Larry Thompson

"This page is about the former Deputy Attorney General. For the president of Ringling College of Art and Design, see Larry R. Thompson."

Larry Dean Thompson (15 November 1945, Hannibal, Missouri, - ) was a deputy Attorney General of the United States under United States President George W. Bush until August 2003. While Deputy Attorney General, he led counter-terrorism efforts and efforts to punish white-collar crime. Among other accomplishments, he oversaw prosecutions against officials at Enron.

Early life and education

Thompson is the son of a railroad laborer from Hannibal, Missouri. He received his bachelors, "cum laude", from Culver-Stockton College in 1967, his master's degree from Michigan State University in 1969, and his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1974.

In 1970, Thompson married Brenda Anne Taggart. They have two sons.

Corporate career

Thompson worked as an industrial relations representative for Ford Motor Company during law school. After graduation he worked at an attorney for Monsanto in St. Louis until 1977. That year he joined the law firm of King & Spalding in Atlanta, Georgia. He left the firm in 1982 for four years as U.S. attorney for the northern District of Georgia; however, he returned and was made a partner in 1986. He left King & Spalding in 2001 to return to the Justice Department as Deputy Attorney General.

Thompson was the director of the Providian Financial Corporation, during the time when Providian paid over $400 million to settle charges of consumer and securities fraud. Thompson made $4.7 million dollars in the sale of Providian stock prior to the allegations. In 2002, Judicial Watch filed suit against Thompson for allegedly artificially inflating the stock price in order to illegally increase his earnings in the sale of stock. Thompson has denied any wrongdoing.

At Department of Justice

From 1982 to 1986, he served as U.S. attorney for the northern District of Georgia, and led the Southeastern Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The "New York Times" describes him as "a moderate" who is "respected by both Democrats and Republicans."

In 2001, Thompson was appointed as Deputy U.S. Attorney General by President Bush.

Thompson Memorandum

In January 2003 Thompson issued an internal Justice Department document informally titled the Thompson Memorandum [Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations http://www.usdoj.gov/dag/cftf/corporate_guidelines.htm] written to help federal prosecutors decide whether to charge a corporation, rather than or in addition to individuals within the corporation, with criminal offenses.Dwyer, Paula (17 March 2003) "What's Cooperation?: Dept. of Justice issues guidelines for corporate cooperation" "Business Week" 3824: p. 51] The guidelines were considered tough because they require that to claim cooperation, companies must (1) turn over materials from internal investigations, (2) waive attorney-client privilege, and (3) not provide targeted executive with company-paid lawyers. The guidelines were criticized for, among other things, "seriously eroding" attorney-client privilege. [Coyle, Marcia (15 September 2006) "DOJ defends Thompson Memo" "Fulton County Daily Report" from "National Law Journal"] These guidelines were "eased" in December 2006 by Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty who issued a revised version of the memorandum. [Vartanian, Thomas P. (22 December 2006) "Viewpoint: Justice Dept. Eases Push On Firms' "Cooperation" "American Banker" 171(245): p. 10]

Career after the Department of Justice

In August 2003 Thompson left the Justice Department and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution for a year before accepting the position of senior vice president for government affairs and general counsel at Pepsico in Purchase, New York.Staff (13 September 2004) "Larry D. Thompson named general counsel for PepsiCo" "Jet" 106(11): p.30] Thompson is also a visiting professor at the University of Georgia law school. Thompson has also taught at Georgia State University College of Law.Fact|date=August 2007

Thompson was named in the press as a leading candidate for Attorney General after John Ashcroft resigned on November 9, 2004. Thompson, if selected, would have been the first African-American ever to head the Justice Department. Instead, Alberto Gonzales was selected as Ashcroft's replacement. Later, Thompson's name was mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. With the resignation of Gonzales in August 2007, Thompson's name again surfaced a candidate for Attorney General.

ee also

*George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates

References