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John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer,
lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
and former politician who served as the 79th
U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
in the
George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...
from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
and the 50th
Governor of Missouri A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, he later founded the Ashcroft Group, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm. Ashcroft previously served as Auditor of Missouri (1973–1975) and
Attorney General of Missouri The Office of the Missouri Attorney General was created in 1806 when Missouri was part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri's first Constitution in 1820 provided for an appointed attorney general, but since the 1865 Constitution, the Attorney Gen ...
(1977–1985). As Missouri Governor (1985–1993), he was elected for two consecutive terms (a historical first for a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate in the state). He also served one term as a U.S. Senator from Missouri (1995–2001). Ashcroft had early appointments in Missouri state government and was mentored by
John Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney and diplomat who began his career in 1968 as the Attorney General of Missouri and served three terms as United States Senator from Missouri. In 2004, he served br ...
. He has written several books about politics and
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
. Since 2011 he sits on the board of directors for the
private military company A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military ...
Academi Blackwater was an American private military company founded on December 26, 1996 by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince. It was renamed Xe Services in 2009 and known as Academi since 2011 after it was acquired by a group of private investors ...
(formerly Blackwater) and is a professor at the Regent University School of Law, a conservative Christian institution affiliated with
televangelist Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-pr ...
Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...
; he has also been a member of the
Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...
. His son,
Jay Ashcroft John Robert "Jay" Ashcroft (born July 12, 1973) is an American attorney, engineer and politician serving as the 40th and current Secretary of State of Missouri since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he is the son of former U.S. Attorney Ge ...
, is also a politician, serving as Secretary of State of Missouri since January 2017.


Early life and education

Ashcroft was born in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, the son of Grace P. (née Larsen) and James Robert Ashcroft. The family later lived in Willard, Missouri, where his father was a minister in an Assemblies of God congregation in nearby Springfield, served as president of
Evangel University Evangel University is a private Christian university and seminary in Springfield, Missouri. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God Christian denomination, which is also headquartered in Springfield. The campus sits on that were originally ...
(1958–74), and jointly as President of
Central Bible College Central Bible College (CBC) was a private"Central Bible College"
(1958–63). His mother was a homemaker, whose parents had emigrated from
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. His paternal grandfather was an Irish immigrant. Ashcroft graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1960. He attended
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
, where he was a member of the St. Elmo Society, graduating in 1964. He received a Juris Doctor from the
University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dis ...
(1967). After law school, Ashcroft briefly taught Business Law and worked as an administrator at
Southwest Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...
. During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, he was not drafted because he received six student draft deferments and one occupational deferment because of his teaching work.


Political career


Missouri State Auditor

In 1972, Ashcroft ran for a congressional seat in southwest Missouri in the
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
primary election, narrowly losing to Gene Taylor. After the primary, Missouri Governor
Kit Bond Christopher Samuel "Kit" Bond (born March 6, 1939) is an American attorney, politician and former United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, he defeated Democrat Harriett W ...
appointed Ashcroft to the office of State Auditor, which Bond had vacated when he became governor. In 1974, Ashcroft was narrowly defeated for election to that post by Jackson County
County Executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...
George W. Lehr George W. Lehr (March 10, 1937 – March 21, 1988) was an American Democratic politician from Missouri who served as the state's auditor from 1975 to 1977. He was born in Kirksville, Missouri in 1937. After graduating from the University of Io ...
. He had argued that Ashcroft, who is not an accountant, was not qualified to be the State Auditor.


Attorney General of Missouri

Missouri Attorney General The Office of the Missouri Attorney General was created in 1806 when Missouri was part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri's first Constitution in 1820 provided for an appointed attorney general, but since the 1865 Constitution, the Attorney Gen ...
John Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney and diplomat who began his career in 1968 as the Attorney General of Missouri and served three terms as United States Senator from Missouri. In 2004, he served br ...
, who was then in his second term, hired Ashcroft as an assistant state attorney general. During his service, Ashcroft shared an office with future
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1 ...
(and in 2001, as it would come to pass, Justice Thomas would administer Ashcroft's oath of office as U.S. attorney general). In 1976, Danforth was elected to the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
, and Ashcroft was elected to replace him as state attorney general. He was sworn in on December 27, 1976. In 1980, Ashcroft was re-elected with 64.5 percent of the vote, winning 96 of Missouri's 114 counties. In 1983, Ashcroft wrote the leading '' amicus curiae'' brief in the U.S. Supreme Court Case ''
Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. ''Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.'', 464 U.S. 417 (1984), also known as the “Betamax case”, is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled that the making of individual copies of complete television s ...
'', supporting the use of video cassette recorders for time shifting of television programs.


Governor of Missouri (1985–1993)

Ashcroft was elected governor in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
and re-elected in
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
, becoming the first (and to date only) Republican in Missouri history elected to two consecutive terms. In 1984, his opponent was the Democratic Lieutenant Governor
Ken Rothman Kenneth Joel Rothman (October 11, 1935 – April 26, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician from Missouri. He served as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 1981 to 1985. Biography Rothman was born and raised in St. Louis and at ...
. The campaign was so negative on both sides that a reporter described the contest as "two alley cats
crapping Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging fro ...
over truth in advertising". In his campaign ads, Ashcroft showed the contrast between his rural-base and the supporters of his urban-based opponent from
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. Democrats did not close ranks on primary night. The defeated candidate
Mel Carnahan Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 16, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st Governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in a plane crash in 2000. A Democrat, he was elected posthumously to t ...
endorsed Rothman. In the end, Ashcroft won 57 percent of the vote and carried 106 counties—then the largest Republican gubernatorial victory in Missouri history. In 1988, Ashcroft won by a larger margin over his Democratic opponent, Betty Cooper Hearnes, the wife of the former governor
Warren Hearnes Warren Eastman Hearnes (July 24, 1923 – August 16, 2009) was an American politician who served as the 46th governor of Missouri from 1965 to 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first officeholder eligible to serve two consecuti ...
. Ashcroft received 64 percent of the vote in the general election—the largest landslide for governor in Missouri history since the U.S. Civil War. During his second term, Ashcroft served as chairman of the
National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...
(1991–92).


U.S. Senator from Missouri

In
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
Ashcroft was elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri, again succeeding
John Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney and diplomat who began his career in 1968 as the Attorney General of Missouri and served three terms as United States Senator from Missouri. In 2004, he served br ...
, who retired from the position. Ashcroft won 59.8% of the vote against Democratic Congressman
Alan Wheat Alan Dupree Wheat (born October 16, 1951) is an American politician from the state of Missouri. Early life His father was James Wheat, an officer and civil engineer in the U.S. Air Force. His mother Emogene (Jean) Wheat was a teacher. Since his ...
. As Senator: * He opposed the Clinton Administration's Clipper encryption restrictions, arguing in favor of the individual's right to encrypt messages and export encryption software. * In 1999, as chair of the Senate's subcommittee on patents, he helped extend patents for several drugs, most significantly the allergy medication Claritin, to prevent the marketing of less-expensive generics. * On March 30, 2000, with Senator
Russ Feingold Russell Dana Feingold ( ; born March 2, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee in the 2016 election for the same U ...
, Ashcroft convened the only Senate hearing on
racial profiling Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...
. He said the practice was unconstitutional and that he supported legislation requiring police to keep statistics on their actions. In 1998, Ashcroft briefly considered running for U.S. president; but on January 5, 1999, he decided that he would seek re-election to his Senate seat in the 2000 election and not run for president. In the Republican primary, Ashcroft defeated
Marc Perkel Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...
. In the general election, Ashcroft faced a challenge from Governor
Mel Carnahan Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 16, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st Governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in a plane crash in 2000. A Democrat, he was elected posthumously to t ...
. In the midst of a tight race, Carnahan died in an airplane crash three weeks prior to the election. Ashcroft suspended all campaigning after the plane crash. Because of Missouri state election laws and the short time to election, Carnahan's name remained on the ballot. Lieutenant Governor
Roger B. Wilson Roger Byron Wilson (born October 10, 1948) is an American politician who briefly served as the 52nd Governor of Missouri from October 16, 2000 to January 8, 2001. Wilson was serving his second four-year term as lieutenant governor and was prepa ...
became governor upon Carnahan's death. Wilson said that should Carnahan be elected, he would appoint his widow,
Jean Carnahan Jean Anne Carnahan (née Carpenter; born December 20, 1933) is an American politician and writer who was the First Lady of Missouri from 1993 to 2000, and served as the state's junior United States senator from 2001 to 2002. A Democrat, she was ...
, to serve in her husband's place; Mrs. Carnahan stated that, in accordance with her late husband's goal, she would serve in the Senate if voters elected his name. Following these developments, Ashcroft resumed campaigning. Carnahan won the election 51% to 49%. No one had ever posthumously won election to the Senate, though voters had on at least three occasions chosen deceased candidates for the House of Representatives. Ashcroft remains the only U.S. Senator defeated for re-election by a dead person.


U.S. Attorney General

In December 2000, following his Senatorial defeat, Ashcroft was chosen for the position of U.S. attorney general by president-elect
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. He was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 58 to 42, with most Democratic senators voting against him, citing his prior opposition to using forced busing to achieve
desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...
, and their opposition to Ashcroft's opposition to abortion. At the time of his appointment he was known to be a member of the
Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...
. In May 2001, the FBI revealed that they had misplaced thousands of documents related to the investigation of the
Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-federal go ...
. Ashcroft granted a 30-day stay of execution for
Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third ...
, the man sentenced to death for the bombing. In July 2001, Ashcroft began flying exclusively by private jet. When questioned about this decision, the Justice Department explained that this course of action had been recommended based on a “threat assessment” made by the FBI. Neither the Bureau, nor the Justice Department would identify the specific nature of the threat, who made it, or when it happened. The CIA were unaware of any specific threats against Cabinet members. Ashcroft is the only Cabinet appointee who travels on a private jet, excluding the special cases of Interior and Energy who have responsibilities which require chartered jet

After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, Ashcroft was a key administration supporter of passage of the
USA Patriot Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appro ...
. One of its provisions, Section 215, allows the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) to apply for an order from the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants a ...
to require production of "any tangible thing" for an investigation. This provision was criticized by citizen and professional groups concerned about violations of privacy. Ashcroft referred to the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...
's opposition to Section 215 as "hysteria" in two separate speeches given in September 2003. While Attorney General, Ashcroft consistently denied that the FBI or any other law enforcement agency had used the Patriot Act to obtain library circulation records or those of retail sales. According to the sworn testimony of two FBI agents interviewed by the 9/11 Commission, Ashcroft ignored warnings of an imminent al-Qaida attack. In January 2002, the partially nude female statue of the '' Spirit of Justice'' in the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, where Ashcroft held press conferences, was covered with blue curtains. Department officials long insisted that the curtains were put up to improve the room's use as a television backdrop and that Ashcroft had nothing to do with it. Ashcroft's successor, Alberto Gonzales, removed the curtains in June 2005. Ashcroft also held daily prayer meetings. In March 2004, the Justice Department under Ashcroft ruled President Bush's domestic intelligence program illegal. Shortly afterward, he was hospitalized with acute gallstone
pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic pancr ...
.
White House Counsel The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...
Alberto Gonzales and Chief of Staff Andrew Card Jr. went to Ashcroft's bedside in the hospital intensive-care unit, to persuade the incapacitated Attorney General to sign a document to reauthorize the program. Acting Attorney General
James Comey James Brien Comey Jr. (; born December 14, 1960) is an American lawyer who was the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 until his dismissal in May 2017. Comey was a registered Republican for most of his adul ...
alerted FBI Director
Robert Mueller III Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York U ...
of this plan, and rushed to the hospital, arriving ahead of Gonzales and Card, Jr. Ashcroft, "summoning the strength to lift his head and speak", refused to sign. Attempts to reauthorize the program were ended by President Bush when Ashcroft, Comey and Mueller threatened to resign. Following accounts of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, one of the
Torture memos A set of legal memoranda known as the "Torture Memos" (officially the Memorandum Regarding Military Interrogation of Alien Unlawful Combatants Held Outside The United States) were drafted by John Yoo as Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the ...
was leaked to the press in June 2004.
Jack Goldsmith Jack Landman Goldsmith III (born September 26, 1962) is an American legal scholar. He is a professor at Harvard Law School who has written extensively in the fields of international law, civil procedure, federal courts, conflict of laws, and na ...
, then head of the
Office of Legal Counsel The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General's position as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the Attorney ...
, had already withdrawn the Yoo memos and advised agencies not to rely on them. After Goldsmith was forced to resign because of his objections, Attorney General Ashcroft issued a one paragraph opinion re-authorizing the use of
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...
. Ashcroft pushed his U.S. attorneys to pursue voter fraud cases. However, the U.S. attorneys struggled to find any deliberate voter fraud schemes, only finding individuals who made mistakes on forms or misunderstood whether they were eligible to vote. Following George W. Bush's re-election, Ashcroft resigned, which took effect on February 3, 2005, after the Senate confirmed White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales as the next attorney general. Ashcroft said in his hand-written resignation letter, dated November 2, "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved."


Consultant and lobbyist

In May 2005, Ashcroft laid the groundwork for a strategic consulting firm, The Ashcroft Group, LLC. He started operation in the fall of 2005 and as of March 2006 had twenty-one clients, turning down two for every one accepted. In 2005 year-end filings, Ashcroft's firm reported collecting $269,000, including $220,000 from Oracle Corporation, which won
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
approval of a multibillion-dollar acquisition less than a month after hiring Ashcroft. The year-end filing represented, in some cases, only initial payments. According to government filings, Oracle is one of five Ashcroft Group clients that seek help in selling data or software with security applications. Another client, Israel Aircraft Industries International, is competing with Seattle's
Boeing Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
to sell the government of South Korea a billion dollar airborne radar system. In March 2006, Ashcroft positioned himself as an "anti- Abramoff". In an hour-long interview, Ashcroft used the word ''integrity'' scores of times. In May 2006, based on conversations with members of Congress, key aides and lobbyists, ''The Hill'' magazine listed Ashcroft as one of the top 50 "hired guns" (lobbyists) that K Street had to offer. By August 2006, Ashcroft's firm reportedly had 30 clients, many of which made products or technology aimed at
homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...
. About a third of its client list were not disclosed on grounds of confidentiality. The firm also had equity stakes in eight client companies. It reportedly received $1.4 million in lobbying fees in the past six months, a small fraction of its total earnings. After the proposed merger of
Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially lau ...
Inc. and
XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its se ...
Holdings Inc., Ashcroft offered the firm his consulting services, according to a spokesman for XM. The spokesman said XM declined Ashcroft's offer. Ashcroft was subsequently hired by the National Association of Broadcasters, which is strongly opposed to the merger. In 2011, Ashcroft became an “independent director” on the board of Xe Services (now
Academi Blackwater was an American private military company founded on December 26, 1996 by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince. It was renamed Xe Services in 2009 and known as Academi since 2011 after it was acquired by a group of private investors ...
), the controversial
private military company A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military ...
formerly known as Blackwater ( Nisour Square massacre), which faced scores of charges related to weapons trafficking, unlawful force, and corruption had named Ted Wright as CEO in May 2011. Wright hired a new governance chief to oversee ethical and legal compliance and established a new board composed of former government officials, including former White House counsel Jack Quinn and Ashcroft. In December 2011, Xe Services rebranded to Academi to convey a more "boring" image. The firm also has a law firm under its umbrella, called the Ashcroft Law Firm. In December 2014, the law firm was hired by convicted Russian arms trafficker
Viktor Bout Viktor Anatolyevich Bout (; russian: link=no, Виктор Анатольевич Бут; born 13 January 1967) is a Russian arms dealer. A weapons manufacturer and former Soviet military translator, he used his multiple companies to smuggle a ...
to overturn his 2011 conviction. In June 2017, Ashcroft was hired by the government of
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
to carry out a compliance and regulatory review of Qatar's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework, to help challenge accusations of supporting terrorism by its neighbors, following a regional blockade, as well as claims by U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
. In June 2018, Ashcroft was reportedly hired by Najib Razak among other top U.S lawyers to defend him in the 1MDB scandal, back in 2016. According to the document, the firm was hired to provide legal advice and counsel to Najib regarding "improper actions by third parties to attempt to destabilise the government of Malaysia". Although it is unsure whether Najib will retain the services of Ashcroft on the issue due to the United States Department of Justice's probe into 1MDB.


Political issues

In July 2002, Ashcroft proposed the creation of
Operation TIPS Operation TIPS, where the last part is an acronym for the ''Terrorism Information and Prevention System'', was a domestic intelligence-gathering program designed by President George W. Bush to have United States citizens report suspicious activity. ...
, a domestic program in which workers and government employees would inform law enforcement agencies about suspicious behavior they encounter while performing their duties. The program was widely criticized from the beginning, with critics deriding the program as essentially a Domestic Informant Network along the lines of the East German Stasi or the Soviet
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
, and an encroachment upon the
First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and Fourth amendments. The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
refused to be a party to it. Ashcroft defended the program as a necessary component of the ongoing
War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
, but the proposal was eventually abandoned. Ashcroft proposed a draft of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, legislation to expand the powers of the U.S. government to fight crime and terrorism, while simultaneously eliminating or curtailing judicial review of these powers for incidents related to domestic terrorism. The bill was leaked and posted to the Internet on February 7, 2003. On May 26, 2004, Ashcroft held a news conference at which he said that intelligence from multiple sources indicated that the terrorist organization, al Qaeda, intended to attack the United States in the coming months. Critics suggested he was trying to distract attention from a drop in the approval ratings of President Bush, who was campaigning for re-election. Groups supporting individual gun ownership praised Ashcroft's support through DOJ for the
Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
. He said specifically, "the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms," expressing the position that the second amendment expresses a right. In 2009 in '' Ashcroft v. al-Kidd'', the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
found that Ashcroft could be sued and held personally responsible for the wrongful detention of Abdullah al-Kidd. The American citizen was arrested at
Dulles Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Eastern United States, loc ...
in March 2003 on his way to Saudi Arabia for study. He was held for 15 days in maximum security in three states, and 13 months in supervised release, to be used as a material witness in the trial of
Sami Omar Al-Hussayen Sami Omar Al-Hussayen (born 1973, Saudi Arabia), also known as Sami Al-Hussayen, is a teacher at a technical college in Riyadh. As a Ph.D. graduate student in computer science at the University of Idaho in the United States, he was arrested and ch ...
. (The latter was acquitted of all charges of supporting terrorism). Al-Kidd was never charged and was not called as a witness in the Al-Hussayen case. The panels court described the government's assertions under the
USA Patriot Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appro ...
(2001) as "repugnant of the Constitution". In a detailed and at times passionate opinion, Judge
Milan Smith Milan Dale Smith Jr. (born May 19, 1942) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Smith's brother, Gordon H. Smith, was a Republican U.S. Senator f ...
likened allegations against al-Kidd as similar to the repressive practices of the British Crown that sparked the American Revolution. He wrote that the government asserts it can detain American citizens "not because there is evidence that they have committed a crime, but merely because the government wishes to investigate them for possible wrongdoing". He called it "a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history". Abdullah Al-Kidd was held in a maximum security prison for 16 days, and in supervised release for 13 months. Al-Kidd was born Lavoni T. Kidd in 1973 in
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...
. When he converted to Islam as a student at the
University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...
, where he was a prominent football player, he changed his name. He asserts that Ashcroft violated his civil liberties as an American citizen, as he was treated like a terrorist and not allowed to consult an attorney. Al-Kidd's lawyers say Ashcroft, as US attorney general, encouraged authorities after 9/11 to arrest potential suspects as material witnesses when they lacked
probable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal or the issuing of a search warrant. There is no universally accepted definition o ...
to believe the suspects had committed a crime. The US Supreme Court agreed on October 18, 2010, to hear the case. On May 31, 2011, the US Supreme Court unanimously overturned the lower court's decision, saying that al-Kidd could not personally sue Ashcroft, as he was protected by limited immunity as a government official. A majority of the justices held that al-Kidd could not have won his case on the merits, because Ashcroft did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights. Ashcroft has been a proponent of the
War on Drugs The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States.Cockburn and St. Clair, 1 ...
. In a 2001 interview on ''Larry King Live,'' Ashcroft stated his intention to increase efforts in this area. In 2003, two nationwide investigations code-named
Operation Pipe Dream Operation Pipe Dreams was an American nationwide investigation in 2003 targeting businesses selling drug paraphernalia, mostly marijuana pipes and bongs, under a little-used statute. Due to the reluctance of state law-enforcement agencies to contr ...
and
Operation Headhunter Operation Pipe Dreams was an American nationwide investigation in 2003 targeting businesses selling drug paraphernalia, mostly marijuana pipes and bongs, under a little-used statute. Due to the reluctance of state law-enforcement agencies to contr ...
, which targeted businesses selling
drug paraphernalia "Drug paraphernalia" is a term to denote any equipment, product or accessory that is intended or modified for making, using or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes. Drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methampheta ...
, mostly for
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
use, resulted in a series of indictments.
Tommy Chong Thomas B. Kin Chong (born May 24, 1938) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, musician, activist. He is known for his marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movies with Cheech Marin, as well as playing the character Leo on Fox ...
, a counterculture icon, was one of those charged, for his part in financing and promoting Chong Glass/Nice Dreams, a company started by his son Paris. Of the 55 individuals charged as a result of the operations, only Chong was given a prison sentence after conviction (nine months in a federal prison, plus forfeiting $103,000 and a year of probation). The other 54 individuals were given fines and home detentions. While the DOJ denied that Chong was treated any differently from the other defendants, critics thought the government was trying to make an example of him. Chong's experience as a target of Ashcroft's sting operation is the subject of Josh Gilbert's feature-length documentary ''
a/k/a Tommy Chong ''a/k/a Tommy Chong'' is a 2006 documentary film written, produced, and directed by Josh Gilbert, that chronicles the Drug Enforcement Administration raid on comedian Tommy Chong's house and his subsequent jail sentence for trafficking in illegal ...
'', which premiered at the
2005 Toronto International Film Festival The 30th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8–17 and screened 335 films from 52 countries - 109 of these films were world premieres, and 78 were North American premieres. Awards At the Festival's closing event, the following ...
. In a pre-sentencing brief, the Department of Justice specifically cited Chong's entertainment career as a consideration against leniency. When Karl Rove was being questioned in 2005 by the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
over the leak of a covert CIA agent's identity in the press (the Valerie Plame affair), Ashcroft was allegedly briefed about the investigation. The Democratic U.S. Representative John Conyers described this as a "stunning ethical breach that cries out for an immediate investigation." Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked, in a statement, for a formal investigation of the time between the start of Rove's investigation and John Ashcroft's
recusal Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Applic ...
. Since his service in government, Ashcroft has continued to oppose proposals for
physician-assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...
, which some states have passed by referendums. When interviewed about it in 2012, when a case had reached the US Supreme Court after California voters had approved a law to permit it under regulated conditions, he said,
I certainly believe that people who are in pain should be helped and assisted in every way possible, that the drugs should be used to mitigate their pain but I believe the law of the United States of America which requires that drugs not be used except for legitimate health purposes.
In 2015,
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
called for the investigation of Ashcroft "for conspiracy to torture as well as other crimes."


