Ashcroft, John David

Born May 9, 1942 in Chicago , Illinois , but raised in Springfield , Missouri , where he attended a public school. He later entered Yale University , which he graduated in 1964. He received his doctorate in law from the University of Chicago in 1967.

John Ashcroft's public career began in 1972 when he tried to run for Congress from southwestern Missouri, but lost the primaries to another Republican candidate. In 1973, he was appointed Missouri State Auditor.

In 1974, he was invited to the post of Assistant Attorney for the State of Missouri Jack Danforth (Jack Danforth). After Danforth was elected to the Senate in 1976, Ashcroft was elected state attorney and re-elected to this post in 1980.

In 1984, John Ashcroft was elected Governor of Missouri and successfully re-elected to this post in 1988, becoming the first (and so far the only) Republican Governor to be elected to this post twice in a row. During his second term from 1991 to 1992, Ashcroft served as chairman of the National Governors Association.

In 1994, Ashcroft succeeded Jack Danforth once again, after his election to the Senate instead of his retired predecessor. Ashcroft won by gaining 60% of the vote and beating his rival from the Democratic Party Alan Whit.

In 1998, Ashcroft announced his intention to compete for the seat of the President of the United States, but on January 5 he refuses this, as he is going to fight for re-election to the Senate in 2000.

During the second Senate election campaign, a paradoxical event occurs. His opponent is from the Democratic Party, Mel Carnahan , who was the state governor and ran for the Senate as well. However, he dies in a plane crash two weeks before the election. Since the law of Missouri does not allow removing a candidate from the list, even in case of death, Mel Karnakhan remains there and wins the election and his widow takes his place in the Senate ^[1] .

In December 2000, after winning the US presidential election, George W. Bush announced the appointment of John Ashcroft as 79th Attorney General of the country ^[2] . Ashcroft assumed the duties of Attorney General in January 2001 and stepped down in February 2005 ^[3] .

After his re-election in 2004 for a second term, George W. Bush was forced to accept Ashcroft's resignation (which he wrote a statement in November 2004 ^[4] ) and appoint Alberto Gonzalez to replace him.

The official version says that the reason for the resignation was the poor health of the Attorney General, who in March 2004 suffered an attack of pancreatitis . Nevertheless, the press was sure that this way George W. Bush was getting rid of the most controversial figures in his cabinet, which included Ashcroft, the author of the famous Patriotic Act ^[5] .

At the same time, George W. Bush praised Ashcroft’s work as Attorney General, noting that he had to work in “difficult times” (referring to the events of September 11 ) ^[6] .

After his resignation, Ashcroft opened The Ashcroft Group, LLC in the fall of 2005, which took up counseling and lobbying in the defense industry ^[7] . Ashcroft's clients include companies such as the Israeli concern Aviation Industry, Oracle Corporation and others.

Already retired from the post of Attorney General, John Ashcroft said: “that tough methods of interrogating suspects are beneficial and protect the country” ^[8] .

John Ashcroft is the son of a pastor of the Pentecostal church . Does not drink, does not smoke, has a baritone and is included in the Quartet “Singing Senators” ^[9] .

In November 2003, a coalition of American human rights defenders demanded the resignation of the attorney general, citing the fact that under the pretext of combating terrorism in the United States violated the rights of citizens ^[10] .

In the United States, the Attorney General also heads the Department of Justice. ^[11]

As the creators of the Shnobel Prize in the Annals of Unbelievable Research magazine “tentatively determined”, John Ashcroft is depicted in the work of the Museum of Bad Art “ George on the Sunday Night Pot ”.

• US Department of Justice website biography