[JURIST] US Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher Wednesday announced her resignation [press release, PDF] effective May 23. Fisher served as the head of the DOJ's Criminal Division, which concentrated primarily on fraud and corruption cases under her tenure. AP has more.

In 2005, US President George W. Bush used a recess appointment [JURIST report] to name Fisher to the top post in the DOJ's criminal division after her nomination became stalled in the Senate. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) [official website] had blocked Fisher's nomination in order to question a government agent who named Fisher in an e-mail about alleged abusive interrogations at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The e-mail says Fisher attended meetings about using certain techniques to gather information from detainees. Fisher said she couldn't recall participating in the discussions.

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