From Deseret News archives:

U.S. cracking down on porn

Published: Sunday, Feb. 15, 2004 12:15 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department quietly has installed an outspoken anti-pornography advocate in a senior position in its criminal division, as part of an effort to jump-start obscenity prosecutions.

The Bush administration's election-year move follows three years of heat from the Christian right, which believes that Attorney General John Ashcroft, a longtime friend and ally, has fallen down on the job when it comes to fighting smut.

Now, the appointment of a tough new cop on the porn beat and other recent moves by the department to bolster obscenity cases are galvanizing conservatives, while leaving representatives of the adult-entertainment industry to wonder whether they have become a political football.

Officials said the appointment of Bruce A. Taylor, who worked in the department during the heyday of its anti-porn efforts in the late 1980s and early '90s, shows that Justice is serious about cracking down on porn after what critics called lax enforcement by the Clinton administration.

In his resume, Taylor, 53, who got his start as a Cleveland city attorney in the 1970s, lists his involvement in more than 600 obscenity cases as a prosecutor or a legal adviser.

Story continues below
The defendants in those cases constitute a who's-who of adult-entertainment industry tycoons, including Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Reuben Sturman, a onetime comic-book salesman turned porn magnate.

In a survey two years ago, Adult Video News, a trade publication based in Chatsworth, Calif., identified Taylor as one of the top "enemies" of the industry. The story was titled: "These Are the Folks Who Want to Put You Out of Business."

Taylor, who in recent years has headed a conservative advocacy group fighting for tougher regulation of the Internet, has been given the title of "senior counsel" within the criminal division at Justice, with a focus principally on federal adult obscenity issues.

The department's obscenity chief, Andrew Oosterbaan, who has been drawing much of the flak from conservatives, will retain his position. But instead of reporting to him, Taylor will answer to a more senior-level assistant attorney general.

Bryan Sierra, a Justice spokesman, said that by hiring Taylor—which the department didn't publicize but confirmed when asked by the Los Angeles Times—the department was simply marshaling additional resources rather than undercutting anyone's authority or submitting to political pressure.

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

previousnext

Latest comments

No fractures on Emery's foot

to: screener of these posts. Was my last post abusive, offensive, off-topic...

Letters: Conservatives confused

On the topic of holier than thou comments "We will stay because we nkow we...

Utahns growing tired of Bennett

i am not sure how a senator really could be more conservative than Bennett...

plays the system, tries to toy with the investigators, and totally knows that...

Woods says he let family down

You cannot find it in your heart to forgive him? What on earth did he do to...

Unbeaten BYU takes trip to Logan

Reminder to As for the Color....BYU if you were watching the BYU/Utah game...

josh weezy is the legitest player on davis

GOP may dump primaries

This has come up before, and been defeated. DEFEAT IT AGAIN. It's really a...

I have worked at the U for over 18 years. To many Utah fans it is about...

The guy is living his dream. Persecuted, downtrodden, poor guy. Can't wait...

Advertisements