Porn foes lament Ashcroft record on prosecutions
By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
When Attorney General John Ashcroft was lampooned for shrouding the bare-breasted statue at the Department of Justice, many expected he would reverse the eight-year decline in obscenity prosecutions under former President Bill Clinton.
But today, as Mr. Ashcroft prepares to vacate the highest law enforcement office in the land, anti-porn advocates are deeply disappointed with the Bush administration's record — under Mr. Ashcroft's guidance — for pursuing peddlers of smut.
President Bush "has a worse record in his first term than Clinton had," says Patrick A. Trueman, who served as chief of the Justice Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
"When Ashcroft first came to office, the pro-family groups met with Ashcroft and made our case," recalls Mr. Trueman, who like many expected pornography to be a top priority for the new attorney general. "Who does he get to run CEOS? The deputy of the section under Clinton."
Andrew Oosterbaan, who referred questions to a Justice Department spokesman, worked in the department under Attorney General Janet Reno and was made chief of the division in the Bush administration. Under his command, CEOS has won 37 convictions, according to the division's "Obscenity Prosecutions Summary Report" released last month.
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http://washingtontimes.com/national/200412...23550-4129r.htm