Chat Details

TWT Justice Department reporter Ben Conery 03-16-09

This chat will begin at noon on Monday, March 16, 2009.

Read the transcript of the live chat with Ben Conery, Justice Department reporter for The Washington Times, who took questions on Monday, March 16.

Transcript

1. • Ben Conery, the Justice Department reporter for The Washington Times, joins us for a live chat. Good afternoon, Ben. Thanks for being with us again at www.WashingtonTimes.com. by Jeffrey Lea
   • Answer: Thanks. Happy to be hear again. by Ben Conery
2. • Last month, at a Justice Department commemoration of Black History Month, Attorney General Eric H. Holder said that Americans are "a nation of cowards" when it comes to race. Didn't President Obama admonish Mr. Holder for these remarks? Were there other repercussions from the speech? by Jeffrey Lea
   • Answer: The famous "Nation of Cowards" speech. It certainly became a sensation for the better part of week. And it seemed split pretty evenly between those who took exception to Mr. Holder's remarks and those who praised them. In some ways, both responses played right into Mr. Holder's hands -- he said the nation should talk more about race, and for a few days his remarks got people talking about it. As for the most important reaction -- at least regarding Mr. Holder's future employment -- President Obama had a somewhat muted response. He told the New York Times in an interview that he wouldn't have used the such language and disagreed that constantly talking about race is the answer. by Ben Conery
3. • Has Mr. Holder addressed the problem of the large prison population in the United States? by Jeffrey Lea
   • Answer: Not to my knowledge. The only prison population I know he's working to reduce is that of the detention facility Guantanamo Bay. The president ordered it closed within a year, and Mr. Holder leads a group charged with figuring out how to get that done. by Ben Conery
4. • Has the administration indicated how it will deal with the U.S. attorneys -- who will stay, who will go? by Jeffrey Lea
   • Answer: They haven't made any indications about what they will do. Obviously, U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president, so we can probably expect a bunch of new faces in those spots. I would guess that Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney in Chicago, whose office is prosecuting former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, may have the most job security. In light of the controversy about (and now criminal investigation of) the U.S. attorneys' firing during the Bush administration, I'd expect this will now be a very closely watched process. by Ben Conery
5. • What is the significance of the changes made by the Obama administration regarding detainees at Guantanamo Bay? by Jeffrey Lea
   • Answer: Very little. At least that's what most of the experts and advocates I've spoken to have said. This administration will no longer use the term "enemy combatant" to refer to detainees at Guantanamo. This is generally seen as a symbolic break with the Bush administration. The Obama administration has said it narrowed the rules for detention, saying only terrorists and those who provide "substantial" assistance to terrorists can be held. But the term "substantial" has not been defined, and critics say the new policies still allow authorities to cast too wide a net. by Ben Conery
6. • What is next for the Madoff case? by Jeffrey Lea
   • Answer: Just a few hours ago, prosecutors filed paperwork indicating they would seek to seize Madoff's $7 million penthouse apartment and tens of millions of dollars that Madoff's lawyers say actually belong to his wife. And things could get worse for Ruth Madoff. The FBI is still investigating her, her two sons and others in an effort to determine if anyone else helped Bernie Madoff pull of his Ponzi scheme. by Ben Conery
7. • What is next in the Stanford case? Would you please give a bit of background, too, please. by Jeffrey Lea
   • Answer: R. Allen Stanford is a flamboyant banker in Antigua who authorities say sold "certificates of deposits" that promised impossibly high returns. In fact, the Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Mr. Stanford of perpetrating an $8 billion fraud. He has not been charged criminally, but one of his top executives has been charged with lying to investigators. It seems likely investigators will put pressure on her to cooperate. And we now know the FBI has been looking into Mr. Stanford since last year. So stay tuned. by Ben Conery
9. • Ben, we're coming to the end of our chat. Thanks again for being with us. Any last words for our readers? by Jeffrey Lea
   • Answer: Thanks for having me. And feel free to contact me at bconery@washingtontimes.com by Ben Conery