Mukasey Says Obama May Have to Wait for Some Legal Opinions

[Pirate Smile]

Source: Washington Post

By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 4, 2008; Page A06

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey asserted yesterday that the "level of cooperation and communication is very high" between his team and the transition group for President-elect Barack Obama.
But the Justice Department's new leaders may not gain access to the Bush administration's most sensitive legal opinions until after the January inauguration, Mukasey told reporters in what could be his final news conference.

"Without getting into particular things that they've requested, they are getting as much as they can, as quickly as they can" from the Office of Legal Counsel, the department unit that has issued key rulings underpinning detainee treatment and electronic surveillance since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

House and Senate Democrats and Clinton-era Justice Department officials have called for the speedy release of the documents. Three veterans of the Office of Legal Counsel -- Dawn Johnsen, Martin Lederman and Christopher H. Schroeder -- are among the members of the transition unit, several of whom received special security clearances.

But Mukasey said yesterday that the legal opinions are drafted at the request of other federal entities, such as the Defense Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, which have a say in how and when they are released. Some of the materials also are highly classified, which adds another layer of complexity.
In some cases, Mukasey said, it is possible that certain documents will not be available to Obama's team until the new president takes the oath of office in January.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Just as soon...

As certain jets clear US airspace.

[elleng]

2. Watch them fight

to keep them away from O!

Supremes, here they come!

[aquart]

3. I'll never see Mukasey in jail either, will I?

[CAG]

4. They have to wait for Ollie North and Fawn Hall to show up with the shredders

[Robbien]

5. WaPo just can't make itself say Obama's Justice Team, they have to reference Clinton-era

The Washington Post just can't report the story without their bias showing.

[badgervan]

8. Infuriating, Ain't It?

Methinks that Mukasey best be looking for his own lawyer asap.

[BlooInBloo]

6. I.e., until pardons have been doled out.

[TygrBright]

7. Wow. Some people really know how to stick the foot in and shove it. n/t