John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is a United States politician who was the 79th United States attorney general. He served during the first term of President George W. Bush from 2001 until 2005. Ashcroft was previously the 50th Governor of Missouri (1985–1993) and a US senator from Missouri (1995–2001).
John Ashcroft biography
Ashcroft was born in Chicago, Illinois, to James Robert Ashcroft and Grace P. (née Larsen). His father was a minister, in an Assemblies of God congregation, and served as president of Evangel University from 1958–1974, and jointly as President of Central Bible College from 1958–1963. He later served as president of Valley Forge Christian College. His mother was a housewife whose parents immigrated to the United States from Norway.
Ashcroft went to school in Springfield, Missouri. He attended Yale University, where he was a member of the Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity and St. Elmo Society, graduating in 1964. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago in 1967.
After law school, Ashcroft briefly taught business law and worked as an administrator at Southwest Missouri State University.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, alleging previous opposition to desegregation and abortion rights.
Religion and conservatism
Ashcroft, a fervent lifelong member of the Assemblies of God church, has brought the denomination more mainstream recognition than any of its earlier conspicuous congregants, including, Elvis Presley, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and former Reagan administration Interior Secretary James Watt. In his book Lessons From a Father to His Son (1998), Ashcroft writes of his anointing himself, before both terms as Missouri Governor, using cooking oil when no holy oil was available.
The former senator famously once boasted of his conservatism, saying that there are two things you find in the middle of the road: "a moderate and a dead skunk", adding that he did not wish to be either.
Anti-terrorism
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Ashcroft was a key supporter of passage of the USA Patriot Act. One of the provisions in that Act was the controversial Section 215, which allows for warrant-less 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. 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.
Ashcroft's positions on privacy and civil liberties issues made him an extremely disliked figure by libertarian, left-wing and liberal groups. 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 July 2002, Ashcroft proposed the creation of Operation TIPS, a domestic program in which workers and government employees would inform law enforcement agencies about suspicious behavior they encounter while performing their duties. The program was criticized in the media as an encroachment upon the First and Fourth Amendments, and the United States Postal Service balked at the program, refusing outright to participate. Ashcroft defended the program as a necessary component of the ongoing War on Terrorism, but the proposal was eventually abandoned.
Ashcroft was responsible for draft legislation - the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, which proposed to greatly expand the powers of the U.S. government to fight crime and terrorism, while simultaneously eliminating or curtailing judicial review of these powers for incidents involving domestic terrorism. The bill was leaked and posted to the Internet on February 7, 2003.
On May 26, 2004, Ashcroft held a news conference at which he said that intelligence from multiple sources indicated that al Qaeda intended to attack the United States in the coming months.Drug sentencing
Ashcroft was an enthusiastic advocate of the War on Drugs. In a 2001 interview on Larry King Live, Ashcroft announced his intent to escalate efforts in this area. 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 2003, Ashcroft and the acting DEA Administrator, John B. Brown, announced a series of indictments resulting from two nationwide investigations code-named Operation Pipe Dream and Operation Headhunter. The investigations targeted businesses selling drug paraphernalia, mostly marijuana pipes and bongs, under a little-used statute (Title 21, Section 863(a) of the U.S. Code). Counterculture 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. Chong's experience as a target of Ashcroft's sting operation was documented by filmmaker Josh Gilbert in the feature length film, a/k/a Tommy Chong, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival.Warrentless wiretap program
In March 2004, Ashcroft entered the George Washington Medical Center with gallstone pancreatitis; surgeons removed his gallbladder (cholecystectomy) within a week. While he was in hospital, and seriously ill, on the evening of March 10, 2004, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card went to his hospital room and requested that Ashcroft reconsider the refusal of Acting Attorney General James Comey to reauthorize the secret surveillance program, in contradiction of the policy agreed by Ashcroft and Comey immediately before he fell ill. Comey had rushed to Ashcroft's room upon being notified that Gonzalez and Card were on their way, and arrived shortly before them. Comey testified about this incident to the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 15, 2007, during the committee's investigation of the controversial dismissal of U.S. attorneys in December of 2006. Ashcroft refused to reauthorize the program, and indicated that the acting Attorney General sitting next to the bed is whom Gonzales and Card should direct their request to. As many as 30 Department of Justice senior staff were prepared to resign immediately, protesting both the underhanded effort to go around acting A.G. Comey to get the program re-authorized, and also in protest of the Bush Administration's effort to continue the warrentless search program without change, contrary to the DOJ's then current assessment of the program's lack of legal basis. Ashcroft has been requested to appear before House and Senate Intelligence Committees in a closed-door hearing, in June 2007, to describe the incident, and circumstances surrounding the program more completely.Resignation
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."
