John McKay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Larkin McKay June 19, 1956 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Education | University of Washington Creighton University School of Law |
| Occupation | Lawyer; former United States Attorney; law professor |
John Larkin McKay (born June 19, 1956) is a former United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington.
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(January 2018) |
McKay, a member of a prominent Republican family in the state, attended Seattle Preparatory School and the University of Washington, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1978. After working as an aide to Congressman Joel Pritchard (R-WA) in 1978–79, McKay earned his J.D. degree at Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska in 1982.
He was admitted to the Washington State Bar and joined the Seattle law firm of Lane Powell Spears Lubersky in 1982, eventually becoming a litigation partner with that firm. He then joined Cairncross & Hempelmann in Seattle, leading its litigation group and serving as a member of its management committee.
He was admitted to practice before the United States District Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
| Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy |
|---|
| Overview |
| G. W. Bush Administration |
| Dismissed U.S. attorneys |
| U.S. Congress |
McKay was one of eight U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration in 2006 which were, after the fact, publicly described as being for performance-related issues related to "policy, priorities and management."[ citation needed ]
McKay was appointed United States Attorney by President George W. Bush in October 2001. He had received a positive evaluation seven months before he was dismissed. Among his noteworthy achievements the successful prosecution of terrorist Ahmed Ressam. Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey gave McKay the additional responsibility of overseeing a pilot program for a computer system (called Law Enforcement Information Exchange) for his success he earned the United States Navy's highest civilian honor. [1]
The Seattle Times noted in February 2007, "One of the most persistent rumors in Seattle legal circles is that the Justice Department forced McKay, a Republican, to resign to appease Washington State Republicans angry over the 2004 governor's race. Some believe McKay's dismissal was retribution for his failure to convene a federal grand jury to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the race." [2]
On March 17, 2007, the Seattle Times reported, "Former Republican congressman Rick White, one of three candidates the Republicans have submitted to replace John McKay as U.S. attorney for Western Washington, cannot practice law in the state. White's license was suspended by the state Supreme Court in August 2003 for failure to pay his bar dues. He was reinstated to the bar in 2005 after paying a small fee, but currently holds an 'inactive' status", which is common for attorneys that are not actively practicing law. [3]
In congressional testimony, Kyle Sampson, chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, testified that McKay may have been fired at least in part because of his advocacy for a more-aggressive investigation into the cold case murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Wales of Seattle. In 2018, the FBI reported Wales's death was likely the result of a conspiracy that included a contract killer. [4] His pursuit of the case and subsequent firing were the subjects of an article by Jeffrey Toobin in the August 6, 2007 issue of The New Yorker. Toobin noted that Gonzales assured Wales's family that the investigation was still a top priority of the Justice Department.
On May 21, 2007, Getty Images announced that McKay would join the corporation as senior vice president and general counsel, based in its headquarters in Seattle. [5]
On September 17, 2007, Jonathan Klein, CEO of Getty Images, announced that McKay would be stepping down as general counsel to return to the law faculty at Seattle University where he will teach full-time. McKay was a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle. [6] McKay left Davis Wright Tremaine in 2021.[ citation needed ]
During his career as a U.S. Attorney, McKay was the prosecutor of Canadian marijuana activist Marc Emery for marijuana seed distribution from Canada. Since that time, McKay has called for reform of marijuana laws such that its sale be legally regulated and taxed. [7]
The 2004 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2004. The race gained national attention for its legal twists and extremely close finish, among the closest political races in United States election history. Republican Dino Rossi was declared the winner in the initial automated count and again in a subsequent automated recount, but after a second recount done by hand, Democrat Christine Gregoire took the lead by a margin of 129 votes.
Alberto R. Gonzales is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive government to date. He was the first Hispanic person to serve as White House Counsel. Earlier he had been Bush's General Counsel during the latter's governorship of Texas. Gonzales had also served as Secretary of State of Texas and then as a Texas Supreme Court Justice.
