Lanny A. Breuer: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary Tag: references removed |
||
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
In subsequent testimony provided to Congress, it came to light that AAG Breuer had lied about various aspects of the Fast and Furious case in testimony to Congress<ref>http://news.investors.com/Article/594827/201112141912/justice-aide-lies-about-fast-and-furious.htm</ref>. |
In subsequent testimony provided to Congress, it came to light that AAG Breuer had lied about various aspects of the Fast and Furious case in testimony to Congress<ref>http://news.investors.com/Article/594827/201112141912/justice-aide-lies-about-fast-and-furious.htm</ref>. |
||
In early December 2011, Senator Charles Grassley publicly accused AAG Breuer of lying and requested that he |
In early December 2011, Senator Charles Grassley publicly accused AAG Breuer of lying and requested that he “do the honorable thing” and resign, failing that, Senator Grassley called on AG [[Eric Holder]] to fire AAG Lanny Breuer immediately forthwith. |
||
== Notes == |
== Notes == |
||
Revision as of 17:30, 8 January 2012
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]
Fast and Furious
In 2011, the Department of Justice came under sharp criticism[5] for the 'Fast and Furious' program, involving "gun walking", a program involving provision of illegal firearms to criminals. One incident which brought great attention, and a Congressional investigation of the program, was the murder of ATF Agent Brian Terry using a gun linked to 'Fast and Furious'.
Lanny Breuer accused of lying
In subsequent testimony provided to Congress, it came to light that AAG Breuer had lied about various aspects of the Fast and Furious case in testimony to Congress[6].
In early December 2011, Senator Charles Grassley publicly accused AAG Breuer of lying and requested that he “do the honorable thing” and resign, failing that, Senator Grassley called on AG Eric Holder to fire AAG Lanny Breuer immediately forthwith.
Notes
- ^ 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
- ^ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/4/holder-facing-further-fast-and-furious-grilling/
- ^ http://news.investors.com/Article/594827/201112141912/justice-aide-lies-about-fast-and-furious.htm