WP: Subpoenas Likely for Justice Officials in Prosecutor Firings

[DeepModem Mom]

Subpoenas Likely for Justice Officials in Prosecutor Firings
By Dan Eggen and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A07

Senate Democrats said yesterday they are preparing to subpoena five senior Justice Department officials as part of a widening probe into whether eight U.S. attorneys were fired for political reasons.

The fallout from the investigation into why the prosecutors were dismissed continued yesterday. Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) hired a top defense attorney to handle a related probe by the Senate ethics committee, which is investigating allegations that he pressured a New Mexico prosecutor to bring indictments against a Democrat just before the November elections.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote today to authorize subpoenas for Justice officials, including Michael A. Battle, who carried out the firings, and Kyle Sampson, chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales....

The new subpoena threat followed dramatic testimony Tuesday from six of the fired U.S. attorneys, including two who alleged that GOP lawmakers or staffers had made improper telephone calls asking about ongoing criminal investigations. A third prosecutor said a Justice Department official warned him two weeks ago that he and his colleagues should keep quiet or risk retaliation....

***

In addition to Battle and Sampson, Democrats plan to issue subpoenas for Michael J. Elston, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty; Monica Goodling, Justice's White House liaison; and William W. Mercer, the U.S. attorney in Montana, who has been nominated to become associate attorney general....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030701546.html?nav=hcmodule

[Erika]

1. Bush has made an assault on the independence of the judiciary

Truly contemptible. It will take decades to repair the damage he has done to the independence.

[enough]

11. And let's not forget Congress' role in enabling this -- by adding a new twist to the Patriot Act.

See this excellent article in Slate describing Arlen Specter's role in this, along with his staffer, a former Clarence Thomas law clerk.

http://www.slate.com/id/2161260/fr/flyout

[leQ]

15. silly boy, it's what dictators do. (eom)

[uppityperson]

2. Good. k&r

[truthisfreedom]

3. Why do I sense there will be suicides in this investigation?

I just get this weird feeling...

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

4. Domenici Gets A Lawyer??

Curious question. Is there a chance he could go down?

Would there be a special election, or would Governor Richardson appoint a replacement to serve out the term?

Could they go after him for trying to intrude on an investigation?

[hang a left]

13. It is only for an ethics investigation as I understand.

I think the removal would have to come from his constituants via the next election.

[MADem]

5. Bush's hands stay clean on this issue though

Because the administration put a proviso in the fucking PATRIOT ACT, that no one read, allowing Alberto Gonzalez to fire people AND PUT IN STOOGES WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. Yes, these "interim" replacements could get their job without any upcheck from the Senate, AND they could keep the job for as long as the Monkey reigns. That's how Rove's old aide got a job -- they fired a guy to make room for him, with NO Congressional oversight.

THAT's the real scandal here, people. That the fucking do-nothing Senate couldn't even take the time to have their STAFFERS read the friken legislation and advise their bosses that there's a little IMPERIAL bullshit going on with Justice, and not ONE sumbitch even NOTICED.

[NJCher]

6. not so sure on that

What you say would be a very literal reading of the law--and quite how I would expect bushco to read it.

This is an abuse of the law, however. There was no reason at all to fire these prosecutors other than political gerrymandering. Not kosher and I do believe there are penalties.

It's kind of like filing a frivolous lawsuit. There are consequences and we will soon see what they will be.



Cher

[MADem]

7. Congress voted on it. They PASSED it. They can't say they didn't know.

Well, they CAN say they didn't know, but ignorance of the law is no excuse.

And it is less of an excuse when you're the bastards VOTING on it.

Again, to be sure my point is clear--Bush's hands are CLEAN on this issue, because the authority to fire people and delegate was, BY LAW, handed off to Alberto Gonzalez as a completely unrelated piece of shit crammed into the PATRIOT ACT.

There's a bit of distance there, that shields Bush from consequences. Bush can legitimately claim that HE didn't know.

And if Alberto is caught, he can get behind Scooter in the pardon line.

[babylonsister]

8. So what if the wh was also involved in trying to influence outcomes?

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/07/mckay-judgeship /

White House Reprimanded U.S. Attorney After He Failed To Cave To Hastings’ Pressure

Yesterday, John McKay, the former U.S. attorney in Washington, revealed to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Rep. Doc Hastings’s (R-WA) office contacted him and attempted to pressure him in an ongoing investigation. McKay was investigating voter fraud in the hotly contested 2004 gubernatorial election, which had been certified in favor of the Democratic candidate.

After the hearing, McKay revealed that the White House was also upset that he refused to convene a federal grand jury to investigate voter fraud in the race, which may have been one the reasons he was denied a federal judgeship:

In remarks after the hearings, McKay said that officials in the White House counsel’s office, including then-counsel Harriet E. Miers, asked him to explain why he had “mishandled” the governor’s race during an interview for a federal judgeship in September 2006. McKay was informed after his dismissal that he also was not a finalist for the federal bench.

McKay applied for the federal judgeship in summer 2006, at which time “many local lawyers considered him the front-runner for the job.” Just three months later, he was forced to resign as U.S. attorney and told he was no longer in the running for the federal bench. Yesterday, the only excuse the Justice Department offered for firing McKay was that they were concerned with the manner “in which he went about advocating particular policies.”

In a statement yesterday, Hastings denied that his office ever contacted the White House about “whether he was qualified to be a federal judge.” But Todd Young, Hastings’s chief of staff noted “Hastings had regular contact with the White House about judgeships.”

There is no evidence that McKay “mishandled” the Washington election investigation. The only thing that is evident is that Hastings, the right wing, and the White House were unhappy with McKay’s unwillingness to bend justice to politics.

[MADem]

9. They may be able to prove it with Rove's protege, but again, they delegated

They had legislators (Hastings, Wilson) make those phone calls, and do their dirty work for them.

And to the extent this brushes the White House, that's Rove's bust, and Harriet Miers...they can get in line for their pardons, too.

Bush's hands stay clean. He's clever in the way he keeps his distance. Play the fool, act like you only see the 'big pic' and pretend to be out of the loop.

In the meantime, let Alberto run Justice like Tony Soprano runs New Jersey.

[woodsprite]

10. They ought to subpoena Harriet Myers also. I read she was involved too. n/t

[babylonsister]

14. Yep. See post #7. nt

[cascadiance]

12. Here's potentially another reason for Lam's outing here in San Diego...

This city just can't stop being corrupt here! My "Enron by the Sea" sig line keeps getting backed up time over time.

I wonder if her investigations into Hunter and Bilbray might be going even further into their dealings with Corky McMillan and what looks to be a very shady land deal they got with the city that's costing local taxpayers tons of money the way things have been worked out.

Duncan Hunter's brother was working for McMillan, and looks to personally have gotten sold a house out of a "random lottery" that was a "sweet deal" for him. Both Duncan Hunter and Bilbray lobbied to have McMillan as the contractor to be used in this deal.

Read more here:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070303-9999-lz1n3mcmillin.html

The list of covered up misdeeds by Duncan Hunter (ADCS/MZM, his own house assessment deal, etc.) just keeps growing and growing. The MSM seems happy to ignore those and just continue to help "google bomb" for Hunter on his running for president instead. It's not hard to figure out why they don't want any kind of "independent" prosecutor like Lam working here when you look at all of these issues in context.

[DeepModem Mom]

16. Thanks for adding this local info! nt