Lanny A. Breuer
Lanny Breuer is an American lawyer and the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
After graduating from Columbia Law School, Breuer was an assistant district attorney in Manhattan from 1985 to 1989. As a special White House counsel, he helped represent President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 1999 during independent-counsel and Congressional investigations, and the impeachment hearings.
Prior to becoming Assistant Attorney General, Breuer was a partner in the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling and the co-chairman of its white-collar defense and investigations practice group. Breuer was best known for his work representing the subjects of Congressional investigations. He represented the University of California in an investigation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Moody's Investor Service in the wake of Enron's collapse, and Halliburton/KBR in a hearing conducted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Breuer made headlines when a former colleague from the White House, Sandy Berger, asked for representation after an investigation disclosed Berger's theft of classified documents from the National Archives.[1]
On January 22, 2009, President Obama selected Breuer to head the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.[2] He was confirmed by the Senate on April 20, 2009 by a vote of 88-0.[3]
Breuer was in this position during the prosecution of Thomas Andrews Drake, an NSA whistleblower indicted in 2010 under the Espionage Act of 1917 for 'retaining national defense information', which led investigative reporter Jane Mayer to write, "Because reporters often retain unauthorized defense documents, Drake's conviction would establish a legal precedent making it possible to prosecute journalists as spies."[4]
In December of 2011 Senator Chuck Grassley called for Breuer's resignation due to his involvement with Operation Fast and Furious.[5] Breuer stated in October 2011 he regretted he didn't do more to raise concerns at the U.S. Justice Department.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Eisler, Kim: "Go-To Guy Lanny Breuer Seems a Bargain", Washingtonian, April 1, 2008
- ^ Obama names Varney as to antitrust role at Justice Reuters. January 22, 2009.
- ^ CQ Politics. April 20, 2009.
- ^ The Secret Sharer, Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, May 23 2011, retrieved 2011 May 16
- ^ "Grassley calls for resignation of Justice Dept. official over guns operation - The Washington Post". The Washington Post (Washington DC: WPC). 2011-12-07. ISSN 0190-8286. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/grassley-calls-for-resignation-of-justice-dept-official-over-guns-operation/2011/12/07/gIQA3YtRdO_story.html. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ Perez, Evan (2011-11-01). "Justice Official Regrets Gun Sting - WSJ.com". The Wall Street Journal (New York: Dow Jones). ISSN 0099-9660. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203707504577010361806722038.html. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
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