SF Chronicle's Lochhead Hits Republicans Over Pay Rate for Lawyer Defending DOMA
As part of its effort to "shore up" the backing of social conservatives, House Republicans today "issued a contract today to pay former Solicitor General Paul Clement $575 an hour, up to $500,000 to defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act," San Francisco Chronicle's Carolyn Lochhead insisted in the paper's Politics Blog.
"Republicans claim they will take the money out of the Justice Department's budget, as if that will hold taxpayers harmless. But a cost is a cost and taxpayers will pay it either way. Any funds removed from DOJ are funds removed from other work," Lochhead groused.
This from the same reporter who approved of Obama's fiscal year 2012 budget proposal as "centrist."
Yet nowhere in her four paragraph April 19 blog entry did Lochhead note that the reason the Republican House of Representatives is hiring a lawyer to defend DOMA in federal court is because the Obama administration in February announced it will no longer defend the popular bipartisanly-supported law in court.
Lochhead also failed to remind readers that although the Obama administration insists DOMA is unconstitutional, it is still enforcing the law's federal implications on tax, including tax and immigration implications of failing to recognize same-sex marriages.
- Ken Shepherd's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
$500K? What's the problem? Holder must have a huge surplus,
Submitted by SickofLibs on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 5:35pm.
considering all the cases he refuses to prosecute and the ones he's been stonewalling for years.
Holder has terminated DOJ
Submitted by buddyc on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 6:38pm.
Holder has terminated DOJ work on
immigration
marijuana laws in Califonia
DOMA
discrimination against non blacks
voter fraud
With the termination of all this work, looks like there might be some overstaffing issues at DOJ.
I'm not sure the $500,000 is
Submitted by Ken Shepherd on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 6:03pm.
I'm not sure the $500,000 is for the counsel alone. May include his paralegals and other staff that he may hire. If not, sure, the rate is definitely on the high end and could be cut back some. But either way, the additional cost is the fault of the Obama administration for refusing to do their job and defend the law before U.S. courts.
Sounds low to me. Defending
Submitted by buddyc on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 6:34pm.
Sounds low to me. Defending a case in Federal Court for an amount not to exceed $500,000 is a bargain if the attorney and his staff are good.
It said $500+- per hour. That is a bargain for a top constitutional law attorney.
I am sorry, but I just don't
Submitted by buddyc on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 6:48pm.
I am sorry, but I just don't get it. The law was passed properly. It has never been ruled unconstitutional. Holder refused to defend it. He and Obama invited Congress to defend it. Congress will take money from justice to pay the defense costs.
This woman is angry that the deck is not stacked against non lesbians.
Jerry Brown did the same thing as Kamila Harris is now doing. They are refusing to provide legal representation to 53% of the California voters in the defense of Proposition 8.
What are these people afraid of.
As an attorney I am angry that not only is the Government refusing to uphold the law but that people like this don't want my voice to be heard in the courts.
SAD!