Catholic Church's Top Exorcist Claims He Rid World of 160,000 Demons

Editor's note: We have at least one "Dybbuk" in the Probate Court of Cook County.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

Catholic Church's Top Exorcist Claims He Rid World of 160,000 Demons

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By Leonardo Blair , CP Reporter

May 28, 2013|4:19 pm

(Photo: Screen Grab via Youtube/caballeroperegrino)

The Catholic Church's top exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth.

The Catholic Church's top exorcist, who claims to have sent 160,000 demons back to hell, says he wants Pope Francis to allow all priests to start performing the ritual to deal with a rising demand for exorcisms from the faithful.

Father Gabriele Amorth, 88, who also heads the International Association of Exorcists, told The Sunday Times that he will ask Pope Francis to allow all priests the right to do exorcisms without the church's approval. According to the report, priests currently need special approval from their bishop to perform the rite and it is rarely granted.
"I will ask the pope to give all priests the power to carry out exorcisms, and to ensure priests are properly trained for these starting with the seminary. There's a huge demand for them," said Father Amorth.
He explained that he was inspired to make the request after watching Pope Francis perform what he insists was an exorcism on a man "possessed by four demons" in St. Peter's Square.
"The pope is also the Bishop of Rome, and like any bishop he is also an exorcist," Amorth reportedly told La Repubblica newspaper. "It was a real exorcism. If the Vatican has denied this, it shows that they understand nothing."
"There was now, more than ever, a need for exorcists to combat people possessed by 'sorcerers' and 'Satanists,'" he noted in that report.

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An 84-page update of exorcism rites compiled in 1614 and drawn up in 1998 stipulates how Catholic priests trained as exorcists should operate. According to the guidelines established by the church, they have to follow a ritual known as "De exorcismis et supplicationibus quibusdam," or "Of exorcisms and certain supplications."
Amorth explained that Pope Francis' exorcism on May 19 helped to balance the growing atheism in the world where people don't believe in the Devil anymore.
"We live in an age in which God has been forgotten. And wherever God is not present, the Devil rules," said Amorth.
"Today, unfortunately, bishops don't appoint sufficient exorcists. We need many more. I hope that Rome will send out directives to bishops around the world calling on them to appoint more exorcists."
Amorth is also an outspoken critic of yoga and Harry Potter books and dismissed them as ungodly hobbies.
"Practicing yoga brings evil as does reading Harry Potter. They may both seem innocuous but they both deal with magic and that leads to evil," he said.
In addressing Harry Potter, he said: "People think it is an innocuous book for children but it's about magic and that leads to evil. In Harry Potter the Devil is at work in a cunning and crafty way, he is using his extraordinary powers of magic and evil."
"Satan is always hidden and the thing he desires more than anything is for people to believe he does not exist," he noted. "He studies each and every one of us and our tendencies towards good and evil and then he tempts us."

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/catholic-churchs-top-exorcist-claims-he-rid-world-of-160000-demons-96794/#HMSLREw9Bl1MWXRw.99

Ken’s Decision — with Comments

Ken’s Decision — with Comments by jmdenison Oh, my goodness.  I can't believe this is only a draft and I forgot to post this, so I will have to post it again today. From the Tribunal from May 3, 2013, KDD's decision, and it's just more of down the rabbit hole. Professor Tarkington from Ind. School of Law got it right when she said the Bar Associations frequently use the standard propounded in New York Times v. Sullivan as a dark aberration of what it is intended to be and that results in decisions very far afield of what New York Times meant the first amendment to be, rendering all or most of the decisions invalid because they infringe too greatly upon the constitutional rights of lawyers. See link below and let me know if you agree: KDD's Decision from the Tribunal jmdenison | May 30, 2013 at 10:41 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p209wH-Ja Comment    See all comments

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Atlanta bank employee accused theft, financial exploitation of an elderly person

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS May 21, 2013 - 4:50 pm EDT ATLANTA — Police say Wells Fargo personal banker is accused of stealing about $10,600 from an elderly customer's account. Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones says Daniel Araujo befriended a 90-year-old bank customer and asked her to sign what she thought was a transfer slip from her checking to savings account. Jones says the form was actually a withdrawal slip. The bank says it's cooperating with police and the customer won't suffer any loss. Jones says Araujo surrendered to authorities Friday. He's charged with theft by taking and financial exploitation of an elderly person. Jones says police are looking into whether there are more victims because Araujo's bank records show more than $50,000 in recent deposits. Jail records show Araujo is free on $30,000 bond. It's unclear if he has a lawyer. Think your friends should see this? Share it

Former county attorney disbarred over vote buying

BRETT BARROUQUER, Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By BRETT BARROUQUERE, Associated Press

Published 9:46 am, Thursday, May 23, 2013

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A former county attorney from northeast Kentucky was disbarred Thursday for paying voters to cast ballots for him in a 2006 election and then lying about it to a grand jury.

