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A former subcontractor for the U.S. Marine Corps pleaded guilty today to destroying records in connection with a federal investigation of bribery and procurement fraud at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL), located in Jacksonville, North Carolina.William J. Thompson, 56, of Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to one count of destruction of records in a federal investigation before U.S. District Chief Judge Terrence W. Boyle of the Eastern District of North Carolina.  A sentencing date has not been set.According to documents filed with the court, Thompson owned and operated C&D Painting and Construction, a construction company with its...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a concession to the Senate's new Democratic majority, four of President Bush's appeals court appointees have asked to have their nominations withdrawn, Republican officials said Tuesday. These officials said that William Haynes, William Myers and Terrence Boyle had all decided to abandon their quest for confirmation. Another nominee, Mike Wallace, let it be known last month that he, too, had asked Bush to withdraw his nomination.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is quietly maneuvering to act on two of President Bush's appellate court nominees this summer, while a third nominee awaiting action on the Senate floor is slowly moving closer to a vote, Republican aides told HUMAN EVENTS today. A GOP aide said the Judiciary Committee is moving toward a vote on William Haynes' confirmation to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July. But before the committee brings Haynes up for a vote, Chairman Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.) is likely hold a second hearing, at which time Haynes would be given the opportunity to defend himself...

WASHINGTON - Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter on Thursday granted Democrats a hearing to question White House aide and judicial nominee Brett Kavanaugh on his role in the administration's secret wiretapping program, its torture policy and any relationship with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The move put off, for now, a repeat of last year's parliamentary showdown over President Bush's nominees. "I don't want to place the Senate in the position we were in a year ago at this time," Specter, R-Pa., said. Democrats lauded the decision. "It's the least that can be done for the nominee to the second highest...

WASHINGTON - The Senate's top Democrat on Tuesday said he is considering a filibuster of two of President Bush's judicial nominees, saying one may have been involved in the administration's policy on torture and the other ruled in a case in which he had a clear conflict of interest. "The answer is yes, a possible filibuster, of course," Reid told reporters in answer to a question about the nomination of White House aide Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The other nominee is federal judge Terrence Boyle, who Bush wants to send...

Everyone deserves a break, even the U.S. Senate. But enough already. It's been two months since Samuel Alito was confirmed to the Supreme Court and it's past time Senate Republicans got back to work confirming appeals-court judges. They won't have 55 seats forever... Judges are a key issue for the GOP's base, who could stay home on Election Day rather than turn out for Republicans who shilly-shally about confirming President Bush's nominees. There are 17 vacancies on the appeals bench, including nine pending nominations. They deserve to be filled as soon as possible... An excellent place to start would be...

The GOP-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday sent North Carolina judge Terrence Boyle's nomination to the U.S. Appeals Court for confirmation on a party-line vote, leaving Boyle vulnerable to a possible Democratic filibuster. Boyle, a U.S. District Court judge who wants a seat on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., advances to the full Senate for confirmation on the 10-8 partisan vote in committee. Democrats have said that a party-line vote in committee leaves judicial nominees open to a filibuster, although they have not said whether they plan to block Boyle, a former aide to retired...

Judge Terrence W. Boyle of North Carolina was nominated by President Bush on May 9, 2001. He finally got his hearing this week. Judge Boyle's hearing had previously been stalled by Senator John Edwards. During the hearing Ted Kennedy criticized Boyle because he's ruling have "been reversed on appeal far more than any other district judge in the 4th Circuit." In fact, Boyle's reversal rate was misrepresented by Democrats, the Charlotte Observer notes: It was Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who challenged Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., on his claim that 12 percent of Boyle's appealed decisions were reversed -- twice as...

Senator Arlen Specter, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said today that his panel would hold confirmation hearings next week for two of President Bush's nominees for federal judgeships, who had been blocked earlier by Senate Democrats. Mr. Specter said the committee would hold a hearing on Tuesday for William G. Myers III, a nominee for the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and on Thursday for District Judge Terrence W. Boyle, a nominee for the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. "I have a commitment to the president to give his nominees prompt hearings and to...

Refusing to be brushed off by Democratic opposition in the Senate, President Bush plans to nominate for a second time 20 people who did not receive up or down votes on their nominations for federal judgeships. ...snip... When the 109th Congress convenes on Jan. 4, Bush intends to re-nominate the following 12 individuals for the U.S. Court of Appeals: Terrence W. Boyle, 4th Circuit; Priscilla Richman Owen, 5th Circuit; David W. McKeague, 6th Circuit; Susan Bieke Neilson, 6th Circuit; Henry W. Saad, 6th Circuit; Richard A. Griffin, 6th Circuit; William H. Pryor; 11th Circuit; William Gerry Myers III, 9th Circuit;...

It's a clear case of obstructing justice, and it ought to be a crime. Problem is, the obstruction is going on in the U.S. Senate. And though he's just a freshman, John Edwards [related, bio] has already become a master of the game.       Yesterday President Bush [related, bio] attempted to blow the whistle - again - on the cynical games being played by Democratic members of the Senate who have held up the nominations of dozens of members of the federal judiciary.      Yesterday Bush visited North Carolina and Michigan where a total of nine vacancies exist on the federal...

UPI White House Correspondent WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush slammed Democratic sidelining of his judicial nominees Wednesday, saying Senate Democrats were ignoring a federal judicial crisis and using issue litmus tests on those selected to sit on a federal bench. "These judges deserve better treatment in the United States Senate," he said. "A minority of senators apparently don't want judges who strictly interpret and apply the law. Evidently, they want activist judges who will rewrite the law from the bench." Bush made the comment in Raleigh, N.C., where he met with three of his picks whose...