Agency weighed prosecutors' politics (Goodling chart)

[maddezmom]

Source: Associated Press

Agency weighed prosecutors' politics By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
35 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The Justice Department weighed political activism and membership in a conservative law group in evaluating the nation's federal prosecutors, documents released in the probe of fired U.S. attorneys show.

The political credentials were listed on a chart of 124 U.S. attorneys nominated since 2001, a document that could bolster Democrats' claims that the traditionally independent Justice Department has become more partisan during the Bush administration.

The chart was included in documents released Friday by the department to congressional panels investigating whether the firings last year of the U.S. attorneys were politically motivated — an inquiry that has Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fighting for his own job.

"This is the chart that the AG requested," Monica Goodling, Justice's former liaison to the White House, wrote in a Feb. 12 e-mail to two other senior department officials. "I'll show it to him on the plane tomorrow, if he's interested."

~snip~

The documents also included indications that senior department officials had replacements in mind for the outgoing prosecutors nearly a year before the ousters, seemingly contradicting testimony last month by Gonzales' former top aide.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070414/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fired_prosecutors

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New doubt on key aide to Gonzales
E-mail suggests attorney general's ex-chief of staff misled Congress
By Marisa Taylor and Margaret Talev - McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Contrary to his testimony before Congress last month, the former top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales recommended candidates to replace ousted U.S. attorneys, according to an e-mail released Friday by the Justice Department.

In January of last year -- 11 months before the terminations were carried out -- Kyle Sampson, then chief of staff to Gonzales, listed the names of possible replacements in an e-mail he sent to then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers; Dan Levin, a former senior Justice and White House official; Jeff Taylor, now the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C.; Deborah Rhodes, now the top prosecutor in Alabama; and Rachel Brand, currently head of the department's Office of Legal Counsel.

Under Sampson's plan, Levin was mentioned to replace Kevin Ryan, who was fired as the U.S. attorney in San Francisco; Taylor or Rhodes to take over for Carol Lam, fired in San Diego; and Brand to succeed Margaret Chiara, fired in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Sampson also listed H.E. "Bud" Cummins III of Little Rock, Ark., as another to be fired, and to be replaced by Timothy Griffin, a protege of White House political adviser Karl Rove.

more:http://www.sacbee.com/341/story/155043.html

[salin]

1. I would guess that is a contributing factor why she has lawyered up.

This is completely inappropriate activity from the DOJ.

[sutz12]

3. And as Bill Maher said...she got a lawyer that went to a real law school.

:evilgrin:

[rodeodance]

2. Partison means Fundi like