Personal life

Ashcroft is a member of the Assemblies of God church. He is married to Janet E. Ashcroft and has three children with her. His son, Jay, is the
Missouri Secretary of State The people below have served as the Secretary of State of the U.S. state of Missouri. List Gallery File:Warren E. Hearnes.jpg, Warren E. Hearnes File:James C. Kirkpatrick.jpg, James C. Kirkpatrick File:Rep Roy Blunt.jpg, Roy Blunt File:Mattb ...
. Ashcroft had long enjoyed inspirational music and singing. In the 1970s, he recorded a
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
record entitled ''Truth: Volume One, Edition One'', with the Missouri legislator
Max Bacon Max Bacon is an English rock singer. He was the lead singer for 1980s rock group GTR, as well as for Burn the Sky, Moby Dick, Nightwing, Phenomena, and Bronz. He was the vocalist on GTR's top 40 single, "When the Heart Rules the Mind" and GTR's ...
, a Democrat. With fellow U.S. senators
Trent Lott Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lawyer, author, and politician. A former United States Senator from Mississippi, Lott served in numerous leadership positions in both the United States House of Representatives and the ...
,
Larry Craig Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, he served 18 years in the United States Senate (1991–2009), preceded by 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, repres ...
, and Jim Jeffords, Ashcroft formed a barbershop quartet called
The Singing Senators The Singing Senators were a group of U.S. Republican senators who sang as a barbershop quartet. Members Representation as of 2000: * Fmr. Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Missouri) – Baritone * Fmr. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) – Lead * Fmr. Sen. J ...
. The men performed at social events with other senators. Ashcroft performed the Star Spangled Banner before the National Hockey League all-star game in St. Louis in 1988. Ashcroft composed a
paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...
titled " Let the Eagle Soar," which he sang at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in February 2002. Ashcroft has written and sung a number of other songs. He has collected these on compilation tapes, including ''In the Spirit of Life and Liberty'' and ''Gospel (Music) According to John''. In 1998, he wrote a book with author Gary Thomas titled ''Lessons from a Father to His Son''. Ashcroft was given an honorary doctorate before giving the commencement at Toccoa Falls College in 2018.


Books

* Co-author with Jane E. Ashcroft, ''College Law for Business,'' textbook (10th edition, 1987) * ''On My Honor: The Beliefs that Shape My Life'' (1998) * ''Lessons From a Father to His Son'' (2002) * ''Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice'' (2006)


Representation in other media

* His song, "Let the Eagle Soar", was satirically featured in Michael Moore's 2004 movie '' Fahrenheit 9/11'' and has been frequently mocked by comedians such as David Letterman,
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
and
David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix si ...
, to name a few. * The song was performed at Bush's 2005 inauguration by
Guy Hovis Guy Lee Hovis, Jr. (born September 24, 1941), is an American singer, who, along with his former wife, Ralna English, a native of West Texas, was one of the featured acts on both the ABC and syndicated versions of ''The Lawrence Welk Show''. ...
, a former cast member of ''
The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1 ...
''. *"Let the Eagle Soar" is heard in the background in the 2015 film '' The Big Short'', as an ironic juxtaposition of schmaltzy music and new-age capitalist sensibility when a phone call is placed to pastoral Boulder, Colorado, where anti-authoritarian ex-banking trader Ben Rickert (played by Brad Pitt) lives. * The song "Caped Crusader" off of
Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...
and the Melvins' 2004 album '' Never Breathe What You Can't See'' lifts several lines from Ashcroft and 9/11 hijacker
Mohamed Atta Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta ( ; ar, محمد محمد الأمير عوض السيد عطا ; September 1, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an Egyptian hijacker and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks in 2001 in which f ...
in a satirical attack on religious fundamentalism.


References


External links


BBC News' John Ashcroft profile



Excerpts from an album Ashcroft recorded in the 1970s



Transcript of James Comey's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, May 15, 2007
* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashcroft, John 1942 births Living people 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Protestants 21st-century American politicians 21st-century Protestants American Pentecostals American people of Norwegian descent American Christian writers American legal writers American non-fiction writers Assemblies of God people Christians from Missouri George W. Bush administration cabinet members Republican Party governors of Missouri Lawyers from Chicago Missouri Attorneys General Missouri lawyers Musicians from Chicago Musicians from Missouri Politicians from Chicago Republican Party United States senators from Missouri State Auditors of Missouri United States Attorneys General University of Chicago Law School alumni Yale University alumni Federalist Society members