Breaking: Attorney General Mukasey Collapses at Federalist Society Dinner
ATL correspondent Laurie Lin, on the scene at the annual dinner of the Federalist Society, reports that Attorney General Michael Mukasey “literally collapsed mid-sentence at the podium,” while delivering a speech at the Society’s National Lawyers Convention. It is not clear what AG Mukasey suffered, but a stroke is possible.
“Medical people are working on him now as he lies on the dais,” according to Lin. “Secret Service FBI says no one can get up. Entire hall is shocked and silent.”
Update (10:38 PM): “They appear to have an IV in. They have taken him out. Now people are praying…. Everyone is saying it looked like a stroke. People are very somber. Some people from the DOJ are visibly shaken.”
Update (10:47 PM): According to radio reports, Mukasey did not immediately regain consciousness after collapsing, and was taken to an area hospital. More from Politico over here.
Update (11:03 PM): According to a different source, Mukasey had regained consciousness by the time he was taken out of the room.
Update (11:06 PM): People are now being allowed to leave the room. From Laurie Lin: “The party ended abruptly, needless to say. The tone of the man [perhaps David McIntosh] who prayed after they took out the AG seemed pretty grim. He asked for prayers for Mukasey’s wife, who was there according to the program, and the Mukasey family.”
More updates after the jump.
Update (11:16 PM): From the AP story:
The 67-year-old Mukasey was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where his condition was not immediately known. Mukasey was delivering a speech to the Federalist Society at a Washington hotel when “he just started shaking and he collapsed,” said Associate Attorney General Kevin O’Connor. “They’re very concerned.”Mukasey was 15 to 20 minutes into his speech about the Bush administration’s successes in combatting terrorism when he began slurring his words. He collapsed and lost consciousness, said O’Connor, the department’s No. 3 official.
Mukasey’s was noticeably shaking during his speech before he collapsed shortly before 10:20 p.m. EST. His security detail called 911. Mukasey was on the stage for 10 minutes being attended to by his FBI detail before medics arrived.
Update (12:08 AM): Here is a short video clip (via the ABA Journal):
Update (12:21 AM): Some good news about AG Mukasey, from Reuters:
U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey is “conscious, conversant and alert” at a local Washington hospital after collapsing while delivering a speech at a hotel, the U.S. Justice Department said late on Tuesday.“His vital statistics are strong and he is in good spirits,” department spokesman Peter Carr said in a statement. “The doctors will keep him overnight for further observations.”
We will keep you posted. Please keep AG Mukasey and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Update (11/21/08, 10 AM): The AG is OK. The latest news: “The AG is fine and will be released from the hospital later today. No word yet on what the diagnosis was. He will be taking a few days off.”
Update (11/21/08, 1:30 PM): The AG is more than OK. In fact, he’s already back in the office.
Attorney General Mukasey collapses during speech [AP]
Attorney General Collapses During Speech [New York Times]
Attorney general collapses [Politico]
Remarks Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Federalist Society [MarketWatch]
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Comments
FIRST!
Thoughts and prayers. . .
Thoughts and prayers. . .
April Fools!
God's way of saying it's our boy Holder's time to take over.
- Proud CLS 2L Stud
Gosh, not a good day at all.
5 to straight to hell
Apparently he had just gotten wind of the Cravath bonus memo.
If I hear the word "pretzels" someone's going to die. Let's try to behave like human beings, just this once.
prayers r with him
Agree 9.
Unbelievable news. And ATL beats all major news outlets.
Thoughts. Prayers. Etc.
refuah shleima
Unbelievable.
Someone actually updated his wikipedia page as though he had died.
Unbelievable.
Pretzels? Hope Mukasey don't die.
My prayers are with him and his family.
This is quite the scoop for ATL, no mention on drudge or NYTimes for now.
CLS 2L Stud -
I will do my best to get you and all of your pompous CLS brethren no-offered at my V10 firm this summer.
