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9 unusual facts about United States Attorney General


1964 Democratic National Convention

On the last day of the convention, Kennedy's brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy introduced a short film in honor of his brother's memory.

Charles Henry Butler

Born in New York City, he was the grandson of United States Attorney General Benjamin F. Butler.

History of the United States National Security Council 1993–present

Although not a member, the Attorney General would be invited to attend meetings pertaining to his jurisdiction.

Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001

In June 2002, after Vice President Dick Cheney called Goss and Graham to chastise them for a media leak from the inquiry, they asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate the leak.

Legal status of Internet pornography

The production of sexually explicit materials is regulated under 18 U.S.C. 2257, requiring "original" producers to retain records showing that all performers were over the age of 18 at the time of the production for inspection by the Attorney General.

Let the Eagle Soar

"Let the Eagle Soar" is a song written by former Missouri Senator and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who is seen singing the song at a Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary function in 2002.

Operation TIPS

President Bush's then-Attorney General, John Ashcroft denied that private residences would be surveilled by private citizens operating as government spies.

Radical Republican

Lincoln put all factions in his cabinet, including Radicals like Salmon P. Chase (Secretary of the Treasury), whom he later appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, James Speed (Attorney General) and Edwin M. Stanton (Secretary of War).

Seal of the United States Senate

The seals symbolized Kennedy's career in the U.S. government, first as United States Attorney General and later as a senator from New York.


1973 NFL season

NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle refused to lift the blackout, despite a plea from United States Attorney General Richard Kleindienst.

2013 Department of Justice investigations of reporters

In 2013, the United States Department of Justice, under Attorney General Eric Holder, came under scrutiny from the media and some members of Congress for subpoenaing phone records from the Associated Press and naming Fox News reporter, James Rosen, a "criminal co-conspirator" under the Espionage Act of 1917 in order to gain access to his personal emails and phone records.

Ashcroft v. Iqbal

At issue was whether current and former federal officials, including FBI Director Robert Mueller and former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft, were entitled to qualified immunity against an allegation that they knew of or condoned racial and religious discrimination against individuals detained after the September 11 attacks.

Bank Transfer Day

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, dated October 13, 2011, U.S. Representative Peter Welch and four other Democrats asked Holder to investigate whether big banks violated antitrust laws before announcing the fees.

Chauncey Forward Black

Born in Glades, Pennsylvania on November 24, 1839, he was the son of justice for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Secretary of State Jeremiah S. Black and Mary (Forward) Black, and the grandson of Representative Henry Black and Mary (Sullivan) Black.

Cornelius Wendell Wickersham

Cornelius Wendell Wickersham was born on June 25, 1885 in Greenwich, Connecticut as a son of George W. Wickersham, an American lawyer and future United States Attorney General.

Donald Barr

He and his wife Mary had four children, including Attorney General William P. Barr.

Edmund Jenings

They were parents of Edmund Jenings Randolph, who was Governor of Virginia and the first Attorney General of the United States under George Washington.

Edward H. Levi

Edward Hirsch Levi (June 26, 1911 – March 7, 2000) was an American academic leader, scholar, and statesman who served as United States Attorney General.

Elbert Tuttle

In the aftermath of the disputed 1966 Georgia gubernatorial election between Democrat Lester Maddox and Republican Howard "Bo" Callaway, Tuttle joined Democratic Judge Griffin Bell, later the United States Attorney General, in striking down the Georgia constitutional provision requiring that the legislature chose the governor if no general election candidate receives a majority of the vote.

Euclid Trucks

In 1959 the Department of Justice under Attorney General William P. Rogers initiated an anti-trust suit, under the Clayton Act, against General Motors Corporation.

FBI Directorate of Intelligence

Following the passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, United States Attorney General John Ashcroft ordered the established a dedicated intelligence unit separate from the CTD.

Federal Wire Act

After being selected to become US Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy suggested to the 87th United States Congress to pass legislation which would make interstate gambling illegal.

