Senate Bypassed on Many Key Justice Jobs

[Up2Late]

Source: National Public Radio (NPR)

Senate Bypassed on Many Key Justice Jobs

Listen to this story...{at link above)
by David Welna

Morning Edition, March 29, 2007 · The Bush administration has taken full advantage of a Patriot Act provision that permits interim appointments of United States attorneys without Senate confirmation. Of federal prosecutors now on the job, 21 of 93 did not face Senate confirmation....

(edit)

...Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the White House would normally send nominations for filling empty U.S. attorney slots. But Leahy has received no nominations for the 18 U.S. attorney posts currently open, including the eight cleared by last year's firings.

Sen. Leahy thinks that's mainly because Attorney General Gonzales was using the provision stuck into the Patriot Act to avoid Senate scrutiny of his appointees. "It's obvious they wanted to use this Republican-written backdoor way in the Patriot Act to bypass the Senate," Sen. Leahy said.

Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl says he had no idea so many U.S. attorneys are officially temporary and serving without senate confirmation. "It's not good to have vacancies," Sen. Kyl said. "You need to have confirmations. And I don't know why the number is the way it is." The White House, for its part, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

(more and the audio links at link)

Read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9204310

---

OMG, I almost feel like I'm living in a American backed South American Dictatorship, this is getting really bad!

[LiberalEsto]

1. Time to rename the Patriot Act

Let's call a spade a spade and rename it the Traitor Act.

It's providing too damn many loopholes that are being used to dismantle democracy.

[Wanet]

5. I think the "Enabling Act" would be appropriate

the legislation that brought Hitler to power in Germany.

[truthisfreedom]

7. "Political Appointee Tool Republicans Inserted for Oversight Trickery" sounds about right.

"Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism."

That's what they claimed.

[rfranklin]

10. This is a coup d'etat...they are bypassing the elected....

officials and putting their thugs (answerable only to the Bush junta) into key position to effectively suppress the votes of citizens. This is treason! (But we knew that all along.)

[Up2Late]

12. I just heard, on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" a call in from a Little Rock, AR Radio host...

...who said the newly installed "federal attorney" that Karl Rove just dropped into the open spot there, is nothing more (and nothing less) than a "Political Operative" who's only real purpose is to "make trouble for the Clintons" again!

When asked by the host if he was going to re-open "White Water" he said, yes and that he heard their are several NEW books about to come out on it again! <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9212011>

Somehow, we need to find a way to put KKKarl in Prison!

[rodeodance]

17. 21 of 93 did not face Senate confirmation.

[jwirr]

2. We need to remind those who won their seat through this back

door method that we will be watching them especially close. Conspiracy anyone?

[DURHAM D]

3. Why doesn't anyone talk about Spector's role in this mess?

What a sellout he is to the Senate.

If Spector did not know about the provision (as he claims) he should be the most pissed off. His Senate mates have got to be really angry with him either way - 21 appointments without Senate confirmation - almost 25%.

[maddezmom]

6. agree, he is one evil bastard

:puke:

[Up2Late]

8. I think ALL of those in still in Congress who are still defending the actions of this Cabal need...

...to be investigated NOW!

We should make a list of the "Bush Defenders"!

Spector for this,

Lieberman for the War (my guess is threats from the WH or kickbacks from Colt Manufacturing and other weapon suppliers)

Who else?

[Acadia Blue]

9. Very good point. I have wondered that myself. Our wonderful

media, is no help of course. They are more interested in missing white women than reporting the news.

[rodeodance]

18. i have wondered that over and over!

[rodeodance]

19. i have wondered that over and over!

[rodeodance]

20. like WHO asked specter to insert?--someone from DOJ or WH?

[rodeodance]

21. like WHO asked specter to insert?--someone from DOJ or WH?

[Miss Chybil]

4. Kyl is questioning the Administrations actions? OMG.

As we say in Arizona - "It's going to rain!"

[Tansy_Gold]

11. OMG indeed!

Kyl is such a piece of lizard dung. I wouldn't have been surprised if he came out with a statement APPROVING of the unconfirmed appointments, so to find out that he's even miffed by it is indeed a bit of a shock.


TG in AZ

[cassiepriam]

13. The Bushafia strikes again. They run a heck of a dictatorship.

[Up2Late]

14. Yup, feel safer yet?

:kick:

[rodeodance]

15. and Read this--Bush Adm rejects Senators nominations

Other Vacancies

Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is the Judiciary panel's top Republican. He says the problem goes beyond U.S. attorneys. There have also been no Bush administration nominations for dozens of federal judgeships, including 10 circuit court vacancies.

"The White House has been, I think, so busy with so many other matters, the terrorist surveillance program, the habeas corpus litigation, the U.S. attorneys controversy, that there have been quite a number of matters which have not moved through the White House counsel's office as promptly as they should," Specter said.

Duke University law professor Michael Gerhardt says the White House has traditionally nominated U.S. attorneys who were suggested by senators from the states where they'd serve. But under the Bush administration, he says, that patronage system has run into resistance.

"Senators have been proposing people to the White House, but those people have been rejected," Gerhardt said. "That can't make those senators feel very good. And it probably creates some friction between those senators and the White House."

[rodeodance]

16. Bush even stiffed Sen. Stevens:

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who suggested names to the White House last year for her state's vacant federal prosecutor post, has questions about the process.

"I am concerned that the selections … were advanced by Sen. Stevens (R-AK)and myself to fill the Alaska U.S. attorneys office have not yet been acted upon," Murkowski said.

Sen. Murkowski says she and Sen. Stevens were essentially ignored.

"Both names that we had submitted were turned down by the White House for unknown reasons," Sen. Murkowski said. "And then, without any word to either Sen. Stevens or myself, Mr. Nelson Cohen from the state of Pennsylvania was announced to be our interim U.S. attorney."

[Up2Late]

22. That part about the guy from Pennsylvania suddenly getting the nomination...

...was very troubling to me too! Might be time to investigate who this "Mr. Nelson Cohen from the state of Pennsylvania..." is and why he was picked.