Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Snooki Boehner's Defense of DOMA Could Cost Taxpayers $500K (or more, if they feel like it)

Paul Clement: Former United States Solicitor G...
Snooki Boehner's "Weasel for Hire", Paul Clement
Via the Washington Blade:
The U.S. House has hired a private attorney to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court at a total sum that could reach $500,000 and at a blended rate of $520 an hour, according to a copy of the contract obtained by the Washington Blade and other media outlets.
The contract was entered by House general counsel Kerry Kircher, whom U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) charged with defending DOMA in court, and the law firm King & Spalding for the purposes of hiring Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general under former President George W. Bush.
According to the contract, the House has agreed to pay King & Spalding a sum not to exceed $500,000 for all services rendered in defending DOMA, the 1996 law that prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
“It is further agreed that payment for such contractual services may be paid on a partial basis from time to time and in such amounts as the General Counsel may approve,” the contract states.
It should be noted the $500,000 cap could be raised upon written agreement by both parties in the contract as well as the House Committee on Administration.
Additionally, Clement will be paid at a blended rate of $520 an hour for time expended in litigation of defense of DOMA in court and at 75 percent of this usual rate for all reasonable non-attorney time in connection with the litigation.
Read the full story here.

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