Attorney General Michael Mukasey speaking at the American Enterprise Institute [AEI] today called on Congress to act on detainees at Guantanamo Bay possibly trying to usurp the court system. Under the rules of habeas corpus, the 270 detainees at Guantanamo Bay have a constitutional right to challenge their detentions. The overriding issue facing the judicial system at the moment is when they are allowed to pursue legal action under habeas corpus. Mukasey called on Congress to draft legislation that would “act to resolve these difficult questions that have been left unanswered.” (more…)

A block away from the Potomac River at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Attorney General Michael Mukasey lauded the Office of Violence Against Women’s (OVW) efforts to fight sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and domestic violence across the country at the second Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Regional Summit.

“Let me be clear. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is committed to fighting violence against women,” Mukasey said. (more…)

Attorney General Michael Mukasey highlights the accomplishments of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) on its efforts to improve services and support for victims. (3:30)

 

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Dr. Adbul Jabbar Sabit, the Attorney General of Afghanistan spoke about the rule of law and its presence in Afghanistan. He said rule of law is a problem in Afghanistan and in the last 20 months he visited 18 provinces and made around 370 arrests. He said the arrests were mainly high-ranking officials, like deputy governors and chief financial officers of the provinces.

He said one of the main problems with the rule of law in Afghanistan is that the court system, which is completely independent, is full of corruption. As a result, he said, a fair percent of the perpetrators were acquitted and those that were convicted received much less severe sentences than their crimes called for.

He said that in a lot of provinces not all citizens are equal, for example, some of the governors are really warlords and perpetrate criminal action in their provinces. Sadit said that these warlord governors are too powerful for the government to restrain and therefore above the law.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey explains that much of organized crime is now internet based at CSIS discussion on international organized crime. (0:55)

 

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Attorney General Michael Mukasey discusses the progression of organized crime organizations during his speech today at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. (0:29)

 

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Attorney General Michael Mukasey spoke before the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) about the challenges the US faces in combating the growing threat of international organized crime.

Mukasey’s speech focused on examining the many different types of threats the US faces, and what our government is doing to combat such threats. Mukasey noted that the enemy we face is constantly becoming more advanced, often using the internet and cyber technology to do things such as launder money and communicate with other criminal groups. He described international criminal organizations as “alive and well,” noting that organized crime groups deal with everything from smuggled cigarettes to manufacturing drugs.

The Attorney General emphasized that the government has been successful in foiling criminal plots in places such as New Jersey and Los Angeles, and talked about how our leaders have communicated with law enforcement agencies abroad to stop more crime from emerging around the world.

Mukasey said that by prioritizing the threats of criminal groups facing our nation (he suggested we worry about the greatest risks facing us first), and by having our governmental agencies share information about crime amongst one another, we can continue to succeed in keeping America safe.

Attorney General Mukasey responds to a question when asked if adding more man power to the FBI is the best course of action (1:20)

 

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Attorney General Mukasey says that government employees do not get immunity unless they received a direct notification from the government and the president that they were being asked to do something “that was lawful and that served national security,” or they were unaware of their involvement. (1:11)

 

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This morning, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies under the Committee on Appropriations, heard Mukasey’s testimony on the U.S. Department of Justice’s budget. The 2009 budget request of 22.7 billion dollars “will allow us to accomplish our mission and to focus on several of the priorities I’ve discussed in other settings. These are national security, violent crime, immigration and border security, and public corruption.”

A large portion of the proposed budget is allocated toward the FBI. Mukasey says that there is a “relatively new mission” within the FBI, which is that of intelligence gathering. When asked more specifically about how the money will be used, approximately 280 agents will be hired along with 271 intelligence analysts.

While providing detailed information, at times Mukasey didn’t comment on questions saying he needed to look into them. He was urged greatly by committee members to find the answers they sought, including looking into the allocation of additional funding for border security, especially in Tucson. When challenged that when drug smugglers are arrested and then released for having anything less than 500 pounds of drugs, Mukasey’s defense skirted away from the issue.