The Kentucky Supreme Court found that one-time Bath County Attorney Donald A. "Champ" Maze's conduct proved so egregious, he should be permanently banned from practicing law, even though he had no prior disciplinary record.

Chief Justice John D. Minton, writing for the court's majority, said Maze abused a position of power and trust by using his office to corrupt both the voting process and the judicial system.

"Any layperson should know better, and so much more should a lawyer with over 20 years of experience, 12 of which included prosecuting criminals as the County Attorney," Minton wrote.

The punishment goes beyond the five-year suspension recommended by the Kentucky Bar Association's Board of Governors. Justice Will T. Scott, in a rare dissent in an attorney discipline case, said the five-year ban would have been a just punishment.

Scott noted that Maze hasn't practiced law in five years and another suspension of that length would keep him out of the legal business for a decade. That's more than enough time to protect the public should Maze fail to "adequately redeem his character" before applying for readmission to the bar, Scott wrote.

"I simply do not think that the only way to provide these safeguards, at this time, is to forever strip him of his law license," he wrote.

Maze served 21 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty on the eve of trial in 2007 to paying five voters to cast ballots for him as he sought to return to the county attorney's job in 2006. Prior to that, Maze served three terms as Bath County Attorney before losing re-election in 2002.

Since being released from prison in January 2009, Maze has worked at a job selling cars and has not sought reinstatement to practice law.

Maze admitted to paying five voters during the election, but said he did so only after other candidates continued to pay voters after he complained about it to Kentucky State Police. He later denied paying voters in front of a federal grand jury.

After being indicted, Maze pulled together lists of prospective jurors in his case, then a list of the 14 people empaneled to hear his case. The Bar Association's Governors concluded that the list was compiled with the intent of intimidating jurors or tampering with the panel. Maze later denied knowing the lists would be put to use to intimidate jurors, even though one juror's employer received a call from a friend of Maze's. Minton found Maze's denial unconvincing.

"The court is also especially troubled by the fact that Maze never fully accepts sole responsibility for his actions and never expressed legitimate remorse for his conduct," Minton wrote.

Scott, joined by Justice Michelle Keller, said others in similar situations have rehabilitated themselves, including former U.S. Rep. Caroll Hubbard, who served two years in federal prison for campaign-finance violations, but was later readmitted to practice law.

"However, it is my contention that (Maze) deserves the same chance," Scott wrote. "Hope is an eternal beacon."

______

Follow Associated Press writer Brett Barrouquere on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBarrouquereAP

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Former-county-attorney-disbarred-over-vote-buying-4542903.php#ixzz2UsEqTsh9

New Mexico District Judge William Brogan Resigns Following Allegations of Misconduct

New Mexico District Judge William Brogan Resigns Following Allegations of Misconduct

A New Mexico judge has agreed to resign and never be a judge again, following allegations of misconduct.

District Judge William Brogan of Alamogordo is accused of repeatedly failing to follow the rules for criminal cases in the last two years.

The judicial standards commission said brogan required guidance from staff and attorneys because of his lack of understanding of courtroom procedures.

The commission had begun disciplinary proceedings against brogan, when he agreed to resign.

The state Supreme Court agreed with the agreement.

