Department of Justice - Obama Presidency Oral History Back Department of Justice Index / Organizations Transcripts Chris Lu ...worked closely with them when he was at DOJ [Department of Justice]. So he has thi... ...closely with them when he was at DOJ [ Department of Justice ]. So he has this wealth of experienc... ...you can see in the photos now, it's the Justice Department people. Literally, it's Jeff Session... Michael Kassen ...which took away the top layer of the Justice Department . President Nixon appointed Willia... Natalie Tennant ...you imagine had I had to ask for the DOJ 's approval for the pilot program fo... Danielle Gray ...House Counsel. She then moved to the Department of Justice as senior counsel to the assistan... ...rights lawyer, or maybe I'll go work at DOJ [Department of Justice] one day. I ha... ...lawyer, or maybe I'll go work at DOJ [ Department of Justice ] one day. I had a careful five-yea... ...at a civil rights organization or the Justice Department . And when the word of Obama startin... ...across the government, including the Justice Department , on different positions—positions lik... ...of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department was David Barron, and there were ... ...and there were a number of lawyers at DOJ who I had basically brought in to star... ...House counsel's office. It was the Justice Department , and lawyers at HHS, and it was th... ...at the beginning that I moved to DOJ . A big reason why I went to the Civi... ...changed—I went to go work at the Justice Department , and he was really disappointed t... ...so much fun here. Why would you go to DOJ ?” I came back to the White House i... ...House Counsel. She then moved to the Department of Justice as senior counsel to the assistan... ...after that, you move over to the Department of Justice . Could you talk about that move an... ...in the Obama administration, was in the Department of Justice . At that point, we had passed prett... ...at that point was being defended in the Department of Justice , and particularly around the ACA. S... ...Again, that is the component of the Justice Department that, when acts of Congress o... ...courts, that's the component of the Justice Department that defends them. There is an army o... ...the other different components of the Justice Department . Whether that's the attorney genera... ...general himself or other offices in the Justice Department . And that was really the role I helpe... ...Act as a policy matter. But the Justice Department has a principle, that its job is t... ...Congress. From the perspective of the Justice Department , this is just another law. It's ou... ...can be advanced, that's the job of the Justice Department , is to defend laws. And there ar... ...in the counsel's office. Then in the Justice Department , it was interesting, because in th... ...it was interesting, because in the Justice Department , it's not enough to not like a law... ...that was a big chunk of my time at the Department of Justice , working on the ACA, working on som... ...to happen a lot. You don't want the Justice Department to pick winners and losers i... ...it. There were career lawyers in the Justice Department at the time who argued strongly an... ...I was able to participate in the Justice Department side of this as opposed to the Whit... ...that was an important value in the Justice Department that we should push for. But yo... ...part of why I wanted to go to the Justice Department and be a part of helping out wit... ...attorney general before I went to the Justice Department . He was a pretty active surrogate i... ...even before working for him in the Justice Department . But I would say, when I went to go t... ...I would say, when I went to go to the Justice Department to work with him, and especially o... ...trying to do the right thing. We have a Justice Department full of leaders who are trying to d... ...how long were you actually at the Department of Justice ? I'm not there very long. I wa... ...doing in the counsel's office and at DOJ . But the combination of, basically... ...least tighten the gun show loophole at DOJ ? What are the different levers of th... Show more... Mark Luttrell ...the federal courts. And then, the US Department of Justice [DOJ] was looking at Shelby County jai... ...then, the US Department of Justice [ DOJ ] was looking at Shelby County jail fo... ...sent representatives from the Department of Justice and from the Office of Faith-Based an... ...it. I remember that there was some DOJ officials that came down. That would'v... ...he's got to live by their rules. The Department of Justice came in to Shelby County very much t... ...any agreements that we strike with the Department of Justice , the mayor has to sign it. Reall... ...We spent a lot of time working with the Department of Justice to try to get this problem corrected i... ...corrected in a way that satisfied the DOJ and that satisfied the juvenil... ...that satisfied the juvenile court. The Department of Justice put some mandates on Shelby County an... ...happening more often than not. DOJ came in and put these mandates on u... ...a while, I started talking to the Department of Justice , saying, “Let us get this to a certai... ...county leaders that were angry that the Department of Justice had pulled out. And I said, “Folks... Show more... Kevin Lewis ...American Media. He later moved to the Justice Department [DOJ], where he worked with Attorney... ...later moved to the Justice Department [ DOJ ], where he worked with Attorney... ...when you made the shift over to the Justice Department . Can you talk about the decision t... ...We have the chief of staff at the DOJ at the time, the communication... ...Day, I think the day that he left the Department of Justice —that day was so sad, but it wa... ...White House was historic, being at the Department of Justice was the most professionally fulfillin... ...immensely brilliant legal minds at the Department of Justice . Also, tying to the issues that ... ...making that level of impact at the Department of Justice . All the while being surrounded b... ...way bigger than when he returned to the Department of Justice . This is a story that somebody tol... ...Civil servants, folks who are career DOJ employees clapped, and they cheered hi... ...about, that was my first time at the Department of Justice with this amazing leader, who was s... ...it's Secret Service. When you're at DOJ , it's FBI who's doing security. Ther... ...include the AG but my time at the Department of Justice , that reminded me of m... ...bring this box of petitions to the Department of Justice . They'd want you to recognize it an... ...make sure that some official from the Department of Justice went outside. And usually that'... ...a sense that they were open to the DOJ 's presence? And how did that feel fo... ...vilifying one group over another. At DOJ , you have the chief law enforcemen... ...about your other experiences at the DOJ . Are there other memories or issue... ...communications director at the time for DOJ . He said, “Hey Kev, how's it going?... ...At that time, again, I was at DOJ . I remember going to my staff an... ...deep. And even those last few weeks at DOJ were—everything meant even more. It'... ...I was off-boarding people and myself at DOJ , I was also being on-boarded the nex... Show more... Daniel Russel ...Representative, so on, as well as the Department of Justice and Homeland Security, you name it... James Clapper ...I don't remember. But I do remember the Department of Justice going after leakers where there wa... Load more Transcripts Related Topics go to the Transition Transition go to the Elections and Campaigns Elections and Campaigns go to the Arts and Humanities Arts and Humanities go to the Immigration Immigration go to the Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa