Here is the statement of Attorney General Eric Holder today announcing he has named two U.S. Attorneys to investigate the recent alleged leaks of classified information:

“Today, I assigned U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald C. Machen Jr. and U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein to lead criminal investigations into recent instances of possible unauthorized disclosures of classified information.

The Washington Post reports: [More...]

Tony Mauro in USA Today writes about the 2012 election and the Supreme Court. He lists the oldest justices. Three will turn 80 during this next presidential term:

• 79, Ginsburg
• 76, Scalia
• 75, Kennedy
• 73, Breyer

Mauro writes:

If a President Romney gets to appoint replacements for liberals Ginsburg and Breyer, then abortion rights, gay rights, affirmative action and campaign-finance reform could well be in serious jeopardy. If President Obama gets to replace conservatives Scalia and Kennedy, then those doctrines will probably be safer, while regulation of the environment, gun rights, property rights and corporations could win more favor.

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Eric Holder is grilled again over Fast and Furious.

You can watch Alan Dershowitz' original comments about prosecutor Angela Corey in the George Zimmerman case here.

Still busy at work today. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

We're on tornado watch here, a big storm is about to unfold.

Some Kim DotCom news: The FBI may have fedexed clones of the MegaUpload computers to the U.S. against the instructions of a New Zealand judge. DotCom's lawyers say the FBI may have "gazumped" the Crown. (Is that like "hoodwinked?"

Also, Judge David Harvey at the Auckland District Court, who is handling the extradition case said in an order last week:

"the US is attempting to utilise concepts from civil copyright context as a basis for the application of criminal copyright liability".

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As if the Zimmerman case needs more twists and turns, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz writes that States Attorney Angela Corey called Harvard Law School and went on a 40 minute rant, threatening to sue the University for Dershowitz having expressed his opinion that she misled the court by leaving exculpatory evidence out of the arrest warrant affidavit. She originally called the Dean, but got transferred to the Office of Communications:

She was transferred to the Office of Communications and proceeded to engage in a 40-minute rant, during which she threatened to sue Harvard Law School, to try to get me disciplined by the Bar Association and to file charges against me for libel and slander. She said that because I work for Harvard and am identified as a professor she had the right to sue Harvard.

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The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced today it won't review its decision on Prop 8. Backers will seek Supreme Court review.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

George Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara announced today he is delaying the filing a motion to release George Zimmerman on bond. In a cryptic statement he writes:

Mr. Zimmerman's legal defense team has decided to delay filing a motion for bond. A hearing will not be scheduled for a couple of weeks, and we will file a the motion well in advance of the hearing.

Zimmerman will remain in jail. One reason may be that the Judge is out of town this week, so there's no reason to file it now. Why give the state any more advance notice of his arguments than necessary? Another may be that he is obtaining all of George Zimmerman's jail calls, not just those the state's attorney's office presented to the judge.

Or maybe he wants the time to retain and pay for experts, and increase the amount of earned legal fees, having the fund pay for both before filing the motion. If the fund is depleted by the time he files the motion, there's no reason to increase the amount of the bond. Any other thoughts?

Here's Mark O'Mara's 911 call on May 14 reporting a threat.

Nine jurors were picked this morning for the trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, charged with sexual abuse of minor boys.

Here's a summary of the key players. Here's a summary of the charges and victims.

Testimony is expected to begin next week. Reporters may not tweet or use electronic devices from the courtroom and the alleged victims will have to testify using their real names.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced a legislative proposal that would make marijuana possession in public a violation punishable by a fine, and enforced via a summons in lieu of arrest. That's the current law in New York for personal possession of small amounts of marijuana (up to an ounce) not in public view.

Smoking marijuana in public would remain a misdemeanor. But Cuomo endorsed the police department's use of stop and frisk.

“Stop-and-frisk is a well-accepted police strategy all across the country,” the governor said in announcing his legislative proposal yesterday.

Mayor Bloomberg is supporting Cuomo's bill. Why go halfway? Neither public nor private possession of marijuana should be a violation or a crime. [More...]

(larger version here).

President Obama was in New York last night for three fundraisers. Jon Bon Jovi, who attended all three and headlined the event at the Waldorf, was the President's guest on the Air Force One flight from Washington, DC to New York and back at the end of the evening. Some people (Obama) get all the luck.

Bon Jovi has been a huge supporter of Democratic candidates for more than a decade. In 2007, the New York Times wrote about his strong support for Hillary. He enthusiastically supported Obama when she withdrew from the race. [More...]

I spent all my blogging time last night and this morning weeding out objectionable comments on the Zimmerman threads. I'm still not done.

Big Tent Democrat is very busy the next few days with the pre-relaunch of Daily Kos radio, whose official relaunch comes at Netroots Nation next week.

The Supreme Court has ruled Dick Cheney's secret service agents have immunity in a 2006 Colorado lawsuit filed by a protester who was arrested. The Tenth Circuit had ruled the lawsuit could proceed.

“This court,” Justice Thomas wrote for six justices, “has never recognized a First Amendment right to be free from a retaliatory arrest that is supported by probable cause; nor was such a right otherwise clearly established at the time of Howards’s arrest.”

Another example of how much it matters who gets appointed to lifetime positions on the federal courts and Supreme Court.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

George Zimmerman returned to the Seminole County Jail last night. His attorney, Mark O'Mara, said today he will request a new bond hearing.

Mr. Zimmerman's lawyers will request a new bond hearing where they can address the court's concerns regarding the representation of funds available at the time of the original hearing on April 20. The defense team hopes that Mr. Zimmerman's voluntary surrender to Sanford police will help demonstrate to the court that he is not a flight risk. Furthermore, the vast majority of the funds in question are in an independently managed trust, and neither Mr. Zimmerman or his attorneys have direct access to the money.

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