Frederick Bernard Lacey

In 1992 he was appointed by United States Attorney General William Barr to investigate whether the Government mishandled a fraud case involving Banca Nazionale del Lavoro.

George J. Terwilliger III

He is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and is a former United States Deputy Attorney General and acting United States Attorney General.

Italian-American Civil Rights League

The group then turned its attention to what it perceived as cultural slights against Italian-Americans, using boycott threats to force Alka-Seltzer and The Ford Motor Company to withdraw television commercials the league objected to, and also got United States Attorney General John Mitchell to order the United States Justice Department to stop using the word "Mafia" in official documents and press releases.

John B. Sanborn, Jr.

Part of that time was spent with the firm owned by future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Pierce Butler and future U.S. Attorney General William D. Mitchell.

John Coit Spooner

A popular figure in Republican politics, he turned down three cabinet posts during his political career: Secretary of the Interior in President William McKinley's administration in 1898, Attorney General under President McKinley in 1901, and Secretary of State in President William Howard Taft's administration in 1909.

John Joseph Leibrecht

He was a close friend of the late J. Robert Ashcroft, President of Evangel University and father of former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

John Katzenbach

Son of Nicholas Katzenbach, former United States Attorney General, Katzenbach worked as a criminal court reporter for the Miami Herald and Miami News , and a featured writer for the Herald’s Tropic magazine.

Marriott Wardman Park

Attorney General Michael Mukasey collapsed on November 20, 2008, while giving a speech to the Federalist Society in Washington D.C. at the hotel.

Mitchell v. Forsyth

In 1970, John N. Mitchell, Attorney General, authorized a warrantless wiretap for the purpose of gathering intelligence regarding the activities of a radical group that had made tentative plans to take actions threatening the Nation's security.

Mo Rothman

While abroad, United States Attorney General James P. McGranery revoked Chaplin's re-entry permit and would not allow him to return to the United States.

Munson Report

The Munson Report was circulated to several Cabinet officials, including Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, Attorney General Francis Biddle, and Secretary of State Cordell Hull.

Nitke v. Gonzales

Alberto Gonzales was the Attorney General of the United States at the time, making him the named defendant in this case.

Patriot Act, Title I

Section 104 amended title 18 of the United States Code to allow the Attorney General to request assistance from the Department of Defense when weapons of mass destruction are used unlawfully within the United States, or are unlawfully used outside the country by U.S. citizens.

Samuel Huston Thompson

He later served as assistant U.S. attorney general under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1918 and on the Federal Trade Commission from 1919 to 1927.

Shoup Voting Machine Corporation

In July 1971, United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell announced that the Shoup Voting Machine Corp. of Philadelphia, its subsidiary Southern Municipal Sales, Inc., Shoup president Irving H. Myers, company executive vice president Martin V. Schott, several other Shoup employees, and other individuals had been indicted by a Philadelphia grand jury for a total of four indictments for bribery, mail fraud, and conspiracy.

Thomas J. Pickard

On June 25, 2001, Pickard was appointed Acting Director of the FBI by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Willacy Detention Center

In November 2008 Alberto Gonzales, former Attorney General of the United States was indicted along with Dick Cheney and other elected officials, by a Willacy County grand jury.

William F. Cercone

Cercone also served in a number of other public attorney positions: special deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania, special assistant to the United States Attorney General, and attorney for the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Pennsylvania and Ohio.


see also

Benjamin Brewster

Benjamin H. Brewster (1816–1888), United States Attorney General, 1881–1885

Pete Perry

On February 9, 2005 Perry and activists David Barrows and Midge Potts protested US torture and the nomination and confirmation hearings of Alberto Gonzalez for United States Attorney General.

Samuel F. Snively

At the time, Brewster was the United States Attorney General in the cabinet of Chester A. Arthur.

Thomas Gregory

Thomas Watt Gregory (1861–1933), American attorney and United States Attorney General