Joe Sestak
In a letter to congressional Republicans last week, the Justice Department said it would not appoint a special counsel to look into allegations that the White House promised Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) a job in the administration if he agreed not to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Politico reported.
The letter — dated Friday and written by Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich — was addressed to Rep. Darrell Issa, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Sestak has said repeatedly that the White House promised it would give him a job if he did not challenge Specter in the Democratic primary for Senate. Specter, a long-time Senate Judiciary Committee member, switched to the Democratic party last year in an attempt to salvage his political career. Last week, Specter, 80, lost in the primary to Sestak.
Sestak has declined to provide any more information on what the job was or who allegedly offered it. The White House has not denied a discussion took place, but spokesman Robert Gibbs maintains that nothing inappropriate occurred.
Issa has repeatedly bashed the White House for declining to provide more information on the alleged job offer and in April, he urged the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the allegations.
“We assure you that the Department of Justice takes very seriously allegations of criminal conduct by public officials. All such matters are reviewed carefully by career prosecutors and law enforcement agents, and appropriate action, if warranted, is taken,” Weich wrote in the letter Friday. “The Department of Justice, however, has a long history of handling investigations of high-level officials professionally and independently, without the need to appoint a special counsel.”
EMC Corp. paid the the U.S. $87.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that the information technology company lied to the General Services Administration and paid kickbacks to consulting companies that pushed its product, the Justice Department said.
The company allegedly misrepresented its pricing practices to secure more lucrative contracts with the GSA in violation of the False Claims Act. The department also alleged the company broke the federal anti-kickback law by giving consulting companies sweeteners each time they recommended an EMC product to the government.
The lawsuit against the Hopkinton, Mass.-based company was initially filed in the Eastern District of Arkansas but was transferred to the Eastern District of Virginia.
The Justice Department news release on the settlement is below.
MASSACHUSETTS-BASED EMC CORPORATION PAYS U.S. $87.5 MILLION TO SETTLE FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASE
Also is Alleged to Have Violated Federal Anti-Kickback Act
WASHINGTON – EMC Corporation has paid the United States $87.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that the information technology company violated the False Claims Act and the federal Anti-kickback Act, the Justice Department announced today.
The United States alleged that, by misrepresenting its commercial pricing practices, EMC fraudulently induced the General Services Administration (GSA) to enter into a contract with prices that were higher than they would have been had the information technology company not made false misrepresentations. Specifically, the United States alleged that the Hopkinton, Mass.-based company represented during contract negotiations that, for each government order under the contract, EMC would conduct a price comparison to ensure that the government received the lowest price provided to any of the company’s commercial customers making a comparable purchase. According to the government’s complaint, EMC knew that it was not capable of conducting such a comparison, and so EMC’s representations during the negotiations – as well as its subsequent representations to GSA that it was conducting the comparisons – were false or fraudulent.
The United States also alleged that EMC engaged in an illegal kickback scheme designed to influence the government to purchase the company’s products. EMC maintained agreements whereby it paid consulting companies fees each time the companies recommended that a government agency purchase an EMC product. These kickback allegations are part of a larger investigation of government technology vendors that has resulted in settlements to date with three other companies, with several other investigations and actions still pending. The kickback investigation was initiated by a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens to sue for fraud on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.
“Misrepresentations during contract negotiations and the payment of kickbacks or illegal inducements undermine the integrity of the government procurement process,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “The Justice Department is acting to ensure that government purchasers of commercial products can be assured that they are getting the prices they are entitled to.”
The lawsuit, initially filed in the Eastern District of Arkansas, was transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia where it is captioned United States of America ex rel. Rille and Roberts v. EMC Corporation, Civil Action 1:09-cv-00628 (E.D. Va.).
“Companies should not keep charging higher prices to the Government when costs go down. The American taxpayers deserve a better deal,” said GSA Inspector General Brian D. Miller. “This case is another demonstration of the value of OIG audits.”
The case was handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, with the assistance of the General Services Administration Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Energy Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration.
The White House has taken charge of the confirmation process for Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court, National Public Radio reported Tuesday.
During the Bush and Clinton administrations, the nerve center for the confirmation process was run out of the Justice Department.
Former Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy Rachel Brand, now of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, ran preparations for the confirmation of Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts. She told NPR that mock confirmation hearings were held in a conference room on the fourth floor.
“It’s a ceremonial conference room, with formal historical portraits of attorneys general on the walls” around a large table, Brand said. “And we would have the nominee sit on one side of the table and have four or five lawyers sit across from him playing senators.”
Professor Martha Kumar of Towson University said that when there are so many deputy positions that have yet to be filled, “you have no choice but to run the operation out of the White House.”
After lingering in the Senate for 10 months, Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy Christopher H. Schroeder was confirmed just last month.
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A high-ranking official in the U.S. Marshal Service has been placed on leave after he was arrested for allegedly beating his wife, the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday.
Sylvester E. Jones, Assistant Director of the Marshal Service’s Witness Security Division, was arrested earlier this month Prince George’s County police on charges he assaulted his wife, Alicia Jones.
According to court records, Alicia Jones told police her husband hit her with a car door and that she suffered ongoing abuse. The two filed for divorce in March.
A spokesman for the U.S. Marshal Service told the Examiner that Sylvester Jones has been placed on leave until his court hearing next month.
Sylvester Jones told the Examiner that his wife’s allegations are baseless. “I was set up by the woman I was married to, who happens to be with another guy, and I hope to have it settled in court,” he said.
Read the full story here.
The number of death threats against members of Congress has jumped sharply in the last year, rising as much as 300 percent according to some counts, Politico reported Tuesday.
The FBI provided information on several recent death threat investigations to the newspaper, including a case where a mentally ill man left threatening voicemail message for Rep. Health Shuler (D-N.C.) and another case where a man in a van threatened Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) when he was walking with his daughter.
Other members who have received threats in the past year including Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Reps. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.).
According to the FBI, most of the perpetrators are men, several of whom own guns and suffer from mental illness. Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer told Politico that threats against lawmakers have spiked 300 percent in the last year.
For more, see the Politico story here.
U.S. Attorney Ron Machen with Heather D. Graham-Oliver, recipient of the U.S. Attorney's Award for Exceptional Performance as an AUSA (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia held an awards ceremony on Friday in the Great Hall of the Justice Department.
“There are few jobs more difficult than serving this office. Like an offensive tackle in football, our names aren’t going to be called out publicly unless something goes horribly wrong,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen. “I want to say thank you and I want to tell you I appreciate everything you’ve done.”
The program is embedded and a list of the award recipients is reprinted below.
Administrative Division 2010 Award Recipients
Stephanie L. Bragg Lee
Nikiya S. Burnette
Joseph R. Calvarese
Karen T. Kress
Ann B. Lawrence
Annette D. Ortega
Florence L. Pensmith
Donna M. Proctor
Kimberly L. Rich
Michael Vasquez
Cereese A. Wills
Appellate Division 2010 Award Recipients
Michael T. Ambrosino*
Victoria L. Ashton
Timothy W. Barry
Lauren R. Bates
Leslie Ann Gerardo
Jonathan P. Hooks*
James R. Mazzitelli**
Timothy D. Parsons
James M. Perez
Stratton C. Strand
Reagan M. Taylor*
Marc D. Thompson
Civil Division 2010 Award Recipients
Marian L. Borum
Marina U. Braswell
Alan R. Burch
Patricia A. Gilbert
Brenda 1. Jones
Theresa D. Jones
Pamela F. Lawson
Jane M. Lyons
Robin M. Meriweather
William M. Nebeker
Timothy A. Rice
Reginald D. Rowan
Beverly M. Russell
Darrell C. Valdez
Criminal Division 2010 Award Recipients
Donice S. Adams
Jacqueline K. Akyea
Candace L. Battle
Keith A. Becker
Crystal F. Boodoo
Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez*
Matthew P. Cohen
Jeannette T. Fennell
Matthew M. Graves*
Gilberto Guerrero
Tasha L. Harris
G. Michael Harvey
Diane K. Hayes
Bruce R. Hegyi
David B. Kent*
Kenneth C. Kohl
ArvindK. Lal
Rachel C. Lieber
Emily A. Miller
Valencia E. Philyaw
CassidyK. Pinegar*
John C. Russell
BryanG. Seeley*
Sheree S. Smith
Front Office Staff 2010 Award Recipients
Bridget N. Harris
Katherine L. Kelly-Howard
Shawn M. Maguire
Shelia M. Miller
Abby J. Stavitsky
Monica M. Veney
Superior Court Division Felony Major Crimes Section 2010 Award Recipients
Joseph W. Anderson
Christopher1.Brophy
Kalisha S. Clark
Nicholas P. Coleman
Joseph P. Cooney
Darline D. Douglas
Lawrence W. Grasso
Anthony O. Griffith
Stacey S. McMillan
Shavaka N. Melvin
B. Michael Ortwein
Kendrell Smith
\Vanda V. Trice
Cynthia D. Walicki -Chan
Michael A. Worden
Superior Court Division General Crimes 2010 Award Recipients
Lavenia L. Fletcher
D’Yvonne S. Key
Nicole R. McGhee
Rochelle L. Mills
Tonya A. Queen
Katelyn M. Rowe
Lesley K. Slade
Superior Court Division Homicide Section 2010 Award Recipients
Philip S. Aronson
Kelly M. Blakeney
Alessio D. Evangelista
Todd W. Gee
Jennifer A. Kerkhoff
Sharad S. Khandelwal
Michael C. Liebman
Alesha M. Matthews Yette
Gary M. Wheeler
Superior Court Division Litigation Services Unit 2010 Award Recipient
Tierra L. Nanches
Superior Court Division Sex Offense and Domestic Violence 2010 Award Recipients
Sharon K. Donovan
Lynita N. Greene
Eugena Kay Johnson
David A. Last
Sharon I Marcus-Kurn
Cynthia D. Muhammad
Mark J. O’Brien
Special Proceedings Division 2010 Award Recipients
Sherri L. Berthrong
Barbara A. Burnett
Joan Draper
Christopher King
Michael A. Richards
James S. Sweeney
Victim / Witness Assistance Unit 2010 Award Recipients
Jennifer B. Allen
Yvonne M. Bryant
Lorraine A. Chase
Jennifer L. Clark
David A. Foster
Karen M. Giannakoulias
Melissa S. Milam
Christine O. Principe
Marcia L. Rinker
Maria O. Shumar
La June M. Thames
Meshall D. Thomas
Veronica A. Vaughan
United States Attorney’s STAR Award for Distinguished Service 2010 Award Recipient
Glenn L. Kirsclmer
United States Attorney’s Award for Exceptional Performance as an AUSA 2010 Award Recipient
Heather D. Graham-Oliver
United States Attorney’s Award for Exceptional Performance as a Support Staff Member 2010 Award Recipient
Anne P. Riopelle
United States Attorney’s Award for Creativity and Innovation 2010 Award Recipient
Nancy T. Gonzalez
United States Attorney’s Team Award for Creativity and Innovation 2010 Award Recipients
Katina A. Adams
Debra A. Cannon
LaVerne Forrest
Michael A. Hailey
Shawn K. Slade
Tanya A. Via
United States Attorney’s Award for Meritorious Service 2010 Award Recipients
Robin C. Ashton
Nathan C. Hawkins
Channing D. Phillips
United States Attorney’s Team Award 2010 Award Recipients
22nd Street Investigation
Laura R. Bach
John G. Giovannelli
Debra M. Joyner
Wanda M. Queen
Fern E. Rhedrick
Sean P. Tonolli
At his ceremonial investiture Monday, D.C.’s new U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen said he would focus his office’s efforts on strengthening national security and building partnerships within the community.
Judge Damon Keith of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals administers the oath to D.C. U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen as family members look on. (photo by Andrew Ramonas / Main Justice)
Machen, who has been U.S. Attorney since February, said he will work to ensure that justice will not be denied. He said he will try to make the city and the nation a safer place for children.
“We are in a significant position of trust,” Machen said before the packed ceremonial courtroom in the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse on Constitution Avenue. “Our obligations run deep.”
He said it was good to be back in the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office. The top prosecutor served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1997 to 2001, after a stint at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. He also worked at the law firm from 2001 until he became U.S. Attorney in 2010.
D.C. Superior Court Judge James Boasberg, who served with Machen as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, said the prosecutor once shared a modest office with him. Now, Machen’s office is lined with cherry wood and has a private bathroom.
“It’s been, certainly, a long road getting to this point,” Machen said.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who recommended Machen to President Barack Obama, said the prosecutor shined “brightly above the rest” of the candidates for U.S. Attorney.
“I can say to you that Ron Machen has already lived up to our very high expectations,” Norton said.
Attorney General Eric Holder, who hired Machen as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and FBI Director Robert Mueller were slated to attend the investiture. But they were unable to make it because they were called to a meeting at the White House, Chief Judge Royce Lamberth of the D.C. District Court said.
“For some reason, [Holder] had a higher calling,” Lamberth said.
But the courtroom was not without notable DOJ officials, including acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler, H. Marshall Jarrett, Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, and several U.S. Attorneys.
Among the U.S. Attorneys in attendance were Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York; Neil MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia; Rod Rosenstein of Maryland; Steve Dettelbach of the Northern District of Ohio; Zane Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; and Carmen Ortiz of Massachusetts. Former D.C. U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Taylor, Kenneth Wainstein, Roscoe Howard and Joseph diGenova were also present.
A former FBI contract linguist was sentenced Monday to 20 months in prison for unlawfully providing classified documents to a blog.
Shamai Leibowitz, a 40-year-old resident of Silver Spring, Md., worked for an FBI task force based in Calverton, Md., as a linguist from January until August 2009. According to a plea agreement, Leibowitz admitted that in April 2009 he provided five classified documents to a person who was not authorized to view them. That person later posted them to on a blog. The blog is not identified in the court documents.
Leibowitz is also an Israeli peace activist and lawyer who ran a blog called Pursuing Justice and a website, Israel-law.org, according to Politico.
“The willful disclosure of classified information to those not entitled to receive it is a serious crime,” David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, said in a statement released. “Today’s sentence should serve as a warning to anyone in government who would consider compromising our nation’s secrets.”
Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein worked on the case, as did Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dunne and trial attorney Kathleen M. Kedian, of the Counterespionage Section of the National Security Division.
If all goes according to plan, Congress will finalize settlements in two long-running class action suits against the federal government this week.
The two settlements — called Pigford and Cobell after the lead plaintiffs in the respective suits — were inserted last week into a measure that would extend unemployment benefits, Medicare reimbursements and several tax credits that expired at the end of last year. Tucked into the legislation is a provision that would provide $4.5 billion to settle both lawsuits.
In the Pigford case, the Obama administration announced in February that it had reached a $1.25 billion settlement with African American farmers who alleged that they suffered racial discrimination in U.S. Department of Agriculture farm loan programs. About $100 million were appropriated by Congress in the 2008 farm bill. The remaining $1.15 billion will go toward compensating black farmers who missed filing deadlines and were left out of an original 1999 settlement, in which the government agreed to pay farmers for past discrimination in lending and other USDA programs.
The Cobell case involves a class-action lawsuit brought by American Indians over the Interior Department’s handling of individual Indian trust fund accounts. The Justice Department announced in December that it had reached a $3.4 billion settlement in the Cobell case. That settlement agreement required Congress to pass legislation authorizing payment to the plaintiffs by Dec. 31. The deadline has since been extended twice until May 31.
The House is expected to take up the tax legislation as soon as Tuesday. The Senate plans to consider the measure later this week before it leaves for a week-long Memorial Day recess.
Karin O’Leary, the Director of Budget for the Department of Justice, has won The Federal News Radio Causey Award for exceptional efforts in the area of pay, benefits and human resources.
The AM radio station, which covers federal government news, announced the winners Monday.
The Causey Awards — named for Federal News Radio reporter Mike Causey, who reports on human resource issues in the federal government — are awarded to individuals in the human capital management field. The news station solicited nominations and profiled several finalists before selecting seven winners this week.
O’Leary has served as the DOJ’s Budget Director since 2007. Before that, she served as the DOJ’s Deputy Director of Budget for Programs and Performance. Before coming to the Justice Department, O’Leary led budget planning and development at the Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2007, she received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award. (Read her DOJ bio here.)
Read the judge’s comments and her full nomination materials here.
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