A demonstration in Chicago in 2006 protests the Bush administration's wiretapping program.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The highly controversial warrantless surveillance program initiated by President George W. Bush began within weeks of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a newly released report to Congress compiled by the inspectors general of the nation's top intelligence agencies, the Pentagon, and the Justice Department.

The report, mandated by Congress, provides context to information that has been leaked in press accounts and buttressed by congressional testimony and in books authored by former officials involved in the surveillance effort.

The report notes that several members of Congress — including then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Nancy Pelosi — were briefed on the program on October 25, 2001, and a total of 17 times before the program became public in 2005.

Among other things, the report also cites a Justice Department conclusion that "it was extraordinary and inappropriate that a single DOJ attorney, John Yoo, was relied upon to conduct the initial legal assessment of the (surveillance program)."

"The lack of oversight and review of Yoo's work … contributed to a legal analysis of the (program) that at a minimum was factually flawed," it says.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Obama administration has promised to classify photos of alleged U.S. abuse of prisoners and detainees if that is necessary to keep the controversial photos under wraps, a senior Republican senator announced Wednesday.

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-South Carolina, informed Attorney General Eric Holder at a Judiciary Committee hearing that Graham had just won the promise from the White House chief of staff.

"A moment ago Rahm Emanuel indicated to me that the president will not let these photos see the light of day," Graham told Holder at a packed Committee hearing.

Graham is pressing for a congressional prohibition against the release of hundreds of allegedly explosive photos of prisoner abuse that U.S. military leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan believe would fuel anger in the region and endanger U.S. troops.

But if the Congress fails to act and the courts rule against the administration, it would be left to the president to find a way to keep the photos from being released.

"I think having Congress act would be a preferred way," Holder replied.
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Stephen Tyrone Johns was shot and killed while working at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Justice Department sources say no preliminary decisions have been made on what charges may be brought against the gunman in the Holocaust Memorial shootings, if the shooter survives his gunshot wounds.

Officials said it was likely that the Metropolitan Police Department may lead the investigation if a decision is made to proceed with firearms or shooting charges, while the FBI will likely be the lead if evidence leads them to file federal civil rights-related charges.

An official says if the shooter survives, charges can be brought against him whether or not he is physically able to appear in court, and if and when he becomes physically able to do so the prosecution would then commence. But it will likely be hours — maybe days — before a decision is made.

Prosecutors had no information on the suspect's medical condition.

UPDATE, 5:55 p.m.: Now that security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns has died, the rifle used by the suspect has potentially become a murder weapon. It is currently in the hands of the U.S. Park Police, which has asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to urgently trace the weapon.

The ATF has asked its weapons tracing center in West Virginia to expedite a trace on the rifle, which could be completed by tomorrow. The trace should at a minimum provide the original sale and ownership of the weapon. The ATF is also trying to determine where the weapon has been, and how it came to be used in the deadly shooting at the Holocaust Museum.

One of many questions is whether the suspect was a convicted felon who should either have turned in his weapons or been barred from owning them.

Related: Guard killed during museum shooting

Attorney General Eric Holder is tasked with pioneering a legally feasible plan to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Attorney General Eric Holder's Guantanamo Review Task Force is struggling to sort the prison detainees into five neatly ordered lists, as government lawyers try to somehow fashion a plan which will clear expected legal challenges while satisfying skeptical lawmakers and a nervous public.

Every turn appears more complicated as the weeks pass.

On the immediate heels of a demand by Congress for a clear and specific plan for emptying Guantanamo, one of President Barack Obama's top aides, David Axelrod, promised Thursday that Congress would receive such a plan, and declared the president's address Thursday represented a "framework for a plan." Administration officials indicate the plan itself is probably months away.

During an address on national security at the National Archives in Washington, Obama defended his decision to close the detention center at Guantanamo, and he outlined categories in which to separate the remaining detainees.

The framework calls for putting the names of the 240 remaining detainees into five piles, then trying to resolve the legal complexities of each.

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The Attorney General spoke at the National Press Club in Washington Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Two months after Attorney General Eric Holder was widely criticized for his assertion that Americans are a "nation of cowards" for not openly discussing race, Holder said Wednesday he now sees some movement.

"I think there is a dialogue going on. But I'm still worried the comfort level isn't there," Holder told the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Holder told the organization's luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington the discomfort is particularly evident on the subject of affirmative action. He said citizens are reluctant to speak out, fearing that they'll be "seen as a racist."

Holder said he supports affirmative action and sees it as a way "to encourage diversity where everyone wins."

The attorney general said he believes career civil rights lawyers were "cut out of the process" in important decision-making by political appointees in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division during the Bush Administration, and wants that process reversed.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — The FBI has failed to place the names of dozens of suspected terrorists on the government's watch list, an omission that could have "significant consequences to public safety," the Justice Department's watchdog says.

