Steve Neavling

Eight months after being nominated, Terrence Berg, the former interim U.S. Attorney in Detroit, was confirmed Thursday by the U.S. Senate for a U.S. District Court judgeship in Detroit,  the Detroit Free Press reports.

Berg had been waiting for Senate approval since President Obama nominated him to the seat in April.

Berg is well-respected, Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, told the Free Press.

“It’s not like he’s going to be unfamiliar with the federal bench,” he said. “He’s an experienced, well-qualified choice.”

A just-released Senate report on Mexico drug trafficking urges  judicial and police reforms in Mexico and calls for the Obama Administration to provide more resources to its southern neighbor and  to do more to starve Mexico’s drug trafficking organizations of the money that fuels them.

The  report, issued by The U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control,  also recommends that the   Obama Administration take immediate steps to make pre-paid gift and credit cards – known as stored value – subject to cross-border reporting requirements.

The cards are currently not subject to any cross-border reporting requirements, which allows dirty money to cross the border unchecked.

The report also urges the State Department to expedite the delivery of  resources and develop performance measures for delivering equipment and implementing  judicial and police reform.

The U.S. government has  provided Mexico with 11 helicopters – eight Bell 412 helicopters for the Mexican military and three Blackhawk helicopters for the country’s federal police.  Six more Blackhawk helicopters are still in the pipeline, authorities said.

“The United States provides counternarcotics assistance throughout the world,” the report said. “But, our security partnership with Mexico is unique. We share a 1,969 mile border. What happens in Mexico has a deep impact on the United States and the reciprocal is also true.

“The Mexican government must continue to combat its country’s violent drug trafficking organizations and curb the supply of illicit drugs flowing into our country. It also must take action to better secure its northern border as well as its southern border with Central America to prevent illegal narcotics, weapons, and illicit proceeds from entering the country.

“At the same time, the U.S. must take action to better counter the southbound traffic of money and firearms that fuel the drug trafficking organizations, while also working to reduce our country’s massive demand for illegal narcotics.”

The Senate caucus is co-chaired by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Ia.).

To read full report click here.

By Allan Lengel

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved Stacia A.  Hylton as the new U.S. Marshal by unanimous consent.

Authorities said Hylton returns to the U.S. Marshals Service after operating her own consulting company, Hylton Kirk & Associates.

She served in federal law enforcement for 29 years, including as the Federal Detention Trustee from 2004-2010 and in a number of leadership positions in the Marshals Service from 1980-2004, including Acting Deputy Director, Assistant Director of Prisoner Operations, Chief Deputy in the District of South Carolina and Chief of Judicial Security Programs.

“I am pleased that Stacia Hylton will return to the U.S. Marshals Service to build upon 29 years of distinguished service at the department,” said Atty. General Eric Holder Jr.

Jeff Carter, a spokesman for the Marshals Service told ticklethewire.com that the current Marshal John Clark will step down Jan. 3 to enter private industry.  Later in the morning, Clark issued a statement saying has accepted a position  at Lockheed Martin as director of security operations for information systems and global solutions.

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Michele Leonhart

WASHINGTON – After serving as acting head of the DEA since November 2007, Michele Leonhart finally got confirmed as the permanent leader of the agency.

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday night unanimously voted to confirm Leonhart, making her the 10th administrator in the DEA’s history, the agency said.

Leonhart is the first female DEA Special Agent to rise through the ranks of the agency to become its Administrator and the second woman to lead the DEA, the agency said. She joined the agency in 1980.

“I am extremely humbled and honored to have the opportunity to continue to lead the world’s premier drug law enforcement organization,” Leonhart said in a statement after the Senate vote.

“I am dedicated to meeting the challenges that DEA faces, from disrupting and dismantling extremely violent Mexican based drug cartels; to defeating narco-terrorists operating in Afghanistan and around the world; and doing all we can to reduce prescription drug abuse, our nation’s fastest growing drug threat.”

