Attorney General

A rare left-right agreement in Washington: disliking the attorney general.

I confess to a weakness for the attorney general, Jeff Sessions. I say this despite the fact that I disagree with him on various issues​—​civil-asset forfeiture, for example, and the opioid crisis. But as is often the case in politics, certain whimsical reasons recommend him. To my mind, his very…

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump admired President Obama’s willingness to go around Congress and make law on his own authority. So it was reasonable to think that Trump, too, might become a unilateralist. But that isn’t happening.

Consider this imaginary situation: A new chief of staff can organize President Trump’s harum-scarum White House operation into a crack, disciplined, and loyal team, or he can stop the president from tweeting. eThe catch is he can do one of these but not both. Which should he choose?

Mark Herring, Virginia’s attorney general, wanted to run for governor this fall. But Terry McAuliffe, the current governor, thought otherwise. And his endorsement of lieutenant governor Ralph Northam for the Democratic nomination for governor sent a blunt message to Herring: forget it.

Mark Herring, Virginia’s attorney general, wanted to run for governor this fall. But Terry McAuliffe, the current governor, thought otherwise. And his endorsement of lieutenant governor Ralph Northam for the Democratic nomination for governor sent a blunt message to Herring: forget it.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley announced Monday evening that he is running for Senate in 2018. The young Republican may prove the most formidable challenger yet to Claire McCaskill, who is widely seen as one of the Senate’s most vulnerable Democrats.

When the new Congress convened in January, its immediate focus was the administrative state. After passing the Midnight Rules Relief Act to accelerate the process for nullifying the Obama administration’s major regulations, the House promptly passed the REINS Act—the Regulations from the Executive…

In many quarters of the American news media today, seasoned journalists seem incapable of pondering those parts of reality that don’t complement their political worldviews. It goes beyond “bias”—we’re all biased. This is negligence.

In many quarters of the American news media today, seasoned journalists seem incapable of pondering those parts of reality that don’t complement their political worldviews. It goes beyond “bias”—we’re all biased. This is negligence.

Donald Trump is angry and frustrated with the federal investigation into Russian meddling in our election. In his view, the inquiry doesn’t just call into question the legitimacy of his election. Now he feels his own family is a target and under siege. Trump blames the highest-ranking members of…

Donald Trump is angry and frustrated with the federal investigation into Russian meddling in our election. In his view, the inquiry doesn’t just call into question the legitimacy of his election. Now he feels his own family is a target and under siege. Trump blames the highest-ranking members of…

Amid Thursday’s over-hyped brouhaha about Jeff Sessions meeting with the Russian ambassador, a curious detail emerged. In Sessions's recusal memo, it was explained who at the Justice Department would be handling any investigations into the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia. "Consistent with…

Democrats were decimated at nearly every level of government over the past six years. Republicans control the House and may well do so for the foreseeable future; the party is looking at a very favorable Senate map in 2018. Democrats control just 31 of the 99 state legislative chambers across the…

Alabama's Jeff Sessions was confirmed by the Senate as President Trump's attorney general Wednesday night by a 52 to 47 vote.

Acting attorney general Sally Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration, has ordered DOJ attorneys not to defend President Trump's controversial executive order which temporarily bans those from seven countries, from entering the country. The countries were chosen as part of the Visa Waiver…

From the moment Donald Trump picked Senator Jeff Sessions to be the next attorney general, it was clear what Democrats would need to defeat the Sessions nomination: a surprise witness. It was such a witness whose testimony led to the Senate's rejection of Sessions for a federal judgeship in 1986.

The first day of the confirmation hearing for attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions could have been a zoo. As one of Donald Trump's earliest and most ardent supporters, Sessions might have been the first opportunity for Democrats and the activist left to indirectly channel their opposition to the…

South Carolina senator Tim Scott says he will support his fellow Republican senator, Jeff Sessions, for attorney general. In a statement released late on the eve of Sessions's confirmation hearing, Scott allowed that while he and the Alabama senator "may not agree on everything", he would…

Senator Jeff Sessions begins confirmation hearings on Tuesday to become the next attorney general. Since President-elect Donald Trump nominated the Alabama Republican to the post in November, critics have resurrected old allegations that Sessions is racist. The allegations were first made in the…

Liberals and the environmental left have gone into a tizzy over the selection of Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt as Donald Trump's pick to head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Justice Department occupies a very delicate place our constitutional system. On the one hand, the attorney general serves at the pleasure of the president, who can fire his AG any time, for any reason or for no reason at all, which (as Justice Scalia explained) ensures that the people remain a…

The drive by Republican state attorneys general to block the overreach by the federal government into state affairs got a boost yesterday from the primary victory of Josh Hawley as Missouri AG. If elected, Hawley will add a state the growing movement of state attorneys general.

Confirming a new attorney general is near the top of the new Senate's to-do list. The power not to confirm the president's nominees is near the top of the Republicans' new consignment of political clout. Needless to say, without the White House, the GOP can't implement their preferred policies, but…

During his confirmation hearing in early 2009, Eric Holder declared he would not politicize the Justice Department. Yet throughout more than five years in office, the attorney general has done just that—without objection from President Obama, who obviously  paid no heed to Holder’s promise. Indeed,…

Texas attorney general Greg Abbott has a famous saying: “What I really do for fun is I go into the office [and] sue the Obama administration.” Abbott’s relentless struggle against an administration that routinely exceeds its authority and tramples on federalism made him the ringleader among the two…

The attorney general of Maryland was criticized for attending an underage party that his son was DJ-ing. There you are, a reporter pointed to a picture of the party, "In front of two guys, their shirts off, with a girl twerking in between."

A visitor to Richmond can’t leave without a trip to John Marshall’s house, a living shrine to the greatest chief justice in the history of the United States. Passing through the halls of his former home, it is as if the spirit of the great man is present in the articles he used and the rooms he…

The White House defended Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to invite press to an off-the-record briefing by saying Holder "is interested in having a constructive policy discussion with professional journalists about a subject most people think is a complex policy issue." White House spokesman…

The office Deval Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts, confirms to the White House press corps that he'll be dining with President Obama tonight at the White House.

Attorney General Eric Holder avoided commenting on the Fast and Furious scandal in Boston today. The Boston Herald reports:

Texas senator John Cornyn called into question the intelligence of Attorney General Eric Holder earlier today in a radio interview. "Do you think Holder is smart?," radio host Laura Ingraham asked Cornyn. "I have not been impressed with his intelligence," Cornyn responded.

Texas senator John Cornyn told Attorney General Eric Holder to resign earlier today at a hearing on Capitol Hill: