the claim. There is much to savor in its plaza, churches, museums, galleries and shops. But, if time permits, even more “difference” can be found nearby. Continue reading about nearby attractions →
On August 30, 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder named NAFUSA member B. Todd Jones, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Jones assumed his duties at ATF on August 31. He will continue as U.S. Attorney.
President Barack Obama nominated Jones for the position of United States Attorney in 2009. President Bill Clinton had appointed him to the same position in 1998, and he served until 2001. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School. Jones has served in the United States Marine Corps.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. named Paul J. Fishman, the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, as chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC), effective September 7, 2011. Fishman succeeds B. Todd Jones, who has become the Acting Director of ATF.
Fishman has served as U.S. Attorney since his 2009 appointment by President Barack Obama. He has also served as the vice chair of the AGAC. From 1994-1997, Fishman served as a senior adviser to the Attorney General and to the Deputy Attorney General.
Fishman is a graduate of Harvard Law School where he was the managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. He clerked for the Hon. Edward R. Becker of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Long time NAFUSA member Johnnie Mac Walters has authored a book, Our Journey, describing his career during the Nixon Administration. He served as Assistant Attorney General (1969-1971) and as Commissioner of Internal Revenue (1971-1973).
As the book jacket describes,
In 1971 embattled President Richard M. Nixon sought to use the Internal Revenue Service as a weapon to investigate and punish his “enemies.” Tapes of White House conversations reveal that Nixon wanted as Commissioner “a ruthless son-of-a-bitch that he will do what he is told; that every income tax return I want to see I see; that he will go after our enemies and not go after our friends.”
Attorney General John Mitchell recommended Assistant AG Johnnie Mac Walters. Apparently no one checked with Walters who was “shocked” when White House Counsel John Dean presented him with an “enemies list.” Walters resisted pressure from the White House and told Secretary of the Treasury George Schultz that he could “have my job anytime he wanted it.”
Walters earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He served in World War II in the U.S. Army Air Force as a navigator, flying fifty bombing missions. Walters is retired and lives in Greenville, South Carolina.
The book is available from the publisher, Stroud & Hall Publishers, P.O. Box 27210, Macon, GA 31221, 800-331-9133. The price is $20 plus mailing.
NAFUSA’s six person Liaison Committee met with Attorney General Eric Holder on July 20, 2011, at the Attorney General’s conference room at Main Justice. The AG was joined by his chief of staff, Gary Grindler, and his deputy chief of staff and counselor, Monty Wilkinson. [It was later announced that Wilkinson has been appointed Principal Deputy Director and Chief of Staff at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA). Channing Phillips of the AG’s staff will be the AG’s new liaison to NAFUSA.
The General discussed the recent Senate confirmations of Jim Cole as Deputy AG, Lisa Monaco as Assistant AG in charge of National Security, Virginia Seitz as Assistant AG for the Office of Legal Counsel, Donald Verrilli as Solictor General and Denise O’Donnell (former NAFUSA board member) as Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Vacancies remain for tax, inspector general and ATF. [On July 29, 2011, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Michael E. Horowitz as Inspector General.] The AG advised that Christine Varney, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of Antitrust, will be leaving the department in August and a search has begun for her replacement. As for U.S. Attorneys, openings remain in Utah, Western Michigan and Northern Oklahoma.
The Liaison Committee suggested that NAFUSA would like to sponsor an ethics seminar for U.S. Attorneys, Assistant U.S. Attorneys and/or Department personnel. The AG was very open to this idea and urged that the Committee follow up with his staff. The group discussed the possibility of NAFUSA including experts from academia for this purpose.
From left, NAFUSA Liaison Committee members Doug Jones, President-Elect Rick Deane, Treasurer Matt Orwig, Attorney General Eric Holder, President Bill Lutz, Immediate Past President and Committee Chair Rich Rossman and Wayne Budd. Photo by Department of Justice photographer Craig Crawford. Click to enlarge.
A discussion was held regarding the October 11, 2011, ten year anniversary of the murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Wales. The committee advised the AG that NAFUSA is considering raising funds to increase the amount of the reward, currently at a million dollars. There is compelling evidence that Wales murder is work related, and, if so, he will be the first Assistant U.S. Attorney in history to be killed in the line of duty.
The Liaison Committee advised the AG that NAFUSA’s 2013 conference will be held in Washington and the board has discussed a “Day at Justice” event of a half or full day to be held at the Department, perhaps in the Great Hall with Department officials addressing the membership. The General was very receptive, but pointed out there was no assurance he would still be there. He kidded that, in that event, he could join on our side.
Napolitano was in her second term as Governor of Arizona. She was the first woman to chair the National Governors Association. She also served as the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. Secretary Napolitano is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.
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