Patrick Fitzgerald

• 2005 People Magazine "one of the sexiest men alive"

• Led the prosecutions of former Illinois Governors George Ryan (sentenced to five years) and Rod Blagojevich (14 years)

• Served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois for more than a decade

• National Security Coordinator for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York

On December 30, 2003, after then-Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself from the CIA leak grand jury investigation of the Plame affair due to conflicts of interest, Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey, acting as Attorney General in Ashcroft's place, appointed Fitzgerald to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel in charge of the investigation.[4][5] Fitzgerald was well-known to Comey and was in fact already godfather to one of Comey's children.

On December 30, 2003, three months after the start of the Plame investigation, Fitzgerald was appointed Special Counsel. Through this, Fitzgerald was delegated "all the authority of the Attorney General" in the matter. In February 2004, Acting Attorney General Comey clarified the delegated authority and stated that Fitzgerald has plenary authority. Comey also wrote "further, my conferral on you of the title of 'Special Counsel' in this matter should not be misunderstood to suggest that your position and authorities are defined and limited by 28 CFR Part 600."[23]

On October 28, 2005, Fitzgerald brought an indictment for 5 counts of false statements, perjury, and obstruction of justice against Lewis "Scooter" Libby, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff. Libby resigned to prepare for his legal defense. In his first press conference after announcing Libby's indictment, Fitzgerald was asked about comments by Republicans such as Kay Bailey Hutchison, who said "I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality …" to which Fitzgerald responded, "That talking point won't fly … The truth is the engine of our judicial system. [sound familiar?] If you compromise the truth, the whole process is lost … if we were to walk away from this, we might as well hand in our jobs." - Wikipedia

>>8191237

I won’t steal all of Fitzgerald’s thunder, because he surely will be asked to speak many times in the future, and I don’t want to preempt those talks by spilling the beans here. But let me note a few highlights:

First, if you’re responding to allegations made by a whistleblower, don’t assume that you’ll avoid trouble by explaining that the whistleblower is nuts. Whistleblowers may often be nuts — it takes a certain personality to blow the whistle — but the fact that you’re nuts doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re wrong. Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day. It’s okay to explain briefly to prosecutors that the whistleblower is nuts, but the heart of your presentation must respond to the allegations. - https://abovethelaw.com/2013/03/inside-straight-pat-fitzgerald-on-handling-prosecutors/

So which Biglaw firm just landed this big fish?

After serving as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois for more than a decade, Fitzgerald will be joining Skadden, according to the Chicago Tribune:

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP announced Monday that Fitzgerald will become a partner in the firm’s Chicago office on Oct. 29.

Skadden has long been among New York’s most prestigious law firms, but hiring Fitzgerald is still a coup. After leaving his post as U.S. attorney at the end of June after nearly 11 years, Fitzgerald, 51, became the most sought-after lawyer in recent Chicago history.

Indeed. As one Above the Law source put it, “if he goes Biglaw and stays in Chicago, whatever firm gets him will be the go-to litigation firm for the city. He is amazingly respected here.” - https://abovethelaw.com/2012/10/musical-chairs-patrick-fitzgeralds-new-home/

The U.S. Attorney for Chicago, Patrick Fitzgerald, seemed to have some great evidence — tape recordings of Blagojevich engaging in apparent wheeling and dealing (and uttering a fair amount of profanity).

Today, on the fourteenth day of jury deliberations, the jury found the former governor guilty on count 24 of the indictment, making false statements to federal agents, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. The maximum penalty is five years of imprisonment. This makes Blagojevich a convicted felon.

But there was some better news for Blago, too….

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the other 23 counts — more serious counts, with greater exposure. The § 1001 count is the proverbial tail on the dog, a charge that federal prosecutors often toss in “just to be on the safe side.” - https://abovethelaw.com/2010/08/breaking-former-illinois-governor-rod-blagojevich-convicted-on-one-count-making-false-statements/

So we have to ask:

If Alberto Gonzales steps (or gets pushed) aside, who should take his place as Attorney General?

We’re rooting for Shanetta Cutlar. But if she doesn’t get tapped, Andrew Cohen floats this interesting idea.

Right now, Patrick Fitzgerald is most well-known for his (successful) work on the Scooter Libby case. This may preclude his selection as AG, given the political hot potato that it turned into — and the embarrassment it caused for the Bush Administration.

But let’s not forget that, setting aside the Libby case, Fitzgerald has the background that one would normally seek in an Attorney General. He’s the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago), one of the nation’s most prestigious prosecutor’s offices, and he has some serious additional credentials.

After graduating from one of our nation’s finest high schools (shameless plug for our alma mater), Pat Fitzgerald went on to Amherst College and Harvard Law School. Before taking over as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District, he was a line prosecutor in the legendary Southern District of New York. As an AUSA in the SDNY, he worked on some major prosecutions, including the trials of Omar Abdel Rahman and Ramzi Yousef. - https://abovethelaw.com/2007/03/who-should-be-the-next-attorney-general/

>>8191246

and since night shift is comped, i'll repost this and the pb stuff in the morning. kek.