Nov 04, 2014 · President Bush announced Mr. Ashcroft as his pick for attorney general on December 22, 2000, and he became the 79th attorney general. His resignation took effect on February 3, 2005, after serving four years as attorney general.
John Ashcroft is a true Missouri success story. He was raised in the Ozarks, elected governor and U.S. Senator, and then appointed attorney general of the United States. His term as attorney general will be remembered for the period during and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when his office was given tremendous powers under the Patriot Act.
John Ashcroft, who was consistently hostile to civil liberties, was appointed Attorney General by the newly elected President George W. Bush. Ashcroft was confirmed by the Senate on this day by a vote of 58–42. Ashcroft was a key administration... #ashcroftjohn #patriotact #wallofseparation
John Ashcroft, a longtime Missouri political figure, was appointed U.S. Attorney General in 2001 by George W. Bush. Ashcroft graduated from Yale and earned a law degree at the University of Chicago. He was Missouri’s attorney general from 1976-85, the state’s governor from 1985-93, and a U.S. senator from 1995-2001. In 2000 Ashcroft ran for re-election against Democrat Mel …
Jan 13, 2015 · The son and grandson of ministers, Ashcroft also was attorney general of Missouri, elected to the post in 1976 and 1980. He was appointed state auditor in 1973. Prior to entering public service ...
Alberto Gonzales | |
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Official portrait, 2005 | |
80th United States Attorney General | |
In office February 3, 2005 – September 17, 2007 | |
President | George W. Bush |
Ashcroft moved back to the Show Me State after completing law school to teach busin ess law at Southwest Missouri State University, but his sights were set on making laws, not teaching them. So in 1973 he set off for the realm of public service and a job in the State Auditor’s Office.
John Ashcroft was born in Chicago on May 9, 1942. He and his family moved to Springfield soon after, primarily to be closer to the headquarters of the Assemblies of God. The deeply religious and goal-driven young man graduated from Hillcrest High School with honors and set off for Yale University. After graduating from the Ivy League, he went on to receive his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1967.
Carnahan's wife was appointed to take her husband's seat, and as Ashcroft's consolation prize he was appointed US Attorney General by George W. Bush, a job that made him the nation's highest law enforcement officer.
Ashcroft studied law at Yale, and promptly secured a position teaching law at Southwest Missouri State University -- a job which carried the perk of immunity from the Vietnam era draft. He was appointed state auditor in 1973, and promoted to assistant attorney general in 1975.
He has said he was anointed with oil "in the manner of King David" as he took each successive political office in his career. When he became a Senator his father anointed him with Crisco brand cooking oil, and died the next day. Before becoming Attorney General, Ashcroft had Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomasdo the anointing.
After graduating from Columbia Law School, Holder joined the U.S. Justice Department 's new Public Integrity Section, where he worked from 1976 to 1988. During his time there, he assisted in the prosecution of Democratic Congressman John Jenrette for bribery discovered in the Abscam sting operation. In 1988, Ronald Reagan appointed Holder to serve as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Holder stepped down from the bench in 1993 to accept an appointment as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from President Bill Clinton. He was the first Black American U.S. Attorney in that office.
In 2004, Holder helped negotiate an agreement with the Justice Department for Chiquita Brands International in a case that involved Chiquita's payment of "protection money" to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a group on the U.S. government's list of foreign terrorist organizations. In the agreement, Chiquita's officials pleaded guilty and paid a fine of $25 million. Holder represented Chiquita in the civil action that grew out of this criminal case. In March 2004, Holder and Covington & Burling were hired by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to act as a special investigator to the Illinois Gaming Board. The investigation was subsequently canceled on May 18, 2004.
In April 2012, Issa announced that his committee was drafting a Contempt of Congress resolution against Holder in response to the committee allegedly being "stonewalled by the Justice Department" on additional documents.
On March 6, 2013, Holder testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that the size of large financial institutions has made it difficult for the Justice Department to bring criminal charges when they are suspected of crimes, because such charges can threaten the existence of a bank and therefore their interconnectedness may endanger the national or global economy. (See financial contagion ). "Some of these institutions have become too large," Holder told the Committee, "It has an inhibiting impact on our ability to bring resolutions that I think would be more appropriate."
Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African American to hold the position of U.S. Attorney General.
Republicans on the House Government Reform Committee disagreed with Holder's version and alleged that he was a knowing participant, according to a 2003 report. They said Holder failed to fully inform prosecutors of the pending pardon, and they criticized his "neutral leaning favorable" opinion to Clinton.