Source:
Judge Resigns After Alleged Misconduct

Pasco murder suspect's rights violated by search of cell, attorney claims

By Tyler Richardson, Tri-City Herald

Tri-City Herald

Published: May 10, 2013 at 10:16 p.m. PDT — Updated: May 11, 2013 at 7:42 a.m. PDT

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Tashia Stuart appears in a pretrial hearing in Franklin County Superior Court on Thursday, Feb. 7 alongside attorneys Peter Connick, left, and Bob Thompson. She is accused in the March 2011 death of her mother Judy Hebert. (TRI-CITY HERALD FILE)

PASCO -- Lawyers for a Pasco woman accused of fatally shooting her mother are claiming their client's rights were violated when Franklin County jail staff took legal documents from her cell during a search.
Tashia Stuart's defense team cross-examined seven members of the jail staff Friday during a hearing in Franklin County Superior Court.
The jail staffers testified for almost three hours that they never read or discussed Stuart's legal documents, which were taken during the March 30 search.
Stuart, 39, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder for allegedly shooting her 58-year-old mother, Judy Hebert, during an argument over money in March 2011. She also is charged with attempting to kill her mother 11 days before she was shot by dropping a 32-pound bin on her head.
Stuart's attorney, Robert Thompson, filed a motion last month to have the charges dropped because of the paperwork incident.
The staffers testified they found "massive amounts of unauthorized contraband" in Stuart's cell, including nail clippers, a disposable razor, hair nets, books and scriptures held up on the wall by toothpaste. The legal paperwork was seized with the contraband.
Stuart wrote in a motion that the paperwork had part of her defense strategy on it, as well as questions she was preparing for her father, Rolfe Hebert, and ex-husband Charles Adney. The materials, which included a legal pad, "disappeared" and have not been returned.
Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant said Stuart's defense team will have to prove the paperwork was read and communicated to prosecutors. He doesn't believe, based on Friday's testimony, that it was ever read or discussed, he added.
Another of Stuart's attorneys, Peter Connick, wrote in his court documents that jail staff refuse to return Stuart's paperwork because it's been given to prosecutors, lost or destroyed.
Arguments on the motion will continue. Another hearing in front of Franklin Superior Court Judge Cameron Mitchell will be scheduled next week. Stuart's trial is scheduled for May 28

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/05/10/2593060/pasco-murder-suspects-rights-violated.html#storylink=cpy

Corruption, graft entrenched in Illinois politics

Corruption, graft entrenched in Illinois politics
Blagojevich case is just the latest in a long list of scoundrels and scandals
Below:






AP


Former Judge Brocton Lockwood gives his thoughts on corruption in Illinois' government, at his home in Harrisburg, Ill., on Friday, Dec. 12. More than 25 years ago, Lockwood, then a visiting small-town judge, stashed a tape recorder in his cowboy boot and came away with shocking evidence of bribe-taking and bagmen in Chicago's courts.





updated 12/14/2008 4:06:47 AM ET
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CHICAGO — More than 25 years ago, a visiting small-town judge stashed a tape recorder in his cowboy boot and came away with shocking evidence of bribe-taking and bagmen in Chicago's courts.


Former Judge Brocton Lockwood was part of an unprecedented FBI sting operation in the Cook County courts called "Operation Greylord" that uncovered judges, lawyers and clerks taking cash, fixing cases and engaging in other brazen judicial corruption.


The case is a stark example of the corruption that has become a cottage industry in Illinois and contributed to its long history of scoundrels and scandals. Last week, there was an addition to the list: Gov. Rod Blagojevich's arrest on charges that he schemed to auction off President-elect Barack Obama's open Senate seat.


So when the governor was escorted by federal agents from his home in handcuffs, it seemed painfully familiar to Lockwood.


"I thought nothing has changed," the retired judge said. "I'm embarrassed for the state. I'm disappointed for the nation because this is going to divert attention from Obama's efforts to deal with bigger issues than Blagojevich. ... It just makes politics a sleazy business."


Lockwood's puzzlement was echoed by people around the nation as the Blagojevich scandal unfolded: What is it about Illinois that seems to breed political corruption, and why hasn't anyone been able to do anything about it?


Corruption and graft have become so entrenched over the decades that they've become part of the political culture, and experts cite a list of reasons why: Weak state campaign finance laws that have allowed influence peddlers to make big contributions. Lawmakers who don't always get close scrutiny. A patronage system that makes employees beholden to political bosses. And a jaded public that seems to accept chicanery as the cost of doing business.


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"The rest of the country kind of grew up and got past the corrupt legislators and urban Machines," said Kent Redfield, a University of Illinois-Springfield political science professor. "The reform-good government movement never got traction in Illinois."


"In some ways, Illinois kind of reminds you of Third World countries where everyone knows to get things done you have to bribe someone every step of the way," he added.


History of rogues and crooks

The state's history of rogues and crooks ranges from a long-ago secretary of state who died leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars mysteriously stashed in shoeboxes in his hotel closet to a judge who took money to fix murder cases. Former governors, congressmen, aldermen, and state and city workers have all gone to prison.


"If it isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it's certainly one hell of a competitor," Chicago FBI chief Robert D. Grant said when the charges were announced against Blagojevich.


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The top competitors seem to be New Jersey and Louisiana. More than 130 public officials in New Jersey have been found guilty of federal corruption in the past seven years. And Louisiana more than holds its own. A congressman once described the state this way: "Half of Louisiana is under water, and the other half is under indictment."


Louisiana also is known from its flamboyant governors, from Huey Long to Edwin Edwards, who is now sitting in prison for his involvement in a scheme to rig riverboat casino licensing.


But no state is immune.


Nationwide, more than 1,800 federal, state and local officials have been convicted of public corruption in the last two years, according to FBI statistics released this spring. The number of pending cases has jumped by 51 percent since 2003, the agency said. In the last decade or so, the governors of Louisiana, Connecticut and Rhode Island have pleaded guilty or been convicted of wrongdoing.


But in Illinois, especially in Chicago, graft has been so rampant it's become part of the folklore.


In "Boss," the unauthorized biography of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist Mike Royko suggested the city change its official motto, "Urbs in Horto" or "City in a Garden" to "Ubi Est Mea?" or "Where's Mine?"


That was more than 35 years ago, but the problem still persists.


"It seems to me that corruption in Illinois is incorrigible," said Ron Safer, former head of the criminal division at the U.S. attorney's office and now in private practice. "Why does someone who has achieved the public acclaim and success that results in them attaining public office risk losing everything for money? It is impossible for me to understand."


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Jay Stewart, head of the Better Government Association, believes efforts to downplay corruption are wrongheaded.


"I don't look at convictions in our state and argue there are just a few bad apples," he said. "The public believes there's a problem and it's a systemic problem. But they feel powerless and unable to change it. ... I think people view it as blood sport ... and they throw up their hands and say it's just entertainment."


There have been reforms in the state, most notably a new ethics law designed to limit the impact of money in politics. It was approved only after Obama, a former state senator, called his one-time mentor, Senate President Emil Jones, and urged its passage.


Blagojevich vetoed it, and the Senate overrode him. But in a strange twist, prosecutors say that the law may have been Blagojevich's undoing, alleging that he carried out many of his misdeeds to beat its Jan. 1 implementation.


Illinois has long been known as the "Wild West" of campaign finance, with virtually no limits on who can contribute and how much. The new law prohibits people with state contracts of $50,000 or more from contributing to the politicians who administer them, or to their opponents in an election year.


But Redfield, the political science professor, acknowledges the measure is a narrow prohibition and reflects how hard it is to make sweeping reforms.

