Bruce Fein
Encyclopedia
Bruce Fein is a lawyer in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 who specializes in constitutional
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

 and international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...

. Fein has written numerous articles on constitutional issues for The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...

, Slate.com, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, Legal Times
Legal Times
Legal Times is a weekly legal newspaper based in Washington, D.C. It is owned by ALM....

, and is active on the issues of civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...

. He has also worked for the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...

 and the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...

, both conservative think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

s, as an analyst and commentator.

Fein is a principal in a government affairs and public relations firm, The Lichfield Group, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. He is also a resident scholar at the Turkish Coalition of America
Turkish Coalition of America
Based in Washington, D.C., The Turkish Coalition of America is an educational, lobbying, and charitable organization incorporated in February 2007.-Mission:...

.

Early life

Bruce Fein was born in 1943 and raised in San Francisco. He received his degree in law
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

 in 1972.

Relations with the US Government

Fein was a top Justice Department official under the Reagan
Reagan
Reagan is an Irish surname, most commonly associated with Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. Reagan may also refer to:-Surname:*Nancy Reagan , widow of Ronald Reagan and First Lady from 1981 to 1989...

 administration. He has heavily criticized every subsequent U.S. President.

Reagan Administration

Under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Ronald Reagan, Fein served as an associate deputy attorney general from 1981 to 1982 and as general counsel
General Counsel
A general counsel is the chief lawyer of a legal department, usually in a corporation or government department. The term is most used in the United States...

 to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

. During that period, he wrote an extensive 30-page critique of Times v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

 ruling that freed American media
American Media
American Media, Inc., is a publisher of a number of major United States-based magazines and supermarket tabloids.-Company background:The modern American Media came into being after Generoso Pope, Jr., longtime owner of The National Enquirer, died in 1988, and his tabloids came under new ownership...

 from much of its liability under libel law in the United States. That memorandum was briefly misattributed to Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 John Roberts
John Roberts
John Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...

 while his nomination to be Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...

 was pending. In 1987, he served as the minority (minority party) research director of the committee in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...

.

Criticizing Bush, Clinton and Obama

The George W. Bush administration's terrorist surveillance program which intercepted some communications without a warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....

 from the FISA court incensed him enough to propose censure
Censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...

 or even impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

 of Bush. He ridiculed Harriett Miers's Supreme Court nomination, and was sharply criticical of then-U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...

.

In March 2007,he founded the American Freedom Agenda
American Freedom Agenda
The American Freedom Agenda is a United States organization established in March 2007 by disaffected libertarian-oriented conservatives demanding that the Republican Party return to its traditional mistrust of concentrated government power...

with Bob Barr
Bob Barr
Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. is a former federal prosecutorand a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of...

, David Keene
David Keene
David A. Keene , President of the National Rifle Association as of May 2, 2011, was the chairman of the American Conservative Union, from 1984 to 2011. Additionally, he is the managing associate at the Carmen Group Lobbying, a lobbying firm based in Washington, D.C...

 and Richard Viguerie
Richard Viguerie
Richard Art Viguerie is a conservative figure, pioneer of political direct mail and writer on American politics...

. Notable published writings by Fein include articles advocating the impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

 of former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

, and former U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....

.

On September 2, 2008, Fein addressed Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

's "Rally For The Republic
Rally for the Republic
The Rally for the Republic , was a French right-wing political party. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic , it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaullism...

" in Minneapolis, offering a critique of the Bush administration's interventionist policy and advocating a more non-interventionist foreign policy. Fein also harshly criticized the anti-terror policies of the Bush White House, including wiretapping and detention of terror suspects. In April 2009, Fein criticized President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 for declining to prosecute Bush administration officials for composing CIA memos justifying torture during interrogations.

In 2011, Fein proposed impeaching President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 in connection with the 2011 military intervention in Libya
2011 military intervention in Libya
On 19 March 2011, a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan civil war...

.

Sri Lankan Civil War

Fein has acted "on behalf of Tamils Against Genocide
Tamils Against Genocide
Tamils Against Genocide is a non-governmental organization formed in 2008, based in Columbia, Maryland, United States, which has actively protested the Sri Lankan Civil War and the alleged genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils in Northern Province, Sri Lanka...

" related to espouse their cause, i.e. to present parts of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...

 as Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...

 Genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

. It included attempts to bring criminal charges against some American citizens who are prominent members of the Sri Lankan government.

Armenian issue

As a scholar at the Turkish Coalition of America
Turkish Coalition of America
Based in Washington, D.C., The Turkish Coalition of America is an educational, lobbying, and charitable organization incorporated in February 2007.-Mission:...

 (TCA), and in collaboration with the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund, Fein actively participates in the Armenian-Turkish dispute with regard to their shared history.

Bruce Fein has penned more than one column on the topic, including in The Washington Times and The Huffington Post. As opposed to the International Association of Genocide Scholars
International Association of Genocide Scholars
The International Association of Genocide Scholars is a global, interdisciplinary, non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, and advance policy studies on prevention of genocide. The Association, founded in 1994 by...

, Fein asserts that the fate of Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 should not be characterized as a genocide, arguing that racial, ethnic or religious motivation for the deaths cannot be proven and that a 'political or military motivation for a death falls outside the definition.' He argued: "Armenian casualties from starvation, disease, and Ottoman Muslim killings were painfully high, perhaps 300,000-600,000. [...] The tragic Armenian losses and suffering deserve sympathy and commemoration, but no more so than their Ottoman Muslim counterparts."