Paul Drew Clement is an American lawyer who served as U.S. Solicitor General from 2004 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the U.S. Supreme Court. He established his own law firm, Clement & Murphy, in 2022 after leaving Kirkland & Ellis, following that firm’s decision to end its Second Amendment work. He is also a Distinguished Lecturer in Law at Georgetown University and an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on March 14, 2005, for the post of Solicitor General, confirmed by the United States Senate on June 8, 2005, and took the oath of office on June 13.
Jeffrey Ross Toobin is an American lawyer, author, blogger, and a former legal analyst for CNN. He left CNN on September 4, 2022.
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Seattle University School of Law, or Seattle Law School, or SU Law is the law school affiliated with Seattle University, the Northwest's largest independent university.
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is an American business and litigation law firm. Founded in 1944, the firm is a limited liability partnership and employs over 500 lawyers. Davis Wright Tremaine is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and has offices in seven other cities in the United States.
On December 7, 2006, the George W. Bush Administration's Department of Justice ordered the unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven United States attorneys. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White House were using the U.S. Attorney positions for political advantage. Allegations were that some of the attorneys were targeted for dismissal to impede investigations of Republican politicians or that some were targeted for their failure to initiate investigations that would damage Democratic politicians or hamper Democratic-leaning voters. The U.S. attorneys were replaced with interim appointees, under provisions in the 2005 USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization.
D. Kyle Sampson was the Chief of Staff and Counselor of United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He resigned on March 12, 2007, amid the controversy surrounding the firing of eight United States Attorneys in 2006 and was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in July 2010. In October 2007, Sampson joined the law firm of Hunton & Williams LLP as a partner in the firm's food and drug practice, where his practice focuses on FDA regulatory and enforcement matters.
Monica Marie Goodling is a former United States government lawyer and Republican political appointee in the George W. Bush administration who is best known for her role in the Dismissal of U.S. Attorneys Controversy in 2006. She was the principal deputy director of public affairs for the United States Department of Justice, serving under Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales. A Department of Justice investigation concluded that she had violated the law, but she was not prosecuted because she had been granted immunity in exchange for her testimony. The Virginia State Bar publicly reprimanded Goodling in May 2011 for having "improperly utilized political affiliation and other political considerations when making hiring decisions for career positions."
This article about dismissed U.S. attorneys summarizes the circumstances surrounding a number of U.S. attorneys dismissed from office in the United States Department of Justice in 2006. Eight were dismissed In December 2006, and others may have been forced out of office under similar circumstances in 2005 and 2006. The manner of the firings, the congressional response to them, and the explanations offered by Bush administration officials are aspects of a political controversy starting in the first quarter of 2007. As of May 2007 a clear explanation of why the attorneys were dismissed had not been put forward by the Bush administration or the Department of Justice leadership. There are in total 93 U.S. attorneys that serve 94 Federal district courts.
A detailed chronology of events in the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy.
The United States House Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, have oversight authority over Department of Justice (DOJ). In 2007 it conducted public and closed-door oversight and investigative hearings on the DOJ's interactions with the White House and staff members of the Executive Office of the President. A routine oversight hearing on January 18, 2007 by the Senate committee was the first public congressional occasion that Attorney General Gonzales responded to questions about dismissed United States Attorneys (USAs). Both committees invited or subpoenaed past and present Department of Justice officers and staff to appear and testify during 2007, and both committees requested or subpoenaed documents, and made the documents that were produced publicly available.
Jeffrey L. Fisher is an American law professor and U.S. Supreme Court litigator who has argued thirty-nine cases and worked on dozens of others before the Supreme Court. He is co-director of the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.
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Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005), was a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Congress may criminalize the production and use of homegrown cannabis even if state law allows its use for medicinal purposes.
Peter S. Holmes is an American politician and attorney who served as the Seattle City Attorney from 2010 to 2022. He was elected in November 2009, defeating incumbent Tom Carr by a significant margin. After winning a second term uncontested in 2013, he defeated challenger Scott Lindsay in 2017 with nearly 75% of the vote, but failed to advance from the primary in a bid for a fourth term in the 2021 election.
Richard Lamar Pope Jr. is an American attorney and perennial candidate from Bellevue, Washington.