DALLAS, TX, TEXAS, May 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
One of the fundamental responsibilities of a prosecutor is to charge defendants only with conduct that is clearly criminal. And yet, time and time again in high-profile prosecutions the United States Department of Justice charges multiple defendants with crimes that simply were not crimes.
Now former federal appeals prosecutor turned private practitioner, Sidney Powell, addresses these issues in her new book "Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice" (Brown Books Publishing Group). Revisiting familiar cases such as the Enron collapse and the wrongful prosecution of the longest-serving Republican US senator in history, Powell captures the drama of the law and the real human costs and consequences of the corruption of justice and cautions anyone facing the Department of Injustice.
Written with the narrative style of a legal thriller , "Licensed to Lie" digs deeper than "Conspiracy of Fools" and "The Smartest Guys in the Room." Powell reveals names , sparing nothing and no one, as she leads readers through the disturbing events, missteps, cover-ups, malfeasance, and corruption of justice that have caused her to question the system she has been committed to for over thirty years. Powell assembles a stunning argument for the old adage, "nothing succeeds like failure." ––Kirkus Reviews.
" This is the book I was hoping I would never have to write because if the judicial system had worked correctly I would not have had to write it," Powell says. "When it didn’t and things were so wrong, and the people who were responsible for those egregious wrongs were promoted to positions like deputy director/general council of the FBI, chief White House Council, and acting attorney general for the criminal division of the Department of Justice, I felt like I had to say something."
"'Licensed to Lie' is so well written and researched that the story makes for a stunning read. A lurid tale of deceit and amoral behavior on the part of government prosecutors, Powell has done the law and every citizen a great favor by calling out an unholy practice of government attorneys." –– ForeWord Reviews .
"With this work, the former federal prosecutor and appellate attorney Ms. Powell stands among the great whistleblowers in modern American history as she exposes the injustices and inhumanities perpetrated by self-aggrandizing members of two federal DOJ task forces, who truly had a license to lie and to destroy innocent lives without any federal prosecutor having conscience enough to even acknowledge the suffering they caused," says Michael Leon , nationally recognized writer focusing on legal affairs and politics at MAL Contends blog. "No one reading this work can do so without being appalled by the intentional and repeated injustices inflicted onto the innocent."
Gripping courtroom scenes draw readers into this compelling story giving them a frightening perspective on justice and who should be accountable when evidenced is withheld. "Licensed to Lie" is the true story of the strong-arm, illegal, and unethical tactics used by headline-grabbing federal prosecutors in their narcissistic pursuit of power.
"Look for yourself," Powell says. "The evidence is there in black, white, and yellow." Its scope reaches from the US Department of Justice to the US Senate to the White House and is a scathing attack on prosecutors, judges, and all those who turned a blind eye to egregious injustices in the aftermath of the Enron collapse. The ramifications continue today as this corrupt cabal of former prosecutors now populates powerful political positions.
Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit says, "This book should serve as the beginning of a serious conversation about whether our criminal justice system continues to live up to its vaunted reputation. As citizens of a free society, we all have an important stake in making sure that it does."
"The Takeaway," says William Hodes, Professor of Law Emeritus, Indiana University, and coauthor, "The Law of Lawyering," "is that both Bushies and Obamaites should be very afraid. Over the last few years, a coterie of vicious and unethical prosecutors who are unfit to practice law has been harbored within and enabled by the now ironically named Department of Justice."
To learn more, please visit: www.LicensedToLie.com
Books are available online and in bookstores.
About the Author
Sidney Powell served in the Department of Justice for ten years in Texas and Virginia and has devoted her private practice to federal appeals for the past twenty years. She was the youngest Assistant United States Attorney in the country and the youngest elected Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, for which she also served as president. Recognized by her peers as a "Super Lawyer" and named as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" for years, she has been lead counsel in more than 500 appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, resulting in more than 180 published opinions, and was president of the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit. Powell’s briefs have long been used as samples for practitioners.
*A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit The Constitution Project, The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The Texas Equal Access to Justice Campaign, and Pisgah Legal Services.
# # #
A photo accompanying this release is available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25068
CONTACT:Cindy Birne Director of Public Relations Brown Books Publishing Group cindy.birne@brownbooks.com 972-381-0009