In a report released Wednesday, Inspector General Glenn Fine sharply criticizes the FBI for failing to add 35 terrorism subjects to the consolidated watch list, and for being slow to add many others.

He says he found at least 12 people — ones either not put on the list or added after an excessive delay — who may have been moving about the United States during the time they were not listed.

The report also says the FBI failed to remove several people from the list after they had been cleared.

The consolidated list is used to screen individuals seeking to enter the United States and those who are stopped by local police agencies. It was created in 2003 to bring order to the flurry of separate agency watch lists that quickly developed following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — A federal judge Monday granted the government's request to dismiss all charges against two former pro-Israel lobbyists who had been accused of providing U.S. military secrets to Israel.

U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis dismissed the charges against Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman after Justice Department prosecutors Friday announced their case had fallen apart, and asked the court to drop the charges.

Prosecutors said the decision was forced by adverse appeals court rulings that would have required disclosing military secrets in court and would have required a higher burden of proof to win a conviction.

Defense attorneys said the defendants were innocent of the charges and insisted the case should never have been brought in the first place.

Holder did not indicate when and how the United States would release or criminally charge detainees on U.S. soil.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Attorney General Eric Holder, speaking in Berlin Wednesday night, appealed to European nations to accept some of the detainees held by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to help the Obama Administration close down the prison facility.

"I know that Europe did not open Guantanamo, and that in fact, a great many on this continent opposed it, Holder said in his address at the American Academy of Berlin. "To close Guantanamo, we must all make sacrifices and we must all be willing to make unpopular choices," Holder said.

"The United States is ready to do its part, and we hope that Europe will join us– not out of a sense of responsibility, but from a commitment to work with one of its oldest allies to confront one of the world's most pressing challenges," the Attorney General said.

Holder did not indicate when and how the United States would release or criminally charge detainees on U.S. soil.

Hours earlier, Holder told reporters that to date 30 of the remaining 241 Guantanamo detainees have been cleared to be released. U.S. officials have signalled they expect at least a few of the 17 Chinese Muslims held at the naval prison to be freed in the U.S.

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Holder faced some tough congressional questions Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Attorney General Eric Holder was decidedly non-committal Thursday as he was buffeted on Capitol Hill by alternating demands to release — or not — more secret torture-related documents, and to prosecute — or not– Bush administration officials who wrote and approved those documents.

Holder was scheduled to appear before a House committee to discuss the Justice Department budget, but lawmakers threw away the script and overwhelmed him with pointed questions about the memos and accountability for the interrogation policies.

The toughest exchanges were with the top Republican in the session, Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia. Wolf insisted Holder provide still-secret documents which former Vice President Dick Cheney says detail valuable intelligence gained from the use of the harsh techniques against captured suspected terrorists.

"You have an obligation to release the rest of the memos," Wolf demanded.

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Some groups want Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the issue.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that he would "follow the law" as he weighed potential prosecutions of Bush administration officials who authorized controversial harsh interrogation techniques.

In Holder's first public comments on the issue since President Obama's statements on the matter Tuesday, the attorney general responded to questions briefly and cautiously.

"We are going to follow the evidence, follow the law and take that where it leads. No one is above the law," Holder said at an Earth Day event.

Some human rights groups have demanded that Holder appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the matter, but the attorney general appears to be in no hurry to decide how to proceed.

Obama said Tuesday that the attorney general would ultimately decide whether to proceed with prosecutions of those in the Bush administration who drew up the legal basis for aggressive interrogation techniques.

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Attorney General Eric Holder helped honor Janet Reno, his former boss, Friday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Eight years and three months after then-Attorney General Janet Reno hugged her Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder goodbye, now Attorney General Holder warmly embraced his former boss at ceremonies honoring Reno's career achievements.

With dozens of former Clinton administration officials and a sprinkling of career Justice Department veterans looking on, Holder heaped high praise on Reno for her famous tenacity and tireless work schedule during an often controversial eight-year tenure.

"Janet is both tough and tender," Holder told an audience at which the American Judicature Society presented Reno its annual "Justice Award."

"I don't know how many times she said to me, "What's the right thing to do'," Holder said. "It was never what's the easy thing, what's the political thing, or the expedient thing to do," he said

Holder drew knowing laughter as he recalled her alternate roles as demanding taskmaster to senior officials, while displaying great kindness to children and patience with lower-level employees and their families.
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The US-flagged container ship Maersk Alabama and its American crew, seized by Somali pirates, docked Sunday in Kenya.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Federal law enforcement authorities are discussing what to do with the lone surviving pirate captured Sunday off the Somalia coast as a successful military rescue operation abruptly ended a five-day hostage standoff at sea.

U.S. government officials are weighing potential legal hurdles they may face if the young Somali captive is flown to New York or Washington to face federal criminal charges, according to sources familiar with the case.

Officially, the government is virtually mum on the discussions.

"The Justice Department continues to review the evidence and other issues to determine whether to seek prosecution of this individual in the United States," said Dean Boyd, spokesman for the Justice Department National Security Division.

Sources who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to discuss the matter said the detained Somali youth remains in military custody, but is likely to be turned over eventually to the FBI for transport to the United States.

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Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday announced a new head of the Office of Professional Responsibility.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – One day after a federal judge erased the verdict against former Senator Ted Stevens, and criticized the Justice Department's internal ethics office, Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday announced a new head of that office.

Aides to Holder said the change at the helm of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and other announced personnel changes have nothing to do with the Office's internal investigation into the mishandling of the Stevens case.

"It is absolutely not related," said Matthew Miller, the top spokesman for Holder.

OPR, as it is known in Washington, is responsible for investigating allegations of impropriety and misconduct by Justice Department attorneys, and recommending disciplinary action.

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In his remarks, President Obama seized on Eric Holder's casual declaration in December that the president-elect might not be able to compete with him in roundball.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — When President Barack Obama attended the formal installation of Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday, the two men paid homage to the rule of law, but gave particular attention to the courts — the hard courts and their respective skills thereon.

In his remarks, Obama seized on Holder's casual declaration in December that the president-elect might not be able to compete with him in roundball.

"In fact, several months ago Eric even had the audacity to comment to a reporter on my basketball skills," the president noted. "He said, and I quote, here's what he said: 'I am not sure he is ready for my New York game.' We'll see about that Mr. Attorney General."

The challenge drew howls of laughter from a packed auditorium filled with dignitaries, Washington lawyers, political supporters and Justice officials.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – One day after the Justice Department filed suit against the state of New York over the counting of military absentee ballots in next week's special election, it announced an agreement with state officials that would extend the deadline for those voters to mid-April.

The department's lawsuit against the state and Gov. David Paterson, filed in federal district court yesterday, charged that nine of the 10 counties in New York's 20th congressional district had not given military voters enough time to fill out their ballots and return them before the deadline. The original deadline — seven days after the election — will be extended by another six days if the agreement is approved in federal court.

The new deadline of April 13 would bring the state into compliance with federal law that requires each military voter be given at least 30 days to fill out their ballot.

One year after then-presidential candidate Barack Obama called for an investigation into passport snooping of candidates' passport files by State Department employees, a second of three workers fired and prosecuted over the incident has been sentenced.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — One year after then-presidential candidate Barack Obama called for an investigation into passport snooping of candidates' passport files by State Department employees, a second of three workers fired and prosecuted over the incident has been sentenced.

Dwayne Cross, 41, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was sentenced to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. Cross, a contract employee with access to the private files, pled guilty to accessing passport applications of more than 150 politicians, actors, musicians, athletes, models and other celebrities, the Justice Department announced.

"Cross admitted that he had no official government reason to access and view these passport applications, but that his sole purpose in accessing and viewing these passport applications was idle curiosity," the Justice Department statement said.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — In a dramatic break with the Bush administration, the Justice Department on Friday announced it is doing away with the designation of "enemy combatant," which allowed the United States to hold suspected terrorists at length without criminal charges.

In a court filing in Washington, the Justice Department said it is developing a new standard for the government's authority to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

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Large holes in the Obama administration were filled Friday as Attorney General Eric Holder personally swore in his new deputy attorney general and associate attorney general.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Large holes in the Obama administration were filled Friday as Attorney General Eric Holder personally swore in his new deputy attorney general and associate attorney general, who had been confirmed by the Senate one day earlier.

The powerful second- and third-ranking Justice Department posts had been temporarily filled by career officials while Republican senators slowed the confirmation of David Ogden and Thomas Perrelli over questions about pornography and the right to die.

"You don't know how good this feels. I now have a right arm and a left arm," Holder told a crowd gathered for the swearing-in ceremony in Holder's office.

The swearing-in represented a reunion of Clinton administration lawyers. All three men had been top subordinates of then-Attorney General Janet Reno who had an often strained relationship with the White House over Justice Department-backed investigations of the president and Hillary Clinton and other administration officials.

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Led by Attorney General Eric Holder, the Obama administration's task force on Guantanamo Bay met Monday in Washington.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday called together several top administration officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, to consider what to do with the detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison.

The unannounced meeting of the Guantanamo Bay Detainee Review Task Force was convened at the Justice Department.

It also included Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, CIA Director Leon Panetta, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, White House Counsel Gregory Craig, and Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Randy Beers, representing DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.

"As coordinator of the task force, the attorney general discussed with his counterparts the process that will be used for carrying out the president's order mandating a review of all Guantanamo Bay detainees and closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within a year," said a statement issued by the Justice Department.

"They also discussed standards for detainee review, factors that will be considered in prioritizing detainee reviews, and progress that has been achieved thus far," the statement said.

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