Justice Department decision to issue legal opinion long sought by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson dra
Source: Washington Post
Justice Department decision to issue legal opinion long sought by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson draws criticism
By Tom Hamburger February 7 at 7:58 PM
The Justice Department’s decision last month to release a legal opinion that could further restrict Internet gambling is drawing fire from state attorneys general and former department officials amid questions about casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s long-standing push for the move.
The legal opinion, which was posted online during the partial government shutdown, reversed a 2011 Justice Department interpretation of the Wire Act that effectively gave the states a green light to authorize lotteries and other forms of online gambling.
The change was long sought by Adelson, a major Republican donor who spent more than $20 million to back Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016.
“We can see no good reason for the Justice Department’s sudden reversal,” Josh Shapiro, attorney general of Pennsylvania, and Gurbir S. Grewal, attorney general of New Jersey, wrote this week in a joint letter to acting U.S. attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.
In their letter, the Democratic attorneys general said they were concerned by reports that the drafting of the new opinion “followed substantial lobbying by outside groups.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-department-decision-to-issue-legal-opinion-long-sought-by-casino-magnate-sheldon-adelson-draws-criticism/2019/02/07/fb705da6-2ae8-11e9-b011-d8500644dc98_story.html