Judge bars note-taking during trial

Judge bars note-taking during trial He claims a reporter's pen and paper could sway jurors; others say the rule infringed constitutional rights By JARED STRONG Times Herald Staff Writer May 22, 2013 District Judge James Richardson forbade a Daily Times Herald reporter from taking notes at a vehicular homicide trial Tuesday in Audubon, a rare courtroom rule that some say is unconstitutional. Richardson said a reporter's scrawls could "influence the jury in that they might think something is important if they see me writing," reporter Jared Raney said. But Iowa reporters commonly take notes in courtrooms. "This is the first time I've heard of a judge prohibiting a journalist - or anyone else, for that matter - from taking notes with a pen and paper in the courtroom," said Kathleen Richardson, of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, which advocates for an open and transparent government. "There is a long-recognized legal right of the public to attend criminal proceedings and for the news media to cover them, as surrogates of the public. And it would be impossible for a journalist to accurately report on a trial without being able to take notes." Raney said judge Richardson told him to file an expanded media request - which is commonly required to use cameras, camcorders and other electronic devices in Iowa courtrooms - if Raney wanted to take notes on paper. Such requests often take more than a week to gain approval, which would likely happen after the Audubon trial concludes for Kendall Ware, 57, of Lineville, who is accused of killing a boy in a 2011 drunken-driving crash. Judges generally have the power to set their own courtroom rules, and Richardson could allow pen-and-paper reporting in his courtroom regardless of a formal expanded media request. Chief Judge Jeffrey Larson, who oversees Richardson's court district of nine western Iowa counties, said he tried twice Tuesday to persuade Richardson to reverse his rule about taking notes but was not successful. "I don't really agree with his position," Larson told the Times Herald. An Illinois judge enforced a similar courtroom rule until a federal judge questioned its constitutionality in 2006. "A sweeping prohibition of all note-taking by any outside party seems unlikely to withstand a challenge under the First Amendment," U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo wrote in February 2006. "A prohibition against note-taking is not supportive of the policy favoring informed public discussion; on the contrary it may foster errors in public perception." Raney and fellow Times Herald reporter Douglas Burns reported on Ware's trial Tuesday afternoon by intermittently leaving the courtroom to jot notes. Lawyers that represent the Iowa Newspaper Association and its member newspapers - which includes the Times Herald - asked Richardson to reconsider the rule this morning. Richardson initially put off the idea but later proposed a compromise in which reporters were allowed to take notes in the courtroom but were seated in an area where jurors could not easily see them. The dispute over Richardson's note-taking ban comes amid a bigger statewide discussion of what electronic devices reporters should be allowed to use in Iowa courtrooms. The Iowa Supreme Court appointed a committee late last year to study the issue, which has been brewing for years as reporters have expanded the electronic and Internet tools they use. Reporters in courtrooms have sent out live updates from major criminal trials over the Internet via Twitter, for example. The court rules that govern media access have not been updated for decades. Some district judges in Iowa allow reporters to use laptop computers and voice recorders to take notes in courtrooms without filing an expanded media request. Richardson was appointed a judge in 1986. He previously worked as city attorney for Audubon, Bayard and Coon Rapids. Reader Comments Posted: Thursday, May 23, 2013 Article comment by: sandra fish It's really disappointing to see something like this happen - and get national attention. As a former Times Herald reporter (in the olden days of the early 1980s), my experience with the court system there was that the role of the journalist was respected. How else does this judge expect the public to learn about what's happening at this trial? Must they wait to read court transcripts? Or does Judge Richardson believe the public has no right to know what takes place in his courtroom? Article Comment Submission Form Please feel free to submit your comments. Comments will not appear immediatey as the Daily Times Herald will screen comments to make sure they conform with the standards of a family newspaper. So please make sure that all comments are constructive and not derogatory. Comments may be edited for appropriateness and there may be a delay of 24-48 hours for any submissions while the website editor reviews and approves them. Note: All information on this form is required. Your telephone number is for our use only, and will not be attached to your comment.

According to the ARDC, has Corruption now left the building?

According to the ARDC, has Corruption now left the building? by jmdenison Not so, grasshoppers: from Larry Chambers today, a more information on how we have a ton of clean up work to do, so let's get going: From: Law Office Assistant [mailto:Larry.Chambers@ditkowskylawoffice.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 10:14 AM To: 'JoAnne M Denison' Subject: RE: report on corruption in cook county Couldn’t find female quotes but… 12/14/2008 NBC news online article Corruption, graft entrenched in Illinois politics http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28215714/ns/politics/t/corruption-graft-entrenched-illinois-politics/#.UaYX19LUnSg .... "It seems to me that corruption in Illinois is incorrigible," said Ron Safer, former head of the criminal division at the U.S. attorney's office and now in private practice. "Why does someone who has achieved the public acclaim and success that results in them attaining public office risk losing everything for money? It is impossible for me to understand." ..... Jay Stewart, head of the Better Government Association, believes efforts to downplay corruption are wrongheaded. "I don't look at convictions in our state and argue there are just a few bad apples," he said. "The public believes there's a problem and it's a systemic problem. But they feel powerless and unable to change it. ... I think people view it as blood sport ... and they throw up their hands and say it's just entertainment." Jay Stewart is now head of Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation.  Seems IARDC missed the opportunity to sanction him before his promotion. Larry G. Chambers Assistant Office Manager 847 600-3421 jmdenison | May 30, 2013 at 3:22 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p209wH-LZ Comment    See all comments

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Retired cop, amateur sleuths investigate 1956 Grimes sisters murder case