- Top 1% TTT 2L
mega dittos to the thoughts and prayers
Politico beat ATL by eight minutes:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15842.html
This is crass, but you guys beat NYT. Congrats.
18,
are you serious? you can't stop v10s from hiring my columbia brethren. good luck making partner with your TTT degree; what client would want an attorney from your school working on their case?
Serves him right for speaking at a FedSox shindig.
- Staunchly-Liberal, Public Interest-Minded NYU 3L
Thoughts and prayers.
And pretzels.
No, just thoughts and prayers.
refuah shleima...
Agree 9.
Unbelievable news. And ATL beats all major news outlets.
Thoughts. Prayers. Etc.
Both of you 2L retards--no client of a V10 firm will know or care who you are until maybe your 8th year. Neither one of you should think so highly of yourselves.
TWO drudge sirens on the ATL page within hours of each other. WORST DAY EVER (YET?)!
23 = 5, same insecure CLS douchetard. Jeez you guys are such insufferable tools.
20, the politico timestamp is a lie.
thoughts and prayers - hope his family is alright as well.
-NYU 2L
I think the Politico time stamp is when the story was created in their system (not when it appeared live on their site).
Wishing the best
-Liberal NYU 2L
Wishing the best
-Liberal Corporate-Minded NYU 2L
Whatever goes down, let's not lump Mukasey in with the other bozos Bush appointed to AG post. Mukasey was generally trying to clean up the mess his predecessors left behind. Sincere thoughts and prayers.
- Humbled T5 Law Student
For those who wailed about Cravath, this provides some needed perspective.
Guys in my high school used to steal the siren from Drudge all the time. It was no big deal.
this is somebody's father, son, & husband. if ever there were a time to put aside snarky political comments and ideological turf wars, this would be it.
tttehillim and pretzuls
tttehillim and pretzuls
5 = typical sickening liberal moonbat.
Fed Soc
22 -
Something tells me you and the rest of the CLS tools who celebrate someone's possible death will get yourselves no-offered.
22,
Please don't speak on our behalf. You are the reason why so many lawyers and law students from peer schools despise us. 18, please accept my apologies on behalf of 5 and 22- they are not representative of the CLS student body.
- Befuddled CLS 1L
Because we need to throw the rule of law out with our failed economy. Ruh roh.
-UVA 2L
5 and 23: I will remember you when that fat Kennedy slob dies from complications of terminal brain cancer.
There will be public jubilation, rather than somber pause, because of you and your ilk. If you want tasteless culture war, we'll give it to you.
Republican or Democrat, I hope for a speedy recovery for the nation's most powerful lawyer.
5 and 23: I will remember you when that fat Kennedy slob dies from complications of terminal brain cancer.
There will be public jubilation, rather than somber pause, because of you and your ilk. If you want tasteless culture war, we'll give it to you.
Guys, turn the other cheek, please. Being a vicious moron is its own reward.
Saw the video on Fox. A stroke, no question about it.
federalist society is bad for your health
Dem. Hoping he's ok.
Crowded GW 2L
My Property law professor explained that CONCURRENT ownership is when ONE owner shares property with another owner but if THIS Blawg is using the "siren" with OUT permission from another Blawg then it might be NON-Free hold and a possible violation.
BUT, I do NOT know if it was inter vivos, and I am NOT an expert in Property law.
51, this GW 2L concurs.
People that bring politics into this are disgusting.
Mukasey is not a partisan hack. Even people who have problems with the Bush DOJ respect Mukasey.
So will it be Mukasey that dies when I say "pretzels"? Cause, you know, I said it. "Pretzels." I love Trolls.
I just got back from the Marriott Wardman Park. It was awful. I thought he may not even make it out of there alive. It definitely looked like a stroke. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.
I can't believe it took the incompetent DC medics 10 f*cking minutes to get there. I hope he recovers, and I'm glad I live in Arlington, not DC.
56 here. The man who addressed the crowd and led the prayer for the AG at the end of the event was David McIntosh, co-founder of the Federalist Society, former congressman from Indiana, and currently partner at Mayer Brown.