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John Ashcroft biography
Ashcroft was born in Chicago, Illinois, to James Robert Ashcroft and Grace P. (née Larsen). His father was a minister, in an Assemblies of God congregation, and served as president of Evangel University from 1958–1974, and jointly as President of Central Bible College from 1958–1963. He later served as president of Valley Forge Christian College. His mother was a housewife whose parents immigrated to the United States from Norway.Ashcroft went to school in Springfield, Missouri. He attended Yale University, where he was a member of the Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity and St. Elmo Society, graduating in 1964. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago in 1967.
After law school, Ashcroft briefly taught business law and worked as an administrator at Southwest Missouri State University.
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, alleging previous opposition to desegregation and abortion rights.Religion and conservatism
Ashcroft, a fervent lifelong member of the Assemblies of God church, has brought the denomination more mainstream recognition than any of its earlier conspicuous congregants, including, Elvis Presley, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and former Reagan administration Interior Secretary James Watt. In his book Lessons From a Father to His Son (1998), Ashcroft writes of his anointing himself, before both terms as Missouri Governor, using cooking oil when no holy oil was available.The former senator famously once boasted of his conservatism, saying that there are two things you find in the middle of the road: "a moderate and a dead skunk", adding that he did not wish to be either.
Anti-terrorism
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Ashcroft was a key supporter of passage of the USA Patriot Act. One of the provisions in that Act was the controversial Section 215, which allows for warrant-less 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. 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.Ashcroft's positions on privacy and civil liberties issues made him an extremely disliked figure by libertarian, left-wing and liberal groups. 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 July 2002, Ashcroft proposed the creation of Operation TIPS, a domestic program in which workers and government employees would inform law enforcement agencies about suspicious behavior they encounter while performing their duties. The program was criticized in the media as an encroachment upon the First and Fourth Amendments, and the United States Postal Service balked at the program, refusing outright to participate. Ashcroft defended the program as a necessary component of the ongoing War on Terrorism, but the proposal was eventually abandoned.
Ashcroft was responsible for draft legislation - the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, which proposed to greatly expand the powers of the U.S. government to fight crime and terrorism, while simultaneously eliminating or curtailing judicial review of these powers for incidents involving domestic terrorism. The bill was leaked and posted to the Internet on February 7, 2003.
On May 26, 2004, Ashcroft held a news conference at which he said that intelligence from multiple sources indicated that al Qaeda intended to attack the United States in the coming months.
Drug sentencing
Ashcroft was an enthusiastic advocate of the War on Drugs. In a 2001 interview on Larry King Live, Ashcroft announced his intent to escalate efforts in this area. 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 2003, Ashcroft and the acting DEA Administrator, John B. Brown, announced a series of indictments resulting from two nationwide investigations code-named Operation Pipe Dream and Operation Headhunter. The investigations targeted businesses selling drug paraphernalia, mostly marijuana pipes and bongs, under a little-used statute (Title 21, Section 863(a) of the U.S. Code). Counterculture 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. Chong's experience as a target of Ashcroft's sting operation was documented by filmmaker Josh Gilbert in the feature length film, a/k/a Tommy Chong, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival.
Warrentless wiretap program
In March 2004, Ashcroft entered the George Washington Medical Center with gallstone pancreatitis; surgeons removed his gallbladder (cholecystectomy) within a week. While he was in hospital, and seriously ill, on the evening of March 10, 2004, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card went to his hospital room and requested that Ashcroft reconsider the refusal of Acting Attorney General James Comey to reauthorize the secret surveillance program, in contradiction of the policy agreed by Ashcroft and Comey immediately before he fell ill. Comey had rushed to Ashcroft's room upon being notified that Gonzalez and Card were on their way, and arrived shortly before them. Comey testified about this incident to the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 15, 2007, during the committee's investigation of the controversial dismissal of U.S. attorneys in December of 2006. Ashcroft refused to reauthorize the program, and indicated that the acting Attorney General sitting next to the bed is whom Gonzales and Card should direct their request to. As many as 30 Department of Justice senior staff were prepared to resign immediately, protesting both the underhanded effort to go around acting A.G. Comey to get the program re-authorized, and also in protest of the Bush Administration's effort to continue the warrentless search program without change, contrary to the DOJ's then current assessment of the program's lack of legal basis. Ashcroft has been requested to appear before House and Senate Intelligence Committees in a closed-door hearing, in June 2007, to describe the incident, and circumstances surrounding the program more completely.Resignation
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."Source and additional information: John Ashcroft