Monica Lewinsky

FOIA: A Most Excellent Law

By David Lat

There’s an interesting article on the Freedom of Information Act in today’s Los Angeles Times. Here’s an excerpt, which powerfully illustrates the importance of FOIA to our democracy:

A list of Freedom of Information Act requests that have been completed by the archives staff includes one for a photo of Bill Clinton jogging with a “Yale Whiffenpoof Club insignia” on his clothing, another for various files on UFOs and flying saucers, and one for the full name of the pastry chef who made a birthday cake for Chelsea Clinton.

Monica Lewinsky Monica S Lewinsky Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky.JPGYou mean the one that Monica Lewinsky jumped out of?
(On a serious note, we do not mean to diminish the importance of FOIA — which has been described as “a journalist’s best friend, and a blogger’s, too.”)
Clinton’s first-lady records locked up [Los Angeles Times]
What Bloggers Can Learn From Journalists [Poynter Online]

We Sure Hope It Was Worth Two Years in Prison

By David Lat

lollipop oral sex fellatio Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgDefendant Genarlow Wilson, who served two years behind bars for having consensual oral sex with another teen, has been ordered released from prison. Wilson’s habeas corpus petition was granted, despite defense counsel being named “B.J. Bernstein.”
(If former President Bill Clinton were asked if Monica’s ministrations were worth it — the impeachment, the ignominy, the imperilment of his presidency — what would he say?)
Judge Throws Out Sentence in Teen Sex Case [New York Times]
Judge Frees Teen Imprisoned for Consensual Oral Sex
[Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Drudge Report]

Do You Know Monica Goodling?

By David Lat

Monica Goodling 4 Monica M Goodling Monica Gooding Alberto Gonzales Above the Law blog.JPGIf so, we’d love to hear from you — please email us (subject line: “Monica Goodling”). Now that Goodling, who served as the Justice Department’s White House liaison (she’s currently on leave), has announced her intention to invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege, the public is hungry for more details about this mystery woman of the DOJ.
So what we do know about Monica Goodling — besides her weakness for Ralph Lauren clothing and red plastic cups?
Dan Froomkin, over at White House Watch, offers up a detailed and comprehensive write-up (with numerous links). He explains why Beltway insiders are once again fixated on a young woman named Monica:

Will another presidency be tripped up by another Monica?

Juries in criminal cases are sternly lectured not to assume guilt when a defendant takes the Fifth. It is, after all, a Constitutional right.

But when a fairly minor player in what had heretofore not been considered a criminal investigation suddenly admits that she faces legal jeopardy if she tells the truth to a Congressional panel? Well, in that case, wild speculation is an inevitable and appropriate reaction.

The WSJ Law Blog also has a nice round-up:

Who is Monica Goodling? She’s a White House liaison for AG Alberto Gonzales and is currently on leave. Emails released by the DOJ last week showed she played a central role in the dismissals. Thanks to this story, we also know that she’s 33, a 1995 graduate Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., and received her law degree at Regent University, the Virginia Beach, Va. school founded by Yale Law School graduate Pat Robertson.

Such credentials led one ATL commenter to wonder:

What I want to know is how a 1999 graduate of the purported “law school” at a purported “university” founded by Pat Robertson has acquired the title of “Senior Counsel” to this nation’s Attorney General.

More on Monica, after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Do You Know Monica Goodling?”

An Alternative Career Path for Top Law School Graduates

By David Lat

Monica Lewinsky Monica S Lewinsky Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky.JPGForget about Biglaw, kids. If you want to make some serious dough, there are better ways. And we’re not talking about i-banking, hedge funds, and venture capital.
If you want to make not just hundreds of thousands, but many millions, follow this easy, five-point plan:
1. Become governor of a small Southern state.
2. Become President of the United States.
3. Get fellated by an attractive young intern; get impeached.
4. Leave office.
5. Hit the lecture circuit; rake in $9 to $10 million a year in speaking fees.
Sure, step #3 isn’t essential to the plan. But why would you want to skip it?
Update: If you, like this commenter, miss having Bill Clinton as president, we have a suggestion for you: VOTE FOR HILLARY!!!
Senator Hillary Clinton is proud of her husband’s record while in office. And unlike Al Gore, she is embracing rather than distancing herself from that record — which strikes us as a shrewd move.
For Clinton, New Wealth In Speeches: Fees in 6 Years Total Nearly $40 Million [Washington Post]

Morning Docket: 01.02.07

By David Lat

Monica Lewinsky Monica S Lewinsky Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky.JPG* The nation mourns President Gerald R. Ford. Federal government employees and stock exchange workers thank him for a four-day weekend. [Washington Post; Associated Press]
* Plaintiffs’ class-action lawyer William Lerach claims that firing him would cause “delay, duplication of effort and extra costs.” So does hiring him. [WSJ Law Blog]
* A new year, an old question: Are federal judges underpaid? Maybe; maybe not. [New York Times; Washington Wire; SCOTUSblog; National Review Online (via How Appealing)]
(We think Chief Justice Roberts is being a bit alarmist. Is it truly a “constitutional crisis” that Sidwell Friends doesn’t accept payment in prestige?)
* This seems sensible. But since when has the Senate cared about common sense? The inefficiency quirkiness of that institution is why we love it so. [Los Angeles Times via How Appealing]
* Can New York Governor Eliot Spitzer live up to the hype? Several scandals have at least given him a lot to work with. [New York Times]
* WaPo columnist Richard Cohen shares our love for Monica Lewinsky. Why can’t the media give her the respect that she’s entitled to? Making double entendres about oral sex is no way to treat a lady. [Washington Post]

Congratulations to Ms. Monica Lewinsky!

By David Lat

Monica Lewinsky Monica Lewinsky Monica Lewinsky oral sex blow job Bill Clinton impeachment.jpgAmerica’s SweeTart just graduated from the London School of Economics with an M.S. in Social Psychology. Interestingly enough, her LSE master’s thesis was law-oriented: an examination of the effect of pretrial publicity on jury selection.
(Monica: Please don’t treat that rolled-up diploma like a cigar. Thank you.)
Lewinsky graduates from London School of Economics [Reuters via Drudge Report]
In Search of the Impartial Juror: The third person effect and pretrial publicity [London School of Economics (Psychology Dept.)]
Nature of President Clinton’s Relationship with Monica Lewinsky [Starr Report]
Now Here’s an Oral Sex Scandal for You [Volokh Conspiracy]