US official says US knew of problems in UN Oil-for-Food program News
US official says US knew of problems in UN Oil-for-Food program

[JURIST] US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Patrick Kennedy [official profile] told a Senate committee Tuesday that US officials knew of problems in the Iraq Oil-for-Food Program [official website] but chose to remain silent. Kennedy said the officials were more concerned with maintaining some form of sanctions on Iraq than with ensuring that those sanctions were air-tight. At the same hearing, Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigation [official website] chairman Norm Coleman presented a document that he alleges shows active corruption on the part of former UN Oil-for-Food director Benon Sevan [official profile]. The Oil-for-Food scandal has plagued the UN in the last several months, with Sevan and several others already facing UN disciplinary charges, although no official finding of bribery or corruption has as yet been made. Read Ambassador Kennedy's official statement [PDF text]. View the webcast of Tuesday's Subcommittee hearing. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.