Ex-Bush lawyer guilty of attempted murder

A former White House lawyer during both Bush administrations was convicted Friday of attempted murder, according to the New York Times. 

John Michael Farren, who served as deputy White House counsel during President George W. Bush’s second term, was found guilty of attempted murder, first-degree assault, and risk of injury to a child.

{mosads}Farren allegedly beat his wife unconscious with a metal flashlight two days after she served him with divorce papers. He faces up to 50 years in prison.

Mary Margaret Farren, his wife, successfully sued her husband for $28.6 million over the injuries she suffered in the attack, which left her with a broken jaw.

Farren also worked as the undersecretary for international trade in the Commerce Department under President George H. W. Bush, a deputy director of his transition team, and a senior official in his 1992 reelection campaign. Between jobs in the Bush Administration, Farren served as the general counsel at Xerox.