Legal News

A Portrait of the Former Bush Lawyer Accused of Attempted Murder

By Ashby Jones

There was no way not to feel left with a handful of questions after the initial news stories broke last month concerning John Michael Farren.

After all, you don’t read stories like that every day. No, it’s a pretty rare event to read of a former Fortune 500 general counsel and high-ranking White House lawyer accused of brutally attacking his wife. But such was the fate confronting Farren early last month, when he was arrested and jailed for allegedly beating his wife (a Skadden lawyer) with his hands and a flashlight inside the couple’s New Canaan, Conn., home. How in the world does this happen?, we asked.

The Washington Post on Thursday sheds some light on the situation. It’s an interesting story, touching as it does on domestic violence in upscale neighborhoods like New Canaan.

But for our money, the main takeaway from the piece involved insight into Farren’s character: the story quotes several people who knew Farren who spoke about a fairly serious anger problem.

Said an anonymous friend to the WaPo: “He definitely was — is — a very intense guy. Had a temper. He could get extremely angry, in a way that would stand out from other people.” The friend reportedly continued: “I work in politics . . . .There’s a lot of swearing. It’s a general part of the day. And this was unique.”

Said a White House colleague of Farren’s: “When I saw him get really, really mad at people, it was if people didn’t show the proper deference to the heirarchy. . . I never saw anybody at the White House get as mad at his secretaries and assistants. It was very unusual. He would raise his voice very high and get red-faced. . . . ”

Farren, who was charged with attempted murder, in January, is being held at Garner Correctional Institution, a maximum security prison in Newtown, Conn., on a $2 million bond.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 25, 2010 (boomark / email).