| John Ashcroft |
Article Index for John |
Website Links For John |
Information About ®John Ashcroft |
|
John David Ashcroft (born May 9 , 1942 ) was the 79th Attorney General of the United States . He served during the first term of President George W. Bush from 2001 until 2005 . Ashcroft was previously a U.S. Senator from Missouri ( 1995 – 2001 ) and the Governor Of Missouri ( 1985 – 1993 ). EARLY CAREER: LAWYER, GOVERNOR Ashcroft was born in Chicago, Illinois to James Robert Ashcroft and Grace P. Larsen (whose parents were born in Norway ). He was educated in Springfield, Missouri , and at Yale University , where he graduated in 1964 . He received a J.D. degree from the University Of Chicago in 1967 , and briefly taught Business Law at Southwest Missouri State University . He began his career in Missouri government in 1973 when appointed by Gov. Christopher Bond as state auditor. In 1976 he was elected state attorney general and re-elected to that same office in 1980. He was elected Governor Of Missouri in 1984 and again in 1988. U.S. SENATOR In 1994 Ashcroft was elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri. As Senator:
Ashcroft briefly considered running for president, but on Jan. 5, 1999 , he announced that he would not seek the presidency and would instead defend his Senate seat in his 2000 reelection. {Link without Title} In his bid for reelection to the Senate, Ashcroft faced a challenge from then-Governor Mel Carnahan . Carnahan died in an airplane crash two weeks prior to the election, but his name remained on the ballot due to Missouri state election laws. Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson became Governor upon Carnahan's death. Wilson announced that should Carnahan be elected he would appoint his widow, Jean Carnahan , to serve in her husband's place; Mrs. Carnahan agreed to this arrangement. Campaigning by Ashcroft was suspended after Carnahan's death, even though the Carnahan family continued airing campaign ads. Voters elected Mel Carnahan, although dead, by a narrow margin. U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL Following his Senatorial defeat, Ashcroft was nominated as U.S. Attorney General by President-elect George W. Bush in December 2000. Ashcroft was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 58-42, with most of the Democratic Senators voting against him, citing his previous opposition of desegregation and abortion rights. Ashcroft is a member of the wing of the Republican Party and was one of the highest-ranked representatives of that group in the Bush Administration . Ashcroft's religious beliefs led opponents, including Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), to question his ability to effectively enforce certain laws, especially those pertaining to Abortion . Ashcroft said that he would enforce laws whether or not he agreed with them. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Ashcroft was a key supporter of passage of the USA Patriot Act . It is believed that Ashcroft requested that certain provisions be re-written to provide stricter enforcement of anti-terrorism laws. One of these provisions was the controversial Section 215, which allows for warrantless seizures of patron records from libraries and seizure of bookstore customer records. Ashcroft referred to American Library Association opposition to Section 215 as "hysteria" in two separate speeches given in September, 2003 {Link without Title} {Link without Title} . During his tenure at Justice, Ashcroft consistently denied that the FBI or any other law enforcement agency had used the Patriot Act to obtain library circulation records or those of retail sales. In January 2002, the partially nude female statue of the '', Ashcroft's successor, Alberto Gonzales , approved the removal of the curtains. In February 2002, Ashcroft told the Los Angeles Times of his view that "Islam is a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for him. Christianity is a faith in which God sends his son to die for you", further troubling Muslims in America in the aftermath of 9/11. {Link without Title} Ashcroft's positions on privacy and Civil Liberties measures made him an extremely disliked figure among Libertarian , Left-wing and Liberal groups, and groups opposed to the Bush administration often mentioned him as epitomizing all the reasons for their opposition. Some of his most prominent critics were organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Pro-choice groups. Opponents claimed that Ashcroft used the threat of Terrorism to further political goals. Examples cited include:
In March 2004, Ashcroft entered the George Washington Medical Center with Gallstone Pancreatitis ; surgeons removed his Gallbladder ( Cholecystectomy ) within a week. On November 9, 2004, Ashcroft announced his resignation from his post as Attorney General, which took effect on February 3 , 2005 with the Senate confirmation of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales as the next Attorney General. Some believe his health was a factor in his decision. His hand-written resignation letter, dated November 2 , stated: "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." LOBBYIST In October 2005, Ashcroft registered with the federal government as a Lobbyist . In 2005 year-end filings, Ashcroft's firm, The Ashcroft Group LLC, reported collecting $269,000, including $220,000 from Oracle Corporation , which won Department Of Justice approval of a multibillion-dollar acquisition less than a month after hiring Ashcroft. The totals that Ashcroft has reported so far represent in some cases only initial payments. Oracle is one of three clients of Ashcroft's lobbying firm which want his help in selling data or software with homeland security applications, according to government filings. The fourth reported client, Israel Aircraft Industries International, is competing with Chicago's Boeing Company to sell the government of South Korea a billion-dollar Airborne Radar system. {Link without Title} CIA LEAK CONFLICT OF INTEREST ALLEGATION See Also: CIA leak grand jury investigation When Karl Rove was being questioned by the FBI over the Leak Of A Covert CIA Agent's Identity In The Press , Ashcroft was personally briefed about the investigation. U.S. Representative John Conyers described this at the time as a "stunning ethical breach that cries out for an immediate investigation." {Link without Title} Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter asking for a formal investigation of the time between the start of Rove's investigation and John Ashcroft's recusal {Link without Title} : WAR ON DRUGS Ashcroft is an enthusiastic advocate of the War On Drugs . His tough-on-marijuana stance dates back to his tenure as a Senator, when he successfully pushed for stricter federal Mandatory Sentencing laws for drug offenses. He continued this stance as the Governor of Missouri, favoring a drug control policy that focused law enforcement efforts on Casual Drug Users . In icon Tommy Chong was one of those charged, for his part in financing and promoting Chong Glass/Nice Dreams, a company started by his son Paris. Of the 55 individuals charged as a result of the operations, only Chong was given a prison sentence (nine months in a federal jail, plus forfeiting $103,000 and a year of probation). The other 54 individuals were given fines and home detentions. While the DOJ denied that Chong was treated any differently from the other defendants, many felt that he was made an example of by the government. The former senator famously once boasted of his and a dead Skunk ", adding that he did not wish to be either. SINGER-SONGWRITER Ashcroft composed a Paean called "Let the Eagle Soar" which he sang at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in February 2002. The rendition was Satirically featured in Michael Moore 's 2004 movie '' Fahrenheit 9/11 ''. The song was also sung at Bush's 2005 inauguration by Guy Hovis , former cast member of '' The Lawrence Welk Show ''. Ashcroft has penned and sung a number of other songs and created compilation tapes, including ''In the Spirit of Life and Liberty'' and ''Gospel (Music) According to John''. With fellow Senators Trent Lott , Larry Craig , and James Jeffords , he formed a Barbershop Quartet called The Singing Senators . Sometime in the , a Democrat. {Link without Title} He is also an amateur sculptor. ACADEMIA On March 18 , 2005 , Regent University , a primarily graduate university founded by Pat Robertson with its main campus in Virginia Beach, Virginia , announced that Ashcroft would join the school's faculty on July 1. He now serves jointly in Regent's law and government schools. {Link without Title} REFERENCES Mintz, John and Allen, Mike. "To Suspicious Candidates, the Threat of Attack Is No Longer Above the Fray." '' The Washington Post '', June 27 , 2004 . EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|