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Patricia Grimes
Patricia Grimes, who was missing along with her sister, Barbara, until their bodies were found in January 1957. (Chicago Tribune archive photo)

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By Naomi Nix, Chicago Tribune reporter

6:32 a.m. CDT, May 30, 2013

In December 1956, teenage sisters Patricia and Barbara Grimes slipped away from their home in Chicago's McKinley Park neighborhood to see an Elvis Presley movie at a nearby theater, but they never came back.
Their naked bodies were found about a month later along a rural road near Burr Ridge, but investigators never found enough evidence to explain their deaths. The official cause of death was exposure to winter cold, and despite an exhaustive investigation and widespread media attention, the case remains one of the Chicago area's most notorious unsolved mysteries.
Now, a retired police officer and a group of amateur sleuths are hoping to piece together clues to solve the case.

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The group plans to meet Saturday at the McKinley Park library to review the facts and offer potential theories.
"I thought nobody should give up on this case," said Ray Johnson, a retired West Chicago police officer who is coordinating the effort.
Johnson became interested in the Grimes sisters' case in 2010, when he was researching a book he was writing about Chicago history. He began scouring old newspaper articles and talking with people who lived in the area at the time.
One of those people was the Grimes sisters' brother, James Grimes, now 68. He was 11 when Patricia, 13, and Barbara, 15, disappeared.
"It bothers me, especially around Christmastime and the holidays," he said. "I always wonder if they were alive today how many nieces and nephews would I have?"
There were several unconfirmed sightings of the girls in the month between their disappearance and the discovery of their bodies.
Johnson said that as recently as last year a woman contacted him, claiming she was with the girls the night they disappeared. She said after the movie, a driver offered them a ride. The woman claims she jumped out of the car, leaving the Grimes sisters behind, but she was afraid to tell her parents or police about the incident at the time.
For James Grimes, the renewed focus on his sisters' case is a welcome development.
"I just assumed it was never going to be solved," he said. "(But) maybe there's hope."
nnix@tribune.com
Twitter @nsnix87

Obama expected to pick James Comey as next FBI chief: source

Editor's note: Good luck Jim.  In case investigations slow down, Your ProbateShark has some suggestions to keep your agents busy.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

Obama expected to pick James Comey as next FBI chief: source

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DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL COMEY SPEAKS AT NEWS CONFERENCE ON CORPORATE FRAUD MATTER. (Reuters Photographer Reuters, / July 8, 2004)

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Steve HollandReuters

2:09 a.m. CDT, May 30, 2013

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is expected to nominate former Justice Department official James Comey as his next head of the FBI, a source said on Wednesday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Comey, a Republican, would replace FBI Director Robert Mueller, who has led the agency since just before the September 11, 2001, attacks. Mueller is expected to step down this fall.

The White House would not comment on Obama's decision but the source said Obama had been leaning toward Comey in recent days. It was unclear when an announcement would be made.

White House homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco, who emerged as an instrumental aide to Obama during the Boston Marathon bombings last month, also had been under consideration.

Comey, 52, served as deputy U.S. attorney general for President George W. Bush. He had previously been the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

In an earlier post as assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Comey handled the Khobar Towers bombing case that arose out of an attack on a U.S. military facility in Saudi Arabia in 1996. Seventeen U.S. military members died in the attack.

Comey gained notoriety for refusing in 2004 to certify the legal aspects of National Security Agency domestic surveillance during a stint as acting attorney general while John Ashcroft was hospitalized with pancreatitis.

That refusal prompted senior White House officials, counsel Alberto Gonzales and chief of staff Andrew Card, to try to persuade Ashcroft to sign the certification. Comey, who was in the room, said Ashcroft refused.

Comey later told the Senate Judiciary Committee at a 2007 hearing that the situation was "probably the most difficult night of my professional life." His actions endeared him to many Democrats opposed to the Bush's domestic surveillance program.

After leaving the Justice Department in 2005, Comey was general counsel to aerospace giant Lockheed Martin until 2010.

Comey most recently joined Columbia University's law school as a senior research scholar after working for Bridgewater Associates, an investment fund, from 2010 to 2013. He was general counsel for aerospace giant Lockheed Martin from 2005 to 2010.

(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal and David Ingram; Editing by Stacey Joyce and Bill Trott)