Bush requests resignations from US Attys, Including Cunningham Prosecutor

[Rose Siding]

The Bush administration has quietly asked San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, best known for her high-profile prosecutions of politicians and corporate executives, to resign her post, a law enforcement official said....
Lam has had high-profile successes during her tenure, such as the Randy “Duke” Cunningham bribery case – but she alienated herself from bosses at the Justice Department because she is outspoken and independent, said local lawyers familiar with her policies.
...
“It's virtually unprecedented to fire a U.S. Attorney absent some misconduct in office,” said criminal defense attorney Michael Attanasio, a former federal prosecutor. “This office has clearly made a priority of investigating and prosecuting white collar offenses and has had occasional success doing so,” he said. “One would think that would be valued by any administration, even if it meant fewer resources were devoted to routine and repetitive border crimes.”
...
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., criticized the Bush administration yesterday for “pushing out U.S. Attorneys from across the country under the cloak of secrecy.”

“We don't know how many U.S. Attorneys have been asked to resign – it could be two, it could be ten, it could be more. No one knows,” she said in a statement.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070112-9999-1n12lam.html

[Cooley Hurd]

1. How fucking Nixonian of him!

:grr:

[napi21]

2. UH OH! Where's Fitz? I'm worried about him.

If Shrub can get away with having these attys fired and keep it secret, my bet is that Fitz is near the top of the list!

[seafan]

3. So Bush fired the the Duke-ster's prosecutor? Can't have an uppity woman takin' down his buddies...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070112-9999-1n12lam.html">This is the REAL reason she was fired, imho.

When she took over, Lam made it clear that she planned to focus less on low-level smuggling cases in favor of public corruption and white collar crime, which would mean fewer but more significant prosecutions.

There's no turning back, people. It's up to us.

[Rose Siding]

4. This is really ominous, especially coupled with this attack from yesterday-

Official Attacks Top Law Firms Over Detainees
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 — The senior Pentagon official in charge of military detainees suspected of terrorism said in an interview this week that he was dismayed that lawyers at many of the nation’s top firms were representing prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and that the firms’ corporate clients should consider ending their business ties.

The comments by Charles D. Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, produced an instant torrent of anger from lawyers, legal ethics specialists and bar association officials, who said Friday that his comments were repellent and displayed an ignorance of the duties of lawyers to represent people in legal trouble.

“This is prejudicial to the administration of justice,” said Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University and an authority on legal ethics. “It’s possible that lawyers willing to undertake what has been long viewed as an admirable chore will decline to do so for fear of antagonizing important clients.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/washington/13gitmo.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1168664400&en=fbd6524f65fde1db&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin

[global1]

10. Scares The Living Daylights Out of Me - What Are They Up To?.....

we need to probe this more and find out how many state AG's have been affected by this. What is *Co cooking up now?

[LonelyLRLiberal]

5. US Attorney in Arkansas replaced with Rove henchman

Bud Cummings, US Attorney for Arkansas,(appointed by Bush in December 2001 but went through confirmation process) was asked to resign by Bush. He was immediately replaced with Tim Griffin, who "previously worked under Karl Rove." (I recall that Tim Griffin was involved in the Florida presidential election theft.)

These appointments are being done under a provision added in last year's reauthorization of the USAPATRIOT Act, which allows the US Attorney General to appoint interim US Attorneys for indefinite terms when vacancies arise without going through the confirmation process. The claimed purpose of this provision was to assist in times of crisis.

Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas (who has been one of Bush's "b--t boys" and who voted for the legislation) is now outraged.

Source: Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Jan. 13, 2007, page 1A article.

http://epaper.ardemgaz.com/Daily/skins/Arkansas/

(edited to add link)

[tblue37]

15. Every one of us should send this article to the Senate and the Congress,

targeting not only our own representatives and senators, but also leaders like Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy, Conyers, Waxman, etc.

[cascadiance]

20. I already called Congressman Waxman's office yesterday morning...

... and someone from their office called me back, and i sent some article links and a DU thread link to her. She sent a note back to me that she's forwarding it to the Oversight Committee for review.

[tavalon]

22. Rock on!

Thank you for keeping up our reputation as the People of the Year.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. What did I tell ya?

The reason things have gotten so screwy is because the real treacherous bastards in charge are removing the boy scouts from the process.

This is what I call, A Saturday Eve Massacre.

[Rose Siding]

7. FBI: Lam is "is crucial to the success of multiple ongoing investigations"

Republican crooks breath a sigh of relief. From today's report:

snip>
.....“What do you expect her to do? Let corruption exist?” {Dan Dzwilewski, head of the FBI office in San Diego} said.

Lam's continued employment as U.S. attorney is crucial to the success of multiple ongoing investigations, the FBI chief said.

As for the reason for any pressure to resign, Dzwilewski said: “I can't speak for what's behind all that, what's the driving force behind this or the rationale. I guarantee politics is involved.”
...
Other members of the law enforcement community also defended Lam.

