Atty. Gen. Holder/doj file photo

There was a time in Washington where such an event would have been unheard of. That’s all changed.

Attorney General Eric Holder kicked off  the Justice Department’s annual LGBT Pride Month Program on Wednesday, celebrating contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) employees as well as the civil rights gains made across the country.

Highlights of the event’s honors, according to a press release included:

• Keynote speaker Chai Feldblum was the first openly lesbian Commisioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whom Holder described as an “advocate, a law professor, a public servant, and a pioneer.”
• The James R. Douglass Award was presented to Diana Flynn –Chief of the Civil Rights Division’s Appellate Section for raising awareness about and addressing issues facing LGBT employees in the Justice Department.
• The Roemer Award recognized legal teams from the Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, and student plaintiffs for resolving harassment of middle and high school students in the Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota.

Holder said to the crowd, “we have made meaningful, once-unimaginable progress in recent years. And we come together at an exciting moment…But there can also be little doubt that, when it comes to making good on the promise of equality for every American, the hard work is far from over.”

To read the Attorney General’s entire speech, click here.

Ex-Sen. Ted Stevens/campaign photo

Deputy Attorney Gen. James Cole testified Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the failings of prosecutors to turn over evidence in the Ted Stevens trial wasn’t systemic in the Justice Department, according to McClatchey Newspapers.

“The problem wasn’t what the rules were; the problem was that the prosecutors didn’t follow the rules,” Cole said. “We are confident, had the rules been followed, it would have been a fair and just trial.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wasn’t buying that.

She argued before the panel that legislation is needed to create a uniform standard for prosecutors  to disclose all possibly exculpatory evidence to the defense, the newspaper reported

To read more click here. 

Patrick Maley/FBI photo

Patrick Maley, head of the Birmingham, Ala. FBI office, has picked to become South Carolina’s Inspector General to head up a new agency, according to the Post and Courier.

Gov. Nikki Haley made the announcement on Wednesday.

Haley, 53, a 30 year veteran of the FBI, must be confirmed by the Senate for a four-year term, the paper reported.

“His 30 years of experience with the FBI, focusing on fraud, waste, managing costs and program evaluations will be a tremendous asset to South Carolina,” she said. “Combine that with him being a CPA and dealing with white collar crimes throughout his career.”

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