Steve Neavling

Attorney General Eric Holder defended the secret gathering of telephone records at the Associated Press on Wednesday, citing a serious national security leak, the AP reports.

Grilled by Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House, Holder testified that he has faith in those conducting the investigation and recused himself from the case because “I’m a possessor of information eventually leaked.”

Holder said he couldn’t explain the subpoenas or why the IRS didn’t try to negotiate with the news agency to get the records, the AP wrote.

Members of Congress weren’t happy.

“There doesn’t appear to be any acceptance of responsibility for things that have gone wrong,” Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., told Holder.

Steve Neavling

Attorney General Eric Holder said he’s prevented the furloughs of prison staffers nationwide to protect prison staff, inmates and the public, the Associated Press reports.

Holder prevented the furloughs of some 38,000 employees at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons by moving $150 million from from Justice Department account, the AP wrote.

The Justice Department has already been forced to cut $1.6 billion from its budget.

It’s not yet clear which department agencies will absorb the $150 million that won’t be saved from furloughs.

“I am deeply troubled by the impact the sequester will have on the department’s capacity to prevent terrorism, combat violent crime, partner with states and local law enforcement agencies and protect the judiciary and our most vulnerable citizens,” Holder wrote.

Attorney General Eric Holder

 Attorney General Eric Holder will stay on the job for another year during President Obama’s second term, Fox News reports.

Citing senior administration officials, Fox News said Obama wants to prevent a mass exodus from his administration at the end of his first term.

That follows news that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to leave soon.

Among those mentioned a potential replacements are Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Steve Neavling

The FBI has accused Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne of leaving the scene of an accident because he was trying to conceal a relationship with a female employee, the Associated Press reports.

In a report obtained by the AP, agents said Horne was having an affair with Assistant Attorney General Carmen Chenal at her apartment. When he backed into a parked Range Rover, the FBI said Horne left the scene because he didn’t want evidence of the affair.

Horne was charged last week with a misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident.

Horne originally claimed that he didn’t leave a note because he didn’t believe there was any damage, the AP reported.

Steve Neavling

Unaware he was being watched by the FBI, Attorney General Tom Horne damaged a parked car and left the scene, authorities said, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

“Apparently at the time, I didn’t think it was damaged,” Horne told the Daily Star. “I was told later it was damaged. I was happy to pay if there was any damage.”

But more may have been involved, according to Monday’s release of investigation records into Horne’s suspicious fundraising for his election campaign.

The Daily Star reports that Horne was driving a car with Carmen Chenal, a disbarred attorney, when he backed into a Range Rover, drove away and then parked in a parking garage

It’s illegal to leave the scene of a crash without reporting it to authorities. Police are investigating.

DEA photo

Nine former heads of the DEA sent a strong message to Attorney General Eric Holder: Fight against efforts to legalize recreational marijuana in three states, the Reuters reports.

Failing to say anything, they said, would suggest he condones legalization.

The former officials told Holder that legalization would fly in the face of federal law, according to Reuters.

“To continue to remain silent conveys to the American public and the global community a tacit acceptance of these dangerous initiatives,” said a copy of the letter obtained by Reuters.

Voters in three states – Colorado, Washington state and Oregon – are set to decide in November whether to legalize pot for recreation.

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Steve Neavling

Congressional Republicans are questioning why Attorney General Eric Holder is using the FBIs jet for business and personal travel, the Washington Post reports.

Lawmakers sent a letter Thursday to FBI Director Robert Mueller, saying the federal agencies operate on different budgets.

“It is our understanding that the Justice Department does not reimburse the FBI, or other components, for its executive travel expenses even though the Justice Department maintains its own travel budget,” the letter states, according to the Washington Post.

Republicans questioned whether the use of the jet hampered the agency’s readiness.

“We heard troubling allegations that the Attorney General is among those who have reserved and used FBI planes for his own travel when aircraft were needed for FBI missions, then upgraded to a larger aircraft owned by a different agency and left the FBI plane sitting idle,” the lawmakers wrote

Steve Neavling

 Hoping to compel Attorney General Eric Holder to release documents related to the botched gun-walking case Operation Fast and Furious, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee plans  Monday to file a civil contempt suit today against the AG, CBS News reports.

The lawsuit comes after the White House and Justice Department said Holder wouldn’t face criminal prosecution for withholding records of a botched case.

President Obama asserted executive privilege in the case, a move that legal experts said would head off prosecution, CBS News reported.

Democrats blame the controversy over the records on election-year politics.