In May 2010, Buchanan was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, but was defeated in the Republican primary.
[citation needed] Buchanan worked temporarily as an associate at Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Potter after her 1987 law school graduation.
Buchanan was slated to speak on "Warrantless Wiretapping, Wireless Tracking, and Law Enforcement" at the Boston University Student Chapter of the Federalist Society on January 28, 2009.
On December 3, 2008, Buchanan released a statement to the press that she did not intend to step down or offer her letter of resignation to President-elect Barack Obama despite the ordinary practice that sitting U.S.
On October 29, 2009, Buchanan's office released a statement that she would step down from her post as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania on November 16, 2009.
This committee counsels the Attorney General on law enforcement issues and plays an integral role in setting Justice Department policy.
Chong's case never went through a federal trial; instead he came to a settlement with Buchanan's office in which he admitted to distributing 7,500 bongs and water pipes via the Internet through Nice Dreams, a family company named for one of his movies.
[5] In executing their search warrant, the federal agents supposedly seized over 10,000 copies of the documentary a/k/a Tommy Chong, which had yet to be released,[6] though this was later retracted.
[7] Unlike typical obscenity cases, though, Karen Fletcher was charged with violating the law through simple writing, and not with pictures or movies.
[7] Additionally, Fletcher's lawyers argued that she ran the web site for cathartic (medical) reasons in an attempt to help herself and others move past issues of childhood exploitation.
[citation needed] In response to the criticism that she received from those activists, Buchanan stated, "It (Fletcher's stories) is some of the most disturbing, disgusting and vile material that I've ever viewed."
[7] Under that ruling, Miller v. California, a work may be deemed obscene if, taken as a whole, it lacks artistic, literary or scientific merit, depicts certain conduct in a patently offensive manner, and violates contemporary community standards.
[8] One of her lawyers, Lawrence Walters, stated that his client, who has agoraphobia, a fear of public places, is not capable of sitting through what likely would be a week-long trial.
[8] On August 7, 2008, Karen Fletcher was sentenced to five years of probation, including six months of home detention, and forfeiture of her computer after pleading guilty to obscenity charges for running a Web site that featured fictional text stories that were sexual and violent in nature.
[10] The case focuses on an Amish man, Daniel Zehr, who is seeking an exception to a law which requires that a photo be taken for one to receive legal residence in the United States.
He is a member of an Old Order Amish sect that takes literally the Bible's prohibition of graven images, which is why he has refused to consent to an immigration photo.
He has since lived in Licking Township in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) northeast of Pittsburgh, where he has raised two children.
In Buchanan's statement to the press, she stated: "To have individuals simply impersonate officers is an offense we have to address to preserve the integrity of the military service.
In January 2006, Wecht was indicted by Buchanan on 84 counts of fraud and theft relating to using his public office for private gain.
[14][15] Buchanan was known for her high-profile prosecutions and investigations of prominent Democrats such as Sheriff Pete DeFazio, the mayor Tom Murphy, and a county judge, Joseph Jaffe.
[31] University of Pittsburgh law professor, John Burkoff characterized Buchanan's decision to attempt a re-trial as one that required perspective: "It's getting beyond embarrassing.
"[32] The controversial charges resulted in Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh's testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee investigating the dismissal of U.S.
[35] On June 26, 2008, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law issued a subpoena for all documents related to the case of Dr.
[36] The Subcommittee issued the subpoena in conjunction with a request for similar documents in the case of Governor Siegelman under the heading "Selective Prosecution".
The congressional committee investigation has focused on whether nine U.S. attorneys were fired by the Justice Department because they had prosecuted Republicans or did not press charges against Democrats.
[1] In addition to having Goodling and Sampson allege she was involved in the firing decisions, critics of Buchanan have claimed that she has embarked on several high-profile public corruption cases that exclusively targeted Democratic politicians such as former Sheriff Pete DeFazio, former Mayor Tom Murphy and former Allegheny County Medical Examiner Cyril Wecht.
"[17] Burn pointed to the fact that Buchanan's Office refused to investigate former Republican Senator Rick Santorum, who got a tuition reimbursement for his children by claiming a Penn Hills, Pennsylvania residency while his family spent most of its time in Virginia, as an example of an alleged double standard.
[1] Buchanan has also denied that the prosecutions of key Democratic politicians in the Western PA area was driven by political factors.
She faced attorney and former Homeland Security Department official Keith Rothfus in the Republican primary for the right to challenge incumbent Democratic Congressman Jason Altmire.
In opposition, two of her former targets for prosecution, Tommy Chong and Cyril Wecht, appeared together at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall in Pittsburgh for a comic fundraiser for the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.