Free Republic

George Conway, a conservative attorney whose wife is Donald Trump's senior White House counselor, has formed an organization whose goal is to push back against the president. Charter members of the group, called Checks and Balances, include former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, former acting Attorney General Stuart Gerson, former Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty and former Deputy White House Counsel Phillip Brady. Missing from its mission statement is any mention of Conway's wife, who helmed Trump's White House quest and became the first woman to successfully bring a presidential campaign across a November finish line. 'We believe in the...

Keith Weissman and Steven Rosen Are PhDs and Middle East Experts Who Did Some Lobbying. They Thought They Were Doing What Washington Insiders Always Do. Thomas O’Donnell didn’t reveal his job when he phoned Keith Weissman in 2004 and got the policy analyst’s wife. He says he didn’t want to scare her. When Weissman returned the call and found out O’Donnell was an FBI agent, his first reaction was to attempt a joke: “What did I do?” “I’m sure you didn’t do anything,” O’Donnell told him. He wanted to meet that day, for five or ten minutes, and get Weissman’s...

<p>WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Paul McNultysaid Monday he will resign, the highest-ranking Bush administration casualty in the furor over the firing of U.S. attorneys. Below is the text of his letter.</p> <p>This is to advise you of my intention to step down from my position as Deputy Attorney General on a date to be determined in the late summer.</p>

The Republican staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, is looking into improper sharing of Department of Justice personnel records by career DOJ employees with members of the legal community. "We've seen evidence that some state and federal judges with ties to the Democrat Party were given personnel and performance review materials about certain U.S. Attorneys across the country," says a Judiciary Committee staffer. "Some of the review materials were never seen by the Attorney General and his staff, but were reviewed within the Deputy Attorney General's office, as well as by professional staff at the Executive Office for U.S....

Army Reserve Lt. Col. Debra Harrison returned to New Jersey after 17 months in Iraq with a Purple Heart and vivid descriptions of at least two brushes with death in the combat zone. A federal indictment unsealed yesterday alleged she also returned with $330,000 in stolen cash earmarked for Iraq reconstruction projects and played a key role in a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme that netted her a Cadillac Escalade, two handguns, prescription drugs and enough money to install a deck and hot tub at her home in Trenton. The 25-count indictment accused Harrison and two fellow soldiers, Col. Curtis Whiteford of...

We'll quit if bribe inquiry halted, say US law chiefs By Francis Harris in Washington (Filed: 29/05/2006) Three of America's top law officers, among them the head of the FBI, have threatened to step down over alleged attempts to halt an investigation into congressional corruption. Alberto Gonzales, the attorney general, Paul McNulty, his deputy, and Robert Mueller, the FBI director, informed President George W Bush through intermediaries last week that they would resign rather than let the inquiry be blocked. Their stand marked the latest twist in a saga which began when 15 FBI agents raided the offices of William...

The Justice Department signaled to the White House this week that the nation's top three law enforcement officials would resign or face firing rather than return documents seized from a Democratic congressman's office in a bribery investigation, according to administration sources familiar with the discussions. The possibility of resignations by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales; his deputy, Paul J. McNulty; and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III was communicated to the White House by several Justice officials in tense negotiations over the fate of the materials taken from Rep. William J. Jefferson's office, according to the sources, who spoke on...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department signaled to the White House this week that the nation's top three law enforcement officials would resign or face firing rather than return documents seized from a Democratic congressman's office in a bribery investigation, administration sources said. The possibility of resignations by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; his deputy, Paul McNulty; and FBI Director Robert Mueller was communicated to the White House by several Justice officials in tense negotiations over the fate of the materials taken from Rep. William Jefferson's office, according to the sources. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the issue's...

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia is being urged to look into a charge that Herndon officials have violated federal criminal conspiracy laws by creating a day-labor center that helps illegal aliens. U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty has received from Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, a letter accusing Herndon officials of conspiracy in seeking to aid illegal aliens, the congressman's office said. In his letter, Mr. Tancredo noted that officials for Project Hope and Harmony -- a group of community leaders and churches that will operate Herndon's day-labor center -- have refused to screen job seekers based...

U.S. Federal Prosecutor McNulty Named Deputy Attorney General Associated Press October 21, 2005 10:49 p.m. WASHINGTON -- Paul McNulty, a federal prosecutor in Virginia, was chosen Friday by President George W. Bush to serve as the No. 2 Justice Department official, following the withdrawal of a nominee who faced questions about his business ties. As the U.S. Attorney in Alexandria, Va., since 2001, Mr. McNulty has prosecuted several high-profile terrorism cases. Earlier this year, Mr. McNulty's office obtained a guilty plea from Zacarias Moussaoui, who admitted to conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers and now could face the death penalty....

