Flap may threaten justice official's job (Bill Mercer)

[maddezmom]

Source: Associated Press

Flap may threaten justice official's job By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer
10 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The flap over fired prosecutors is jeopardizing confirmation of President Bush's pick for the No. 3 official at the Justice Department.

The nomination of Bill Mercer, currently the U.S. attorney for Montana, to become associate attorney general has been put on hold by Democrats. They want to question him about his role in the dismissal of several federal prosecutors late last year.

Mercer's name frequently pops up among more than 3,000 pages of e-mail exchanges among department and White House officials discussing the dismissals. The Senate Judiciary Committee has authorized a subpoena for Mercer as part of its investigation into the matter. His nomination is pending before that committee.

A committee spokeswoman said it will not consider the nomination until the investigation is finished; it is not clear how long that will take.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070323/ap_on_go_pr_wh/fired_prosecutors_double_duty

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Senators want Mercer to select 1 job(USA waiting for confirmation of #3 position in DOJ)

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Montana's two Democratic senators are calling for the state's U.S. attorney to resign or give up his job as the No. 3 official at the Justice Department.

U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer has kept his job in Montana as he waits to be confirmed by the Senate as associate deputy general. But that job may be threatened as Mercer has been involved in a widening investigation into whether the department inappropriately fired several U.S. attorneys.

"I don't think it's appropriate for Mr. Mercer to hold both of these jobs," Democratic Sen. Jon Tester said in a statement. "Montana needs a full-time U.S. attorney."

A spokesman for Sen. Max Baucus said the senator is hearing from attorneys and judges in the state who say the U.S. attorney's office is stretched too thin.

more:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2774878

more USA's doing double duty

U.S. Attorney Sullivan named director of ATF
By Associated Press
Thursday, March 22, 2007 - Updated: 08:07 AM EST

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday announced he would nominate U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan of Massachusetts to be the director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Sullivan, 52, had been serving as acting director of the agency as well as U.S. attorney for the past six months. He is expected to continue in both roles pending Senate confirmation for the ATF job.

Bush’s nomination will leave a vacancy in the U.S. attorney post in Massachusetts.

”I’m very honored,” Sullivan told The Associated Press just after the nomination was announced. ”I see this as a real privilege to continue to serve the American public, and I certainly appreciate the confidence the president and the attorney general has shown in me by offering my nomination to the U.S. Senate.”

more: http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=190118


U.S. attorney now staff chief for nation's AG
March 21, 2007
The U.S attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, which includes Hampton Roads, has been named interim chief of staff for U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

In his new duties, Chuck Rosenberg will assist Gonzales and senior Justice Department staff in managing policy activities and department priority areas. Gonzales named Rosenberg, who will continue supervising operations for the Eastern District, to the temporary post last week.

more:http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/briefs/dp-85847bf0mar21,0,5111755.story?coll=dp-briefs

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Bushetals need an extreme transfusion of new blood

Promoting from within is only going to be a kiss of death for them.

[maddezmom]

2. E-Mails Mock a Targeted Prosecutor...more re: Mercer

Responding to congressional anger over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, the Justice Department has released more than 3,000 pages of documents over the past two weeks. The internal memos and e-mails provide a rare, unvarnished glimpse of the inner workings at Justice's highest levels. Over the next several days, In the Loop will highlight some of the most revealing exchanges.

In this series of e-mails, Bill Mercer and Michael Elston, two senior officials in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, trade barbed comments about one of the fired prosecutors, Carol S. Lam, the U.S. attorney in San Diego, five months before she was dismissed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032201901.html

[LizW]

3. Weird. Mercer was USA for Montana AND part of the DOJ hit squad on Lam?

This just keeps getting messier.

[maddezmom]

4. and the people in MT want him to resign as USA there

they sure as hell don't want him now.