Laurence Tribe, the Harvard University law professor who took leave of absence to become senior counselor at the Department of Justice focusing on indigent defendant issues, made his public debut on Monday at the National Institute for Justice conference in Arlington, Va.

Laurence Tribe speaks at the annual National Institute for Justice conference on Monday (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Tribe — whose students have included President Barack Obama, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli, and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski — announced that the initiative would be partnering with the NIJ to issue a new grant solicitation for access to justice related research.

Tribe joined the Justice Department in March to focus on the issue of access to counsel for the poor, which Attorney General Eric Holder had called a “very serious problem.” But The New York Times reported that he had been given a “small staff, a limited budget, little concrete authority and a portfolio far less sweeping than the one he told friends he had hoped to take on in Washington.”

But during his speech on Monday, Tribe said the Access to Justice initiative, if backed by proper research, “could potentially transform the entire field and help narrow the gap between our aspirations of justice and the justice we actually deliver to our citizens. Narrow the gap between rhetoric and reality. There are truly endless opportunities.”

Tribe said he was happy to be working for an administration that had respect for scientific inquiry.

“I believe one of the greatest threats to progress is the casual, even contemptuous attitude towards evidence and reality that some people in positions of power have at times displayed,” Tribe said. “An attitude that has spread a brazen sense of willingness to censor and manipulate evidence for political gains. I am deeply grateful to serve for a president and in an administration that has respect for evidence-based reality.”

He encouraged the crowd to explore through research the potential for providing adequate defense services to the lower and middle-class.

“As many of you know, reforming indigent defense is a top priority for Attorney General Eric Holder and for the Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson,” Tribe said. “Currently, public defenders are hamstrung by a lack of research that shows not only that court defenders are necessary to guard and enhance justice, but also to examine what we strongly suspect is true: that good defenders appointed early in the case can create significant savings in the criminal justice system, often resulting in a net negative cost rather than a net positive cost.”

The 2010 National Institute for Justice Conference continues through Wednesday.

Jeff Slowikowski, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs; FBI Special Agent Michael Conrad, recipient of the Missing Children's Law Enforcement Award; and Attorney General Eric Holder (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday a $30 million award to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The announcement came at an awards ceremony held on National Missing Children’s Day in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Department Building.

Attorney General Eric Holder (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Several government officials were on hand for the ceremony including Jeff Slowikowski, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs; Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan; Chief Postal Inspector William Gilligan; and U.S. Marshals Director John Clark. Three FBI special agents – two from Miami, Fla., and one from Phoenix — received awards for their work on finding missing children.

Holder said the law enforcement community has made great strides over the past decade on combating the abduction of children.

“Before the media, before the experts, before anyone else, families in crisis turn – first – to law enforcement. In these officers, desperate parents, grandparents, and guardians place their trust, as well as their hopes of seeing their missing children again. It’s an extraordinary responsibility – one that our law enforcement community meets with great speed, compassion, and determination,” Holder said in prepared remarks.

Robinson said there was “no bigger advocate for children” than Holder, mentioning his signature issue of reducing the impact of exposure to violence on children.

In addition, the Justice Department published Tuesday the fourth edition of the manual “When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide.” The guide was famously promoted by former Attorney General Janet Reno on Larry King Live. They also released a new guide called “The Crime of Family Abduction: A Child’s and Parent’s Perspective,” which was written with the help of six people who had experienced family abduction to help victims and their families.

Here’s a list of award recipients from the Justice Department:

Attorney General’s Special Commendation Award: Recognizes the extraordinary efforts of an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), an ICAC affiliate agency or an individual assigned to an ICAC Task Force or affiliate agency for making a significant investigative or program contribution to the ICAC Task Force.

o Recipient: Assistant District Attorney Kelly Miller with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office, an affiliate to the North Carolina ICAC, for her investigative work which led to the prosecution of an adult offender for child sexual abuse. The defendant was sentenced to 115 to 142.5 years in prison. Her outstanding coordination of the case and extraordinary care and attention to the victim were highlighted.

Jeff Slowikowski, Laurie Robinson, Miama FBI Special Agents Catherine Koontz and James Lewis and Attorney General Eric Holder (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Missing Children’s Law Enforcement Award: Recognizes the extraordinary efforts of a law enforcement officer who has made a significant investigative or program contribution to the safety of a child.

o Recipient: Special Agent Michael J. Conrad from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office in Phoenix, who assisted in the recovery of an abducted 2-year-old child.

Missing Children’s Citizen Award: Honors the extraordinary efforts of private citizens for their unselfish acts to safely recover missing or abducted children.

o Recipients: Postmaster James Pantoja, Mail Carrier Tony Palma, and Distributor Associate Denultra Camp from the Tombstone, Ariz., Postal Facility who, upon the receipt of a missing child poster, distributed the information and used it during daily operations to contribute to the safe recovery of a 9-year-old child.

Missing Children’s Child Protection Award: Honors the extraordinary efforts of a law enforcement officer who has made a significant investigative or program contribution to protecting children from abuse or victimization.

o Recipient: Special Agents Catherine Koontz and James T. Lewis of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office in Miami, who investigated and coordinated law enforcement operations focused on an Internet case involving thousands of images of child pornography that led to an investigation of sexual abuse of children.

Laurie Robinson at her installation ceremony in December (file photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson headed the Office of Justice Programs during the Clinton administration and has returned for a second round under President Barack Obama.

OJP is charged with preventing crime through research and development and managing the DOJ’s grant programs. Among the offices Robinson oversees are the National Institute of Justice, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Office for Victims of Crime.

In an interview with Main Justice this week, Robinson talked about the changes since she headed OJP in the 1990s — the added burden of national security work on state and local law enforcement and the evolution of the Internet. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.

Main Justice: This is your second stint as the head of the Office of Justice Programs. What changes have you noticed since your return?

Laurie Robinson: In the broader landscape, there have been huge changes coming back in the Post-9/11 era. Not only has the Department changed in that time, obviously with the focus on terrorism and national security, but for our constituency — state and local juvenile justice and tribal communities, state and local law enforcement — is grappling not only with local crime but with the added duties related to homeland security. That’s particularly difficult now in a time of diminished resources, a very stark difference from when I was here in the 90s.

One of the greatest differences from when I was here before was the technology changes in early 2000, the use of the Web was really in its infancy. We now have a much greater ability to reach our constituents. The world has changed in that regard, and I think it’s given us much greater tools to do our work [with] in this regard to complete our mission, which is sharing information and really engaging with our constituents in a two-way conversation…learning from them, and then sharing learning programs, technical assistance and really engaging in [a] partnership with them.

Laurie Robinson is formally installed as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs in December (file photo by Ryan J. Reilly).

MJ: How have you seen local and state authorities dealing with those added national security challenges?

Robinson: I think it’s been a huge challenge. It’s been a huge challenge that both the last administration and the new administration and the country has grappled with. I think that state and local law enforcement has dealt with it actually very well, but that it remains, as I say, a challenge. They’re on the front lines in this country, as we saw with the Times Square episode in the last few days, you know it’s a challenge that requires alert members of the public, as we saw with the vendors in Times Square, as we saw with state and local law enforcement working hand in hand.

It doesn’t mean that in every instance everything will go like clockwork. But I think that nobody ever said that state and local law enforcement work is easy. I think that people go into this work because the seek challenges and this is one more thing on the plate.

MJ: What are the priorities you’ve set for the Office of Justice Programs?

Robinson: We don’t often have a chance to go back and have a second shot at a job, and I actually have to tell you… I never ever thought I would come back to OJP. I had to have my arm twisted to do this. I had a really nice life in academia and [Attorney General] Eric Holder really leaned on me to come back here. I’m very honored to be back here, and I don’t want to leave the impression that I’m not honored to do this. But coming back in, it’s kind of like with my eyes wide open, and say, ‘Ok. If I’m going to do it, I have some priorities here.’

There are three priorities. One — that we had to strengthen the partnerships with states, localities and the tribes. I thought that had weakened somewhat in recent years. So one of the first things I did here when I came back on Jan. 28, 2009, just a few days after the inauguration on an acting basis. I scheduled a series of listening sessions with constituent organizations across the board — juvenile justice, crime victims, domestic violence. To have them come in and tell us: what’s the agency doing well, what are we not doing well. It’s easy if you’re brand new, you’re not defensive about it.

Robinson at her installation ceremony in December (file photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

MJ: What did you hear back?

Robinson: Well we heard a lot of things, we heard everything from ‘You should be doing more to address pre-trial issues’ to ‘You aren’t getting your publications out quickly enough. You aren’t giving us information on rewards in a fast enough fashion. You should be more open about what kind of solicitations are out there.’ It was terrific to get that.

A lot of these groups said they hadn’t been invited in for eight years. So I thought it was really good just to open the doors and have organizations come in.

The second priority is evidence-based approaches. I think you’ve heard Eric Holder speak about this. We’ve had leading scientists nominated to lead both NIJ – National Institute of Justice – and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Both of them – John Laub and Jim Lynch – are awaiting confirmation. I’m always an optimist, I’m hoping they’ll be confirmed within the next weeks. That will be the first time in John Lauden’s case that we’ll have had a criminologist heading the National Institute of Justice since it was created back in 1968 by the Safe Streets Act.

We’re bringing in scientists to speak at NIJ, we’re bringing in scientists to meet with the Attorney General on various topics, and very importantly we’ve launched something called the Evidence Integration Initiative. It’s about [a few] things – one of them is about producing more evidence, because there are a lot of areas in which we don’t have enough research on what really works.

[Another] part is translating the evidence for the field. You can have all types of journal articles, long articles about, for example, domestic violence. But if you’re a small town mayor in Des Moines, Iowa, you don’t have time to go the the library and read those journal articles. You would like to have a page or two that says what I should be doing on drug issues, what should I be doing about cops dealing with domestic violence.

Joye Frost, Police Officer Art Billingsley, Laurie Robinson, Award recipient Michelle Rene Corrao and Eric Holder at the the 2010 National Crime Victims' Service Awards Ceremony (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

As I look back on my time in the 90s here, that’s one thing I would give myself a low mark on, that we did not do enough distilling of research. So I came back and heaped on the idea that I need to synthesize evidence better or distill it. So we put into the president’s budget request — well we recommended and he put in — two items. One of them is a what works clearinghouse on crime, and the second is a diagnostics center, or what I call a help desk.

The other piece of this is…that Congress has put so many different funding streams into OJP and the COPS office and the Office of Violence Against Women. Alone in OJP, we have over 75 different funding streams. For that mayor in Des Moines to know all those funding streams… that’s asking far too much of them. We need to have one place they can go.

My third priority is to ensure that our grants and grant process is run with integrity, and that the process is fair, transparent, and competitive. There have been issues in the past about whether the process was fully transparent and competitive. I am fully committed to working hand in hand with the Inspector General to make sure this is a process which is not only perceived as open and fair but in fact is.

All of this was not done thoroughly in the past, and we want a transparent system. I’ve written grant applications, a lot of people here have, and I want to make sure we make this a clear and easy system for our constituents. Writing grant applications is not a fun process, so we shouldn’t make it more difficult.

Assistant Attorney General Ron Weich, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson in a ceremony in December (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

MJ: What sort of new programs are you seeing an interest in funding from the field and in Congress?

Robinson: I’ve actually seen far greater interest at this point than when I was here before on Capitol Hill… in funding evidence-based programs. I’ve seen [it] on both sides of the aisle, which is extraordinarily promising. As an example, Sen. Jeff Sessions…is someone [to] whom I have spoken several times about science-based approaches and he’s been extraordinarily supportive.

Particularly in times when we’re looking at tight federal budgets, people want to ensure that we’re getting the best bang of the buck in federal dollars, in federal spending. And why would we be expending money in programs which haven’t proved to make a difference, particularly in such an important area as crime?

One priority for us, in the president’s budget for 2011 [is] the proposal to devote three percent of OJP’s budget as a set aside for research and statistics. I think that proposal, if approved, would represent a powerful statement of the effect of R & D (research and development) investment by the government in recognizing that we need to invest in preventing and crime.

That’s something that the private industry does – you have to make the initial investments in order to successfully prevent and control disease, and we need to do the same thing in crime.

MJ: The stimulus package meant a lot more work for your office. How did you deal with the influx of grant applications?

Robinson: Just a few weeks after I stepped into the job last year, Congress of course passed the stimulus bill, and we were off and running with $2.7 billion dollars in new money to get out the door. I’m very proud of the fact that within about seven months we were able to get out almost 3,900 grants and get out almost 99 percent of that funding.

The way we were able to do it is that I have here at OJP a remarkable team of career staff. I’d like to particularly mention our career Deputy Assistant Attorney General Beth McGarry. There was a career staff that was in place when I walked in who were already dealing with the potential that if the Recovery Act passed, there would be an increased workload. The Recovery Act funding issued equaled in effect, the workload that OJP would have ordinarily covered in an entire year.

I was so pleased [when] at the end of the summer, when we were getting out all of those grants, [Attorney General Eric Holder] came over to thank the staff and then was willing to have his picture taken with each one of the offices. If you have the time to walk through all the offices and cubicles, you’d see people have these pictures up.

Laurie Robinson and Attorney General Eric Holder at a ceremony for Crime Victims Week in April (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

MJ: How closely does the division work with other divisions across the department in relaying problems that are brought to your attention by state and local law enforcement?

Robinson: We work extremely closely with other parts of the department, ranging from the COPS office to the Office of Violence Against Women — who are our colleagues on the grant side in dealing with state and localities — to working very closely with the Criminal Division, the Deputy’s Office, the Associate’s Office.

As an example, we are on one of the working groups on Intellectual Property because of our work on that subject, working with states and localities. We participated on the executive working group that is the link to state attorneys general and state district attorneys. We have the executive office of U.S. Attorneys working in the Criminal Division. We meet regularly with the AGAC, the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee Group of U.S. Attorneys. So every Friday, I’m meeting with the component heads of the component heads, I’m meeting regularly with the Attorney General on things that he and I are working on.

So very regular communication. What that reflects is that Eric Holder has as one of his highest priorities the integration of state and local interests, integrating them into the priorities of the department.

The whole notion of the relationship and importance of that relationship with state and local law enforcement is something that he has embedded throughout the whole structure of the Justice Department. It’s not like, ‘Oh, we’ll get to you when we get to you.’ He communicates that throughout the department about the states and localities being partners in our work. It’s not an afterthought. It’s really very much integral to the way the department operates. The tone for that is really set at the top.

Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget will help address issues of sexual assault.

Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of the Office of Violence Against Women Susan B. Carbon (photo by Ryan J. Reilly).

The event, held in conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, is the first held in the Great Hall to address the issue of sexual assault, said Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli.

Holder said that for the first time, the Office for Victims of Crime set aside $100 million specifically to address violence against women. It also set aside $30 million for the Sexual Assault Services Program — doubling its budget from the previous year — and an additional $9 million for the Legal Assistance for Victims Program, bringing its budget to $50 million.

“We all know what we’re up against,” said Holder. “Confronting this reality is very difficult, it’s often painful, but it’s also very important.”

“I will ensure that this department and our partners have the resources to combat sexual assault and bring offenders to justice. This issue is deeply important to me,” said Holder. “During a career spent as a prosecutor, a judge, and as a United States Attorney, I have seen the effects of sexual violence in the courtroom and far beyond. I understand how these crimes devastate lives, families and whole communities.”

Attendees at the event included Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General Tony West and Minnesota U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones. Holder recognized Breuer, Robinson and West for their visits to campuses around the country to discuss violence against women and Jones for his leadership on the issue as chairman of the Attorney General Advisory Committee.

Speakers at the event included Susan B. Carbon, a former judge who assumed her duties as director of the Office of Violence Against Women on April 2, and Catherine Pierce, the deputy director of the Office of Violence Against Women.

Dr. Sharon Malone, wife of Attorney General Eric Holder, speaks in the Great Hall of the Justice Department on Tuesday (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Dr. Sharon Malone, the wife of Attorney General Eric Holder, recounted Tuesday how the Department of Justice intervened to allow her older sister to go to school at the University of Alabama in the 1960s. Malone  spoke at an event in celebration of Women’s History Month.

Speaking in the Great Hall of the Justice Department, Malone’s remarks centered on her sister, Vivian Malone Jones, who was one of the first African Americans to enroll at the all-white University of Alabama. Malone recalled how in June 1963, then-Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach escorted Jones past then-Gov. George Wallace, a segregationist, in an incident now known as “the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.” Jones eventually earned a degree at the school and later worked at the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. She died in 2005.

“My husband isn’t the first Attorney General who took an interest in my family,” joked Malone, who is an obstetrician/gynecologist in private practice.

Holder told a local Girl Scout troop in attendance for the event to look around the room, pointing out women in leadership positions within the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Drug Enforcement Administration. “This is your future, you can do anything,” said Holder.

In introducing his wife, Holder joked that she would probably agree that he is in touch with his feminine side. He also recounted the night he met Malone, who at the time was completing her medical residency. Up until that point Malone wasn’t sure if she’d stay in D.C., Holder said.

“But she met a tall, handsome young man and decided to stay in D.C.” he said. “I also met her that night,” he added, jokingly. The couple will celebrate their 20th anniversary on April 7, said Holder.

Malone and Holder (photo by Ryan J. Reilly).

Also speaking at the event were Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Laurie Robinson and Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division Ignacia Moreno. Moreno reflected on the diversity of the federal government under President Barack Obama.

“The leadership of our nation has never looked more like America, and we are not going back,” said Moreno.

After the ceremony, Malone, Holder, Robinson and Moreno posed for pictures with the Girl Scout troop.

Laurie Robinson (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

NPR’s Ari Shapiro interviewed newly installed Assistant Attorney General for Justice Programs Laurie Robinson about the process of awarding grants in the Obama administration. He asked her whether —  as critics charged happened during the Bush administration — she could theoretically funnel money to her favorite charity.

“Do I have the ability by law? Yes, I do. Would I do that? No, I would not,” said Robinson.

Here’s a selection from the interview below, read or listen to the whole thing at NPR.

SHAPIRO: That raises another question which is I can see where the money has gone. Can I see, for example, whether those organizations were highly rated within peer-review process?

Ms. ROBINSON: Oh, we don’t make the peer review ratings public. And one of the reasons is – I used to teach – it would be like posting all of the grades of all of the students. You know, these were all professionals in their field. Then it might be – in fact, it would be, as somebody who used to write grants, pretty embarrassing for people. Oh gosh, you know, hey, Joe you have got a pretty lousy grant application.

SHAPIRO: That makes sense. But at the same time, if somebody undeserving then is getting government money through favoritism or some other avenue, the transparency seems to stop short of somebody on the outside being able to see that this person receiving the grant money actually was not highly rated within the peer-review process.

Ms. ROBINSON: We’ve gone back and forth on that, but I think there are limits to how open one can be about this without having some pretty unfavorable results for individuals.

[...]

SHAPIRO: What have you told to people who are below you in the hierarchy to ensure that your ethos of just because I can award a million dollars to my charity doesn’t mean that it’s ethical for me to do so, to be sure that, that ethos pervades all the way down to the ranks? What have you told people?

Ms. ROBINSON: I’ve really laid down the law about the importance of competing grants so that we ensure that people who are interested in applying for grants from the Department of Justice all have an equal chance.

Ron Weich, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Laurie Robinson at an installation ceremony Friday afternoon (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Two Assistant Attorneys General whose friendship goes back over 20 years were formally installed to their respective positions in a joint ceremony Friday afternoon in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.

Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Laurie Robinson served in the same role during the Clinton administration.

Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs Ron Weich came to the Justice Department after working on Capitol Hill and leading the team that steered Attorney General Eric Holder through the confirmation process earlier this year.

Robinson oversees the research and development arm of the Justice Department, including assisting law enforcement agencies through DOJ grants.

Weich heads the Office of Legislative Affairs, which serves as the liaison between DOJ and the legislative branch.

Holder, along with Deputy Attorney General David Ogden and Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli, took part in the ceremony and praised Robinson and Weich.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) with his former staffer, Ron Weich. (Photo by Ryan J. Reilly/Main Justice)

“Laurie and Ron are not only valued colleagues, they are leaders in the department and throughout this administration,” said Holder. “Their credentials are impeccable; their qualifications are self-evident; and their professional reputations for integrity are well-deserved.”

Holder said Weich is his right arm when he goes to Capitol Hill. The Attorney General and said the two have worked well together ever since Holder got Weich to admit that Holder’s high school, which was a rival of Weich’s high school in New York City, was better than his. (Holder attended Stuyvesant High School; Weich went to the Bronx High School of Science, according to the BLT.)

He said he had a tough time convincing Robinson to return to the Justice Department, as she was happy with her position directing the Master’s Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Criminology, and “her relative freedom from her BlackBerry.” Eventually Holder, Ogden and Perrelli convinced Robinson to return to the Department.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Weich’s former boss, were also in attendance. Reid came in midway through the ceremony, having been held up on the Hill with the health care debate. (Weich had also worked for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and, for 10 months in 1989, then-Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who switched parties earlier this year.)

Sen. Harry Reid and Ron Weich (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Sessions, a frequent critic of Holder, praised both Robinson and Weich, both of whom he has worked with before. Weich has a reputation for forthrightness and hard work, said Sessions.

“Since I have [Weich] captive here, I believe complicit in your duties will be the responsibility to work in a bi-partisan and cooperative basis,” said Sessions. “I know you will do that since you’ve worked on both sides of the aisle.” He also pointed to Weich’s role as the “gatekeeper” between the Justice Department and the legislative branch.

“This county would not be a better place with politicians making legal decisions,” said Sessions, who served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama for 12 years. “Trust me.”

When Robinson came up for confirmation before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sessions praised her previous work at the Department of Justice.

Laurie Robinson (photo by Ryan J. Reilly/Main Justice)

“I hate to repeat it in front of the Attorney General, but I said at the time that she may have been the finest appointment that President Clinton made in his time in office,” said Sessions. Holder, who had also been appointed by President Clinton as U.S. Attorney in D.C. and then as Deputy Attorney General, smiled and threw up his hands.

Sessions said Robinson, who controls programs that account for $2 billion in the DOJ funding bill for 2010 that is currently being considered by the Senate, has “a vast empire to guard.”

Sen. Jeff Sessions and Attorney General Eric Holder at a ceremony on Friday (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Separately, former Vice President Dick Cheney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) have criticized Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists in federal court.

Now Sean Hannity has brought all of them together in a special edition of his television program titled “Terror on Trial,” which is scheduled to air Friday at 9 p.m. on Fox News Channel.

We caught up with Sen. Sessions, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Friday afternoon at the Justice Department’s headquarters, where he was attending the investitures of Laurie Robinson, the head of the Office of Justice Programs, and Ron Weich, the head of the Office of Legislative Affairs.

Echoing his remarks during a recent DOJ oversight hearing, Sessions said, ”A clear decision in favor of military commissions without apology — because no apology is needed for them — would be the best thing for the country and our legal system. I feel strongly about that because this is a longterm war that we’re in.”

Sessions and Holder haven’t spoken about the issue since the committee hearing last month, Sessions told Main Justice. “He said he’s made his mind up, but he did leave open the opportunity to use military commissions,” which Sessions believes would be the best option for terrorists, he said.

Melodee Hanes at a ceremony Friday at Department of Justice headquarters (photo credit: Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Melodee Hanes, the girlfriend of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), attended a ceremony at Department of Justice headquarters Friday honoring newly confirmed Office of Justice Programs head Laurie Robinson.

Hanes, a political appointee who works in a juvenile justice agency under Robinson’s direction, declined to answer questions about the senator’s controversial recommendation of her to be Montana’s U.S. Attorney.

“Not today, no,” Hanes told Main Justice. “No comment today,” she added, before a congressional affairs specialist from the Office of Justice Programs, Sarah Matz, cut off the exchange.

Main Justice was the first to report last Friday that Hanes was one of three lawyers that Baucus recommended to the White House earlier this year to be Montana’s top federal prosecutor. According to Baucus, once their relationship became more intense, Hanes withdrew from consideration to live with the senator in Washington.

President Barack Obama ultimately nominated Michael Cotter for Montana U.S. Attorney. Baucus, the Senate Finance Committee chairman, is leading health care reform efforts in the Senate.

Hanes is now acting Deputy Administrator for Policy in the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an arm of the Justice Department that supports research, training and programs to support juvenile justice programs throughout the country.

With the exception of Civil Rights Division nominee Tom Perez, it seems unlikely the Senate will hold confirmation votes on other top Department of Justice nominees before the August recess, a Democratic aide with knowledge of the process told Main Justice.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is consumed by preparations for the Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination hearings that begin July 13. And Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has threatened to put holds on some DOJ nominees until the department delivers written answers to several outstanding requests for information.

That means much of the Department’s top leadership probably will not be in place until September or later. Of the 15 DOJ nominees requiring Senate confirmation, six have yet to clear the hurdles. Here’s where they stand:

DAWN JOHNSEN: President Obama’s pick to lead the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee more than 90 days ago. The Democratic leadership has since tried to coax its counterparts in the minority to support a vote on the nomination, but the Republicans have refused to bite even with the August recess quickly approaching, the Democratic aide said Tuesday.

Dawn Johnsen

Leading Republicans including Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona have criticized Johnsen for her position on abortion rights and her strong disapproval of the Bush administration legal memos used to justify torture against suspected terrorists.

Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has tried to round up enough votes to prevent a Republican filibuster of Johnsen for months. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana is the only Republican who has come out in support of Johnsen, a law professor at Indiana University in Lugar’s home state. Democrats are hopeful they still may persuade Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, moderate Republicancs who remain undecided on the OLC nominee.

But, even Democrats aren’t fully committed to Johnsen. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) hasn’t said how he will vote, and Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Arlen Specter (Pa.) oppose her nomination. Nelson, however, has said he will vote with his party on a motion to cut off debate over Johnsen’s nomination – a procedural move to end a filibuster that requires 60 votes.

Snowe said earlier this month that there are other issues facing the Senate that could also delay a vote on the OLC nominee, including Sotomayor and the Obama administration’s ambitious health care system overhaul. ”I don’t know if it [Johnsen's nomination] is going to come up anytime soon,” Snowe said in an interview.

THOMAS PEREZ:

Tom Perez (maryland.gov)

The Judiciary Committee reported the Civil Rights Division nominee to the full Senate on June 4 by a vote of 17-2. Perez, a non-controversial choice who is currently serving as Maryland’s secretary of labor, could go up for a vote in the Senate within a few weeks, the aide said.

The Maryland labor secretary met with Republican Sens. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) in a private meeting Wednesday evening, Kyl told Main Justice in an interview today after a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting. Kyl said his colleagues got a “much clearer view” of Perez from the meeting, which Perez’s home-state senator, Ben Cardin (D-Md.), also attended.

Coburn and Sessions had voted against Perez in committee. While it is unclear whether the conservatives will ultimately support Perez’s confirmation, it appears unlikley they will use procedural hurdles to block a floor vote.

“It was a good meeting,” Sessions said in an interview.

MARY L. SMITH:

A Senate vote on Smith will likely come much later, according to the Democratic aide. That’s because Smith, a Chicagoan and Clinton White House veteran who was an early supporter of Barack Obama, is opposed by Republicans for her lack of tax expereince. The Judiciary Committee reported her nomination June 11 on a party-line vote of 12-7. Republicans unanimously opposed her.

Mary L. Smith (Main Justice)

“She is inherently unqualified for this job,” Coburn said before the panel vote.

It isn’t clear why Smith was nominated. She is a former in-house counsel at Tyco International but has no prosecuting experience. She is a Native American and headed up the Obama DOJ transition team for the Tax Division. The DOJ issued a statement this week in support of her nomination, acknowleding she is not a “traditional tax lawyer” but arguing that her extensive securities law and litigation experience qualifies her for the job.

CHRISTOPHER SCHROEDER:

Christopher Schroeder (Duke)

Office of Legal Policy nominee Christopher Schroeder will have his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Schroeder is a Duke University law professor and a former Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Clinton administration. At the OLP, he will be in charge of judicial nominations and legal policy. Read his biohere.

Schroeder served on the Obama transition team for the Department of Justice. A critic of Bush-era legal policies, he was nominated after the president’s first pick for the job, Mark Gitenstein, withdrew under criticism about his lobbying work.

IGNACIA MORENO and LAURIE ROBINSON:

Moreno, counsel for corporate environmental programs at the General Electric Corp., is nominated the head the Environment and Natural Resources Division. Her corporate ties have stirred some controversy. Robinson is nominated to head the Office of Justice Programs. The DOJ veteran is already effectively in the job: She was named Acting Assistant Attorney General/Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for OJP on Jan. 28, 2009. Neither is scheduled yet for a Senate hearing.