17 employees for a contractor working on a drydocked Navy ship are in court Wednesday facing charges they had false identification documents.U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty said the men are illegal aliens and worked as sandblasters for Network Industries, Limited. That company is working at Metro Machine Corporation in Norfolk on the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan.According to the federal indictment, one of the men had been deported but somehow was back in the country.All are charged with having and using a false immigration document and false representation of social security numbers. Eight are also charged with aggravated identity theft."These...

A British man appeared in court today over allegations that he hacked into the US military computer system causing damage worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.Gary McKinnon, 39, faces extradition to the US over claims that he accessed 97 government computers over a one-year period. District judge Christopher Pratt granted him bail to reappear for an extradition hearing on July 27.He was ordered to provide £5,000 security, report to his local police station, not to apply for any international travel documents and not to use any computer equipment allowing him to access the internet as bail conditions. "On one instance,...

City gets $650,000 to fight gun crime Mayor and police chief are figuring out how to use surprise funds BY DAVID RESS TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 24, 2005 Everyone should have a rich uncle like this: Richmond's is named Sam, and he cut the city a surprise check for $650,000 yesterday to fight gun violence. The money is from the Bush administration's "Project Safe Neighborhoods" and amounts to a little more than half the funds allocated to Paul J. McNulty, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. "This was unsolicited," Mayor L. Douglas Wilder said. "It took us totally...

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- An American citizen handed over by Saudi Arabia should remain in custody because "he presents an exceptionally grave danger to the community and a serious flight risk," the lead prosecutor said in court papers filed Wednesday. U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty filed his motion ahead of a detention hearing for 23-year-old Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, an alleged al Qaeda member. Abu Ali was detained for 20 months in Saudi Arabia before being transferred to U.S. custody this week. Abu Ali is charged with providing material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization -- al Qaeda. Prosecutors...

September 24, 2004 Islamic Scholar From Virginia Is Charged in Holy War Plot By ERIC LIPTON The New York Times WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 - An Islamic scholar from Virginia was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges that in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks he urged a group of Muslim-American men to join a holy war against the United States by traveling to Afghanistan. The charges against the scholar, Ali al-Timimi, 40, of Fairfax, Va., are a follow-up on the successful prosecution of the Washington-area men who identified him as their spiritual leader. These men became...

RANDALL TODD ROYER AND IBRAHIM AHMED AL-HAMDI SENTENCED FOR PARTICIPATION IN VIRGINIA JIHAD NETWORK WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General John Ashcroft, Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty of the Eastern District of Virginia announced that Randall Todd Royer and Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi were sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema for their convictions on charges stemming from their participation in a network of militant jihadists centered in Northern Virginia. Royer, 31, pled guilty in January 2004 to a two-count criminal information charging him with aiding and abetting...

Mr. Noel Hillman Chief, Public Integrity Section Criminal Division U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20531-0001 10 February 2004 Dear Mr. Hillman: In a recent complaint addressed to the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee, Mr. Manuel Miranda, former Majority Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and General Counsel to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, apprised Committee Chief Counsel Robert Walker of the following revelation: “I have read documents evidencing public corruption by elected officials and staff of the United States Senate. . . . This includes evidence of the direct influencing of the Senate's advice and...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Iyman Faris, an Ohio truck driver, was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison for supporting al Qaeda, after first admitting he cased the Brooklyn Bridge to see if it could be destroyed and then trying to withdraw his guilty plea. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema gave the maximum term possible after rejecting a request by Faris to withdraw the initial guilty plea he entered in a deal with prosecutors. She said he knowingly pleaded guilty and that his credibility now was "in serious question." She also said that Faris underwent a mental competency examination...

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Sept. 26. 2003 Iyman Faris (Photo: AP) In a July court document, Sinclair said Faris has been placed on a suicide watch at the Alexandria jail and was taking Prozac, an anti-depressant. Attorney General John Ashcroft. (Photo: CBS) (CBS/AP) A man accused of plotting to topple New York's Brooklyn Bridge on orders from al Qaeda has asked to withdraw his guilty plea. Iyman Faris, 34, pleaded guilty in May to charges that he provided sleeping bags, cell phones and cash to al Qaeda. Authorities say Faris traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan to carry out errands for the terrorist...