55, I'm just encouraging people to show the slighest bit of humanity or respect. But it's a free country.
Hope he recovers. He is a good guy: I had a class at Columbia with him.
Lat, great work on this. But remove the last update--you did a great job and you are ruining an important story by including Olson's stupid dig at the end of your updates. Just stick to the info on the AG.
can i say "edsels"?
This is horrible news. Mukasey is a stand-up guy.
can i say "edsels"?
LOL @ 50. check yo self before you wreck you self..
I blame Cravath.
61 - Looks like Lat listened to you.
It just happens that I am not a human being...
...and I am getting a kick out of these replies.
i think you're abusing the red light. 2 times in a day?
On balance, the ratio of normal human reaction to this news (eg compassion) to hateful partisan silliness/jokes evinced by the commenters on this article is about on par with kos. Something to consider...
Best wishes and prayers to the AG and his family.
I don't pray, thanks tho.
Sad night by any standard.
ATL was definitely all over this before any other outlet.
Totally agree, 57. The Cleveland Park fire/EMS is only ~0.75 mile up Connecticut Ave. How that trip takes 10 minutes at 10pm is beyond me. Of course, once they got there they also proceeded to leisurely stroll up the entire length of the ballroom, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the person 7th in line to the Presidency was collapsed on the stage. While above all it's sad to see this happen to the AG, it's also a depressing commentary on the state of emergency services in DC.
As someone who is not a human being, I am getting a kick out of these replies.
Lat - nice work. I think you were FIRST to cover this story.
To everyone who complains whenever ATL does a story after the WSJ Law Blog, note that the Law Blog has nothing up about Mukasey yet.
75 just pwned the haterz
I'd say something about Pretzels, but I just had a stroke...
Pretzels
*thoughts and prayers with Mukasey and family*
*still nervous about jobs*
-nervous T-10 1L
email job leads to nervoust101l@yahoo.com
Check out that video. Wow.
where's elie??? still too busy gorging on turkey to notice the news??? he'll be in for a surprise when he checks his phone and cnn.
He probably choked on pretzels.
Prayers to the Mukasey family.
Put your right hand out, give a firm hand-shake
Talk to me about that one big break...
Spread your ear-pollution both far and wide...
Keep your contributions by your side and stroke me, stroke me...
- Billy
Huge, huge day for ATL. Too bad it's all depressing news.
C'mon, guys, lay off Elie. He has really stepped up his game in the past few weeks.
Elie to Mukasey
Pretty sad and pathetic when people type "FIRST" in response to a story such as this.
Hoping for a speedy recovery. The DOJ needs judge Mukasey.
Good job Eli. People been giving you a lot of cr@p since you started but you really stepped it up the past few days.
Great job, Lat!
I hope he wakes up so that he has an opportunity to repent on his death bed for enabling war crimes and crimes against humanity.
89: are you kidding??? elie hasn't done shit. this story was all lin and lat. elie is probably comotose of a coach somewhere with a bag of half eaten cheetohs strewn across his body.
jk elie, you know i love you...smootches
I hope he wakes up so that he has an opportunity to repent on his death bed for enabling war crimes and crimes against humanity.
5 - You realize Mukasey went to Columbia undergrad, and taught at the law school for over a decade, right?
I realize Holder went to Columbia for undergrad and for his j.d., but I don't see how his imminent appointment brings the school that much more glory than Mukasey continuing in the post.
I hope he wakes up so that he has an opportunity to repent on his death bed for enabling war crimes and crimes against humanity.
pretzels
that would never have happened to Skadden material
What would I pray to? The outer-space god?
Instead I'll offer sympathy to the family.
this would have never happened to a penn law graduate! we are of a healthy stock!
pretzels
What would I pray to? The outer-space god?
Instead I'll offer sympathy to the family.
99: you're right, joe pa shows no signs on slowing down and he's in his 80's.
show some sympathy....ass.
102: lol nice job confusing penn with penn st.
...dummy.
Maybe now Alberto can find a job . . .
It looks like one just opened up.
Hope he gets better.... Prayers....
Prayers go out.
wow it looks like Mukasey really Cravath'ed...I hope he's ok.
Pretzels!
J/K, hope he's all right, even though I'll be happy when he's out of a job.
Who cares!?!? Cravath bonuses is the important news!
Agree with 93.
Hope he's ok. As a MD/JD student (so I am basically nothing, yet, and this is not a medical diagnosis) it looks to me like fainting upon a drop in blood pressure. Its possible a man of his age is on tamsulosin for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Let's hope that's what it is.
I hope for the best for Mr. Mukasey.
(112: please, out of curiosity, what do you intend to do with a JD/MD? Sooooooo much work!! Will you be a practicing doctor or a lawyer?)
Hey CLS 2L Stud,
Go straight to HELL. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
In all likelihood you're a NYU student w/ an axe to grind.
Thoughts and prayers go out to Mukasey and his family.
Wow, that seals it, today will go down in history as one of the worst for the legal profession.
HE HEARD ABOUT THE CRAVATH BONUSES AND COLLAPSED IN SHOCK
A neocon political hack collapses at the end of the most disasterous presidency in the modern era - but let's try to behave like humans for once. OK, I'll try. I hope he survives. I hope he wakes up to find that he has been fired from his job and that he has no health insurance to cover his six figure hospital bill. I hope he is well enough to acknowledge that the wealthiest nation on earth should not let its citizens go without basic healthcare coverage, because shit can happen literally to anyone. And when he's on his way to recovery, I hope he will be subjected to some rehabilitation waterboarding - after all it is not torture (it may even be good for you).
And Pretzels. FU TTTroll.
who cares. this site sucks ass.
hopefully this tragic event will yield some positive results, like preventing the bush administration to further rape the constitution.
Pretzels
That this happened is awful - I wouldn't wish a public stroke on anybody. My thoughts and prayers go out to Mukasey's family.
That this happened at the annual dinner of the Federalist Society is, however, hilarious.
I pray for his health, but - on completely unrelated issues - God damn him and all who shit on the Constitution.
LOL at TTTroll's haircut
http://www.FilthyRichmond.com baby
He collapsed under the weight of a failed and hypocritical philosophy. It happened at the Federalist Society of all places.
is the federalist society that group that thinks torture is ok (as long as said torture is defined by anti-American and anti-Human fucks like gonzo and this assclown to exclude any torture by Americans of course)?
just asking.
if it is, fuck him, and fuck them. torture is not a joke. waterboarding baghdad cab drivers because they happen to have been "captured" by some pimply faced racist fuck from alabama is not cool.
If Elie had written this post he would have said keep Mukasey and his family in your thoughts and prayers (to the Spaghetti Monster). T-minus 2 hours until Elie wakes up, eats a waffle and slams Mukasey and the god-fearing Right.
ok, i will bite, feed, howeer you like to think of it.
pretzels.
I pray for this giant of the legal profession. He has led to such profound changes, changes we needed, in our first love of the LAW, and restored a dignified respectability to the office of AG. He is a national treasure, and we need him to continue his service when he recovers.
126-- the depth of your ignorance is only surpassed by the apparent limitations upon your vocabulary.
57, 73 - EMS cannot respond until they are notified of the incident. 911 call has to go out (likely directly through secret service guys or equivalent here), then dispatcher has to listen to the problem and get enough info to figure out who to send and where, and then relay that information to EMS. 10 minutes is actually pretty good, even for less than a mile away.
- EMT for 6 years
This is just proof positive that Drs. PWN Lawyers. We are always at a doctor's mercy.
Long live AUTOADMIT!
#5: I find your comment both inaccurate (if Mukasey has to be replaced, it will be by a Bush appointee rather than an Obama pick) and really obnoxious (1) because it's callous with regard to Mukasey, and (2) because it is in poor taste to call a middle-aged African American "boy," much less "our boy."
By the way, your constructions aren't very sharp: Are you proud to be at CLS, proud to be a student, proud to be a 2L, proud that Mukasey broke down, or proud that your boy Holder may eventually become attorney general?
Uh, 132:
FBI Agent: The Attorney General had a stroke. We are at ___ Hotel.
Dispatcher: Repeat that.
FBI Agent: The Attorney General of the United States had a stroke. Send an ambulance to the ___ Hotel.
Dispatcher: OK. (to GW hospital) The Attorney General has had a stroke. Go to ___ Hotel.
That sounds like about 45 seconds worth of "figuring out" going on, and it included a "Can you repeat that?" Did the medics slowly jog the mile to the hotel? Ten minutes is completely absurd considering the size of DC and the fact that this is one of the most significant members of the President's cabinet.
Incorrect by Ms. Lin re: Secret Service. FBI was on scene and they are AG's security detail.
132,
I hear your point, but I think 135 is right. It's the AG. It doesn't really matter what the exact problem even is, you send 4 freaking ambulances at once with 4 different skill-sets, if needed.
-57
Uh, 132:
FBI Agent: The Attorney General had a stroke. We are at ___ Hotel.
Dispatcher: Repeat that.
FBI Agent: The Attorney General of the United States had a stroke. Send an ambulance to the ___ Hotel.
Dispatcher: OK. (to GW hospital) The Attorney General has had a stroke. Go to ___ Hotel.
That sounds like about 45 seconds worth of "figuring out" going on, and it included a "Can you repeat that?" Did the medics slowly jog the mile to the hotel? Ten minutes is completely absurd considering the size of DC and the fact that this is one of the most significant members of the President's cabinet.
132,
I hear your point, but I think 135 is right. It's the AG. It doesn't really matter what the exact problem even is, you send 4 freaking ambulances at once with 4 different skill-sets, if needed.
-57
He's going to be OK. You can turn the siren off now!
Myoocaysee shuldz retier. He can haz cheezburger now.
Federalist Society? Ew.
126 - Not that this will matter to you, but the Federalist Society doesn't have a petition on torture. It doesn't have positions on anything other than the following: the state exists to preserve freedom, separation of powers is crucial to our democracy, and that the purpose of judges is to say what the law is not what it should be. If you took the time to attend the national lawyers convention, I promise you would see significantly more diversity of opinion than you expect.
143 here, obviously "petition" in the first sentence should be "position."
Why does everyone say "pray for him and his family"? Does anyone here seriously think that prayer works?
Thoughts and prayers? Are you kidding me? Pray to what? Pray to a God that struck him down for praising Bush?
LORD Almighty stuck him DOWN even as he was speaking with a false tongue defending the Bush legal policies. Give me an Amen.
amen!
pretzels
Yes, 144, some of us do believe that prayer works. If you don't, no biggie, don't pray. But lay off people whose faith is important and meaningful to them.
I pray to Cinderella and Snow White. They are just as real.
I find when I pray for a shiny new bike I always get one!
8:59 (f/k/a 132) - I generally give the benefit of the doubt to emergency personnel, but have you watched the video here? You can see the FBI agent speaking into his cuff within like 10 seconds of when the incident happened. That WAS the call for help. Unless they can give some specific explanation for what took so long, I think you have to say the DC EMS response in this situation was completely unacceptable.
8:59 (f/k/a 132) - I generally give the benefit of the doubt to emergency personnel, but have you watched the video here? You can see the FBI agent speaking into his cuff within like 10 seconds of when the incident happened. That WAS the call for help. Unless they can give some specific explanation for what took so long, I think you have to say the DC EMS response in this situation was completely unacceptable.
Did he choke on some pretzels?
Pretzels
Where were the dogs to revive him? Oh yeah, Barney's in trouble for biting that reporter.
Pretzels.
pretzels. try not to be such a douche.