Gonzales announces new DOJ National Security Division News
Gonzales announces new DOJ National Security Division

[JURIST] US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] Monday announced [statement] the creation of a new National Security Division [fact sheet] at the Department of Justice, bringing "under one umbrella the Department's primary national security elements" as authorized by the recent renewal of the Patriot Act [JURIST report]. The division is designed to bridge the gap between the law enforcement and intelligence teams in the government as recommended by the WMD Commission [official website] and will include attorneys from both the Counterterrorism [official website] and Counterespionage [official website] sections of the Criminal Division and the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review [official website] specializing in the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act [text]. The US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) [FJC backgrounder], bypassed by the administration's domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive], will also be included in the new division.

Gonzales Monday urged Congress to quickly approve the appointment of current US Attorney for the District of Columbia Kenneth Wainstein [official profile], President Bush's nominee [press release] to be the first Assistant Attorney General for National Security. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.