Court Cases

His first action as a lawyer was to participate, in the name of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations
Assembly of Turkish American Associations
-Snapshot:Assembly of Turkish American Associations is the umbrella organization to create cohesion and cooperation between the large numbers of social/cultural Turkish American organizations around the United States. ATAA informs the Turkish American community on how to foster Turkish-American...

 to the court case against Mourad Topalian
Mourad Topalian
Mourad Topalian also known as "Moose" is a prominent Armenian-American political activist, former chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America , who visited the White House several times. In 1999, Topalian was charged by the United States government with conspiracy acts, possession and...

, sentenced in 2001 for illegal storing of war weapons and explosives, linked to a terrorist group, the Justice Commandos against Armenian Genocide
Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide
Justice Commandos against Armenian Genocide was a secret military organization that operated in various western nations from 1975 to 1987...

.

Together with David Saltzman, he was the lawyer of Guenter Lewy
Guenter Lewy
Guenter Lewy is an author and political scientist who is a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts. His works span several topics, but he is most often associated with his 1978 book on the Vietnam War, America in Vietnam, and several controversial works that deal with the...

 against the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...

. After to have filed a complaint, the TALDF obtained a public statement of retraction and apologies from SPLC, and a monetary compensation to Prof. Lewy. Bruce Fein is also one of the lawyers of Rep. Jean Schmidt
Jean Schmidt
Jeannette Marie Hoffman Schmidt, is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches from eastern Cincinnati to Portsmouth....

 against David Krikorian
David Krikorian
David Krikorian is an American businessman and twice a candidate for Ohio's 2nd congressional district, the seat now held by Republican Jean Schmidt....

  and of TCA against University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

. The House ethics committee recently found that Fein had misled Schmidt by failing to disclose to her that his fees in connection with the litigation against David Krikorian were being paid by the TCA.

Books

  • "American Empire: Before the Fall" Published by Campaign for Liberty, June 2010. ISBN 1452829535


American Empire: Before the Fall, the most recent of Fein’s published works, condemns the aggressive foreign policy of the United States for being devoid of concrete objectives, and as such, doomed to war in perpetuity. According to Fein, foreign policy as it stands is earmarked by domination for the sake of domination and gaping wounds to the rule of law and separation of powers. Fein writes: "The larger national motivation is to dominate the world for the excitement of domination. The narrower particular motivation of the President is to reduce coequal branches of government to vassalage, to place the President above the law, and to justify secret government without accountability. James Madison’s admonitions about presidential wars have been vindicated."

Campaign for Liberty commissioned and published American Empire: Before the Fall. This was their first foray into the realm of publishing. Fein's message therein has been well-received by politicians and pundits from across the political spectrum. Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

 (via Campaign for Liberty), Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....

, Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author. Greenwald worked as a constitutional and civil rights litigator before becoming a contributor to Salon.com, where he focuses on political and legal topics...

, Judge Andrew Napolitano
Andrew Napolitano
Andrew Paolo Napolitano is a former New Jersey Superior Court Judge and now a political and legal analyst for Fox News Channel. Napolitano started on the channel in 1998, and currently serves as the network's senior judicial analyst, commenting on legal news and trials...

, US Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr., and many other prominent political figures have publicly declared their concurrence with Fein's analysis. Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author. Greenwald worked as a constitutional and civil rights litigator before becoming a contributor to Salon.com, where he focuses on political and legal topics...

 wrote: "The central problem Fein examines — the nation’s conduct as a world-dominating imperial power rather than a republic — infects and exacerbates virtually every serious political and cultural problem. It drains our financial resources and threatens the country with debt-fueled collapse. It precludes spending on the welfare of American citizens for education, infrastructure and entitlements for the needy. It is what justifies the endless erosion of civil liberties and the acquiescence of limitless, unchecked power to the Executive Branch. It is what causes the nation to be plagued by a bloated, borderline-omnipotent National Security and Surveillance State. It even ironically weakens us militarily and renders us far more vulnerable to attack via overstretch and commitments beyond our means. And most of all, it degrades the American character by reducing us to a militaristic, war-fighting state, wallowing in our own fears, insecurities, hatreds and weaknesses."
  • "Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy" Published by Palgrave MacMillan, September 16, 2008. ISBN 0230602886


Constitutional Peril was the first book authored by Fein intended for the general public. It was published while President Bush remained in office in 2008, and it made an impassioned argument in favor of impeachment for the President’s unparalleled expansion of executive authority and multiple defilements of the rule of law. Fein's argument was presented on national television programs including Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers is an American journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public...

' Journal.

Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

 is among the most notable consistent proponents of Fein's political commentary. He is quoted on the cover of Constitutional Peril saying: "Bruce Fein is one of the most important legal minds of our time. Constitutional Peril is a must-read for American lovers of liberty."
  • "Significant Decisions of the Supreme Court: 1978 - 1979 Term" Aei Pr, June 1980. ISBN 0844733873
  • "Significant Decisions of the Supreme Court" AEI Press, June 1987. ISBN 084473568X
  • "Significant Decisions of the Supreme Court: 1979 - 1980 Term" Fred B. Rothman & Co, April 1985 ISBN 0837711355
  • "Significant Decisions of the Supreme Court: 1977 - 1978 Term" AEI Press, 1979. ISBN 0844733601
  • "Significant Decisions of the Supreme Court: 1975 - 1976 Term" Rowman & Littlefield, June 1977. ISBN 0844732834
  • "Significant Decisions of the Supreme Court: 1973 - 1974 Term" AEI Press, 1975. ISBN 0844731765
  • "Significant Decisions of the Supreme Court: 1972 - 1973 Term" Rowman & Littlefield, June 1974. ISBN 0844710733

External links

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