In response to a question proposed by Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Attorney General Eric Holder says he did not respond to the whims of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who claimed he would plead guilty to the terrorist activity in the military tribunal system, in formulating his decision to prosecute Mohammed using the federal court system in New York. (0:13)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), tells Attorney General Eric Holder that choosing to prosecute 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a federal courtroom is an unprecedented move and warned the Attorney General “We’re making bad history.” Holder testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. (0:39)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) calls Attorney General Eric Holder a “fine man,” but tells him that he made a mistakeby choosing to prosecute 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in federal courts in New York because Mohammed now has the right to a lawyer and other rights afforded to criminals prosecuted in the United States. (0:23)
Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) asks Attorney General Eric Holder during Senate Judiciary Committee hearing why he would choose to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, in a federal court if Mohammed said he would plead guilty and ask for an execution in military court. The question is met with scattered applause from the hearing’s audience. (0:21)
UN Correspondent Tala Dowlatshahi will be covering the launch of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) World Population Report 2009.
The Washington Bureau will be covering the following:
-The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee holds a hearing on “The Fort Hood Attack: A Preliminary Assessment.”
-Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) hold a news conference about the HSGAC hearing regarding the Ft. Hood attacks.
-Attorney General Eric Holder testifies before the Senate Judiciary.
-Senators Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Roberts (R-Kan.), and House members hold a news conference about a recent WTO ruling regarding aircraft subsidies.
-Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) host a members’ briefing on Cuba.
-The House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee holds a hearing on H1N1 Preparedness.
-GOP House members hold a news conference about Gitmo.
-Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Michaud (D-Maine) hold a news conference about WTO and trade.
-GOP women hold a news conference about mammograms and health care.
-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Dr. Jill Biden, et al. hold a news conference about the USO Care Package event for women soldiers.
-The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee holds a full committee markup of the “Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009.”
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder refers to a National Survey on Children’s Exposure to Violence conducted by his office as a “wake-up call.” The study concluded that 60 percent of children nationwide had been exposed to some form of violence within the past year. The study also found that almost half of those questioned were assaulted, 1 in every 10 suffered abuse or neglect and in 1 in every 16th was victimized sexually. (0:35)
Attorney General Eric Holder says that both he and President Barack Obama support the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, which will extend federal protection against crimes based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability. (0:33)
By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service
Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress Thursday to pass the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, a bill that would expand the authority of the federal government to prosecute hate crimes, and include “gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability” in the protected classes.
“Perpetrators of hate crimes seek to deny the humanity that we all share, regardless of the color of our skin, the God to whom we pray, or the person who we choose to love,” said Holder during testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee
Holder noted that a similar bill reached Congress in 1998, but has never passed. “The legislation has been stalled far too long, and it’s time to act,” said committee chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
The bill is named after Matthew Shepard, a gay man from Wyoming who was brutally killed in 1998.
Several senators asked whether the legislation would violate the First Amendment, which protects free speech. Holder said that only crimes involving “bodily injury” fall under the scope of this legislation, and even the incitement of violence would not be prosecuted under the bill.
“We’re looking at people who actually commit physical acts of violence,” said Holder. “However deplorable … speech with which I would vehemently disagree [is] not cognizable under the statute.”
Republican Senators repeatedly criticized Holder for not providing statistics or documenting a trend indicating that state and local authorities do not sufficiently address these crimes. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) noted that the Shepard murder was a “crime that should have been vigorously prosecuted, and it was.”
Holder responded that “what we’re looking for is an ability in those instances, those rare instances, where there is an inability or unwillingness by state or local jurisdiction to proceed, that the federal government…would be able to fill that gap.”
Sessions also expressed concern about “how [the U.S. is] picking and choosing the people who receive the extra protection” afforded by hate crime legislation. Holder replied that such laws should “protect groups of people who are … the subjects of violence simply because of who they are.”
By Michael Combier – Talk Radio News Service
Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the formation of a new interagency effort, the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), to fight against Medicare and Medicaid fraud around the country. Holder and Sebelius also announced this afternoon the expansion of the Strike Force Team to Detroit and Houston. This Strike Team was already operating in South Florida and Los Angeles to fight Medicare fraud on a local level.
“This is part of the administration’s ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility and accountability and putting the best minds and resources together to combat fraud and return much needing dollars into the United States’ Treasury”, said Attorney General Holder adding that when “individuals and corporations cross the line and defraud the public, we will hold them accountable.”
“The Obama administration and the American people will not stand by while criminals and health care fraud perpetrators steal from the Medicare and the Medicaid programs”, said Secretary Sebelius. “A Small but significant number of criminals and bad operators are cheating the system and costing taxpayers billions of dollars.”
Senior officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and HHS will integrate the HEAT team to strengthen the existing programs fighting against fraud. HEAT will not only go against unlawful practices but will also prevent fraud, waste and abuse from happening the first place. The new program will be helped by a joint DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams which have successfully fought against fraud perpetrators in South Florida and Los Angeles. In the former, the Strike Force convicted 146 defendants and succeeding in securing $186 million while in the latter, started in May 2008, 37 individuals have been charged with criminal health care fraud offenses resulting in $55 million being restored to the Medicare program.
The Attorney General and the HHS Secretary pointed out that HEAT will work with Congress to work on legislation making it more difficult for fraud perpetrators to use the taxpayers money. The American taxpayers are called upon by Sebelius “to blow the whistle on thieves and criminals who are stealing from all of us.”
Attorney General Eric Holder discusses about the offense against Medicare fraud orchestrated by the Justice of Department and the Department of Health and Human Services. (0:26)
