Word: ashcroft
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Ashcroft campaigned for a '99 Missouri referendum to allow concealed weapons...
...Ashcroft once wrote, "If I had the opportunity to pass but a single law, I would fully recognize the constitutional right to life of every unborn child, and ban every abortion except for those medically necessary to save the life of the mother...
George W. Bush could have avoided a lot of headaches if he had nominated John Ashcroft to be Secretary of Agriculture. Because the Attorney General plays such a critical role in any Administration, Ashcroft's opponents felt they could not sit still. As the nation's top lawyer and top cop, the Attorney General oversees an enormous network of law-enforcement officers and attorneys, supervising the FBI, the INS, the DEA, the Witness Protection Program and the U.S. Marshals. As chief attorney, he prosecutes everything from tax fraud to money laundering to illegal gun sales to patent violations...
With such a vast fief, every AG must decide where to devote limited money and manpower. The Carter Justice Department focused on white-collar crime. Four years later, Ronald Reagan's zeroed in on organized crime and drugs. Ashcroft's opponents question whether he will diligently prosecute civil rights violations, which include not only discrimination but also blocking access to abortion clinics. Will big polluters face environmental prosecution? Will Ashcroft press the government's case against Microsoft as the company appeals...
What may frighten Ashcroft's detractors most is the role he will have in appointing judges to the federal bench. Although the President has the final word, the Attorney General has a big hand in selecting candidates. With the recent Supreme Court decision fresh in the nation's mind, the importance of lifetime appointees to the bench is clear to both sides...