“I applaud the unanimous confirmation of Michele Leonhart, and agree with the strong bipartisan consensus validating her proven qualifications and effectiveness to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration,” said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Leonhart’s long-term status as “acting” head of the agency became a point of irritation to some current and former agents. They felt the White House didn’t care enough about the DEA to address the issue.

Whatever the case, a number of people offered laudatory words.

Margaret Moore, president of Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE) remarked: “We are confident that the newly confirmed Administrator will uphold the finest traditions of DEA and provide the constant guidance and leadership for this outstanding law enforcement agency.”

doj photo

Attorney Gen. Eric Holder Jr. fired off a letter Thursday to Senate leaders urging them not to pass legislation blocking the administration from moving Guantanamo terrorist suspects to U.S. soil.

“This provision goes well beyond existing law and would unwisely restrict the ability of the Executive branch to prosecute alleged terrorists in Federal courts or military commissions in the United States as well as its ability to incarcerate those convicted in such tribunals,” Holder wrote to Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell.

The letter came at the heels of House vote approving legislation to bar transfers.

Passage would put the kabosh on the administration’s hopes of trying some terrorist suspects in U.S. federal court.

“It would therefore be unwise, and would set a dangerous precedent with serious implications for the impartial administration of justice, for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Executive branch to prosecute terrorists in these venues,” Holder wrote. “The exercise of prosecutorial discretion has always been and must remain an Executive branch function. ”

To read the full letter click here.

Michele Leonhart/dea photo

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday gave the nod to Michele Leonhart to head the DEA and Stacia Hylton to head up the U.S. Marshals Service. The approval came by way of a voice vote on both presidential nominees.

The nominations now go before the full Senate for a final vote.

For Leonhart, who has been acting head of the DEA since 2007, the nod by the Judiciary brought her one step closer to getting the permanent post.

Some current and former DEA agents have complained that the Obama administration has been slow to push the confirmation through.

By Allan Lengel

The entertainment factor in the trial of ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich continues to be strong.

Tapes played Monday during his public corruption trial show Blagojevich tossed around some names to fill the Senate seat vacated by President Obama and mentioned Oprah Winfrey, the Chicago Tribune reported.

His chief of staff John Harris apparently didn’t see that as a reasonable idea, the paper reported.

In a secretly recorded conversation played in court, Harris told Blagojevich the idea sounded “crazy.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Blagojevich said.

“Oprah, by the way, is not far-fetched,” Blagojevich said. “She’s up there so high, no one can assail this pick.”

Later, in a wiretapped conversation, Blagojevich and Harris agreed it would be best to pick an African American, the Trib reported.

Blagojevich said it would be best to find a “black Albert Einstein or something.”

One thing that is likely beyond dispute: Blagojevich is no Albert Einstein.

Blagojevich is accused of using his office for personal benefit of trying to sell the seat vacated by President Obama.

He’s expected to testify on his own behalf.

OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• Chicago Gun Ban May Be on Way Out But Mayor Vows to Fight (AP)
• Ex-Chicago Officer’s Torture Case May Not Be the Last (AP)
• Hamas Spy Finds Home in Calif., Seeks Asylum (AP)
• 524 Guard Soldiers Headed to Mexico-Arizona Border (AP)
• Supreme Court Orders Review of Conviction of Ex-Ala. Gov  Siegelman (Wall Street Journal)
• Husband of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies (Wall Street Journal)

Gov. Blago stuck to the script: Defiant and bold to the end.

BY CHRIS FUSCO and DAVE McKINNEY
Chicago Sun-Times
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Blagojevich, making a final plea to the Illinois Senate to avoid being thrown out of office as early as this afternoon, declared this morning “I want to apologize to you guys, but I can’t; I did nothing wrong.”
The governor spoke for about 50 minutes, ending his statement at 11:55 a.m. Near the end, he told the senators, “I am not resigning.”
The governor, who kissed his wife goodbye at their Northwest Side front door before flying to Springfield to plead his case, was escorted into the Senate chamber at 11:05 a.m. by the senate’s sergeant at arms. That came after House prosecutor David Ellis made his closing statement to Illinois senators, the jurors of the governor’s fate.

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