“She's been by far the most outstanding U.S. attorney we've ever had,” City Attorney Michael Aguirre said. “By far, she's done more to clean up the corruption in this city than anyone else, and she has won a national reputation as one of the top prosecutors in the country.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070113/news_1m13lam.html

[MindPilot]

8. From an LAT article last week.

This article is a week old, and it looks like the Democrats passed whatever "test" was presented. Looks like there are going to be an awful lot of obstruction of justice charges. We're going to have to let all the pot smokers out of jail just to have room for the "former administration officials" awaiting trial.



WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors in San Diego have subpoenaed documents from three House committees as part of an investigation into special-interest earmarks in spending bills.

The demand ratchets up an investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego into contracts awarded by the Defense Department and other agencies. The probe stems from the bribery case against Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe), who pleaded guilty and resigned in 2005.

The scope of the investigation is unclear, although the request for documents is considered unusually broad.

The subpoenas, which follow a failed attempt by the Justice Department to persuade the Republican Congress to voluntarily turn over thousands of documents, could test Democrats' pledge to reform ethics in the new Congress. Last year, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) — who today becomes House speaker — opposed a broad-based Justice Department search warrant targeting Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.).

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-subpoena4jan04,1,6900035.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true

[Rose Siding]

9. Oh, wow. Lam surely would have a hand in that investigation

Thanks for that :thumbsup:

[MindPilot]

11. Another thread on the subject

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2685750

[cascadiance]

26. And another thread I started on Friday morning for those who missed it...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2685750&mesg_id=2685750

BTW, here's another thread I started on the Union Tribune's Message Board that might be interesting to some:

http://forum.signonsandiego.com/upload/showthread.php?t=70812

Note that the NEXT DAY after the Friday article came out, even though on the web site this hasn't been given headline status, etc. and we're swamped here with Charger's playoff news, there were three letters to the editor. I don't have a link to this morning's LTTE page. Perhaps someone with a sub could provide that?

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070113/news_lz1e13lets.html

And note how weak any one defending Bush's actions arguments are on this NC Times site article, which normally gets its full share of right wing pundits comments:

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01/13/news/top_stories/21_44_311_12_07.txt

Folks, I think we can get bipartisan support on this if these stories get on the front pages of our news outlets. We just need to pressure the corporate media into doing so! Hopefully we're helping this happen.

I do think a call to the Union Tribune is in order to applaud writer's Kelly Thornton's and Onell Soto's efforts in their well written and researched pieces. Thank them for putting this news out, and ask them to make it more visible on their web site and newspaper, as there is strong interest in it if people know what's really going on with it.

[librechik]

12. purging his enemies

like Stalin.

[BearSquirrel2]

13. Hearings ..

Sounds like a hearing to me. Yet another count for an impeachment indictment!!!

[ananda]

14. I don't understand how..

.. Bush can do that? Under what authority?

The lawyers aren't military are they?

[LonelyLRLiberal]

18. They are political appointees.

Don't know why he would replace one of his own appointments with another one, except that this just looks like a means of rewarding insiders. I don't know that the Arkansas US Attorney (Cummings) was an administration insider, but the replacement most definitely is an insider closely linked to KKKarl.

[frylock]

16. saturday night massacre, anyone?

[rodeodance]

17. Lam, a Bush appointee who took the helm in 2002,

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070112-9999-1n12lam.html


performance said to be behind White House firing
By Kelly Thornton and Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
January 12, 2007

The Bush administration has quietly asked San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, best known for her high-profile prosecutions of politicians and corporate executives, to resign her post, a law enforcement official said.



Carol Lam
Lam, a Bush appointee who took the helm in 2002, was targeted because of job performance issues – in particular that she failed to make smuggling and gun cases a top priority, said the official, who declined to be identified because Lam has yet to step down.

Lam has had high-profile successes during her tenure, such as the Randy “Duke” Cunningham bribery case – but she alienated herself from bosses at the Justice Department because she is outspoken and independent, said local lawyers familiar with her policies.

When she took over, Lam made it clear that she planned to focus less on low-level smuggling cases in favor of public corruption and white collar crime, which would mean fewer but more significant prosecutions.

Lam declined to comment yesterday.

[donkeyotay]

19. Aren't they afraid of how it looks? This isn't the first time bush has demoted

an attorney general who was investigating Republican cronies.

I've got an Octafish post from 05 Dec 05 that cites a John Conyers' letter about the firing of US Attorney Black who had been investigating corruption in Guam that was linked to Jack Abramoff. Abramoff's transactions were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury on the 18th of November, 2002, and Black was removed from his job the next day, the 19th of November, 2002, and the investigation stopped. Conyers concludes his letter saying, "The Department of Justice should be concerned that a federal prosecutor was possibly removed from his position as a result of lobbying efforts by those he was investigating for public corruption."

This prosecutor and grand jury were investigating public corruption, also. Again, the investigation has been stopped by demoting the prosecutor. It looks like the government is trying to cover up the extent of the corruption between the defense industry and congress. This administration certainly doesn't deserve the benefit of a doubt, but if they are on the up-and-up they need to let the daylight show it.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

21. Shades of Archibald Cox being Borked.......when the tide turned

The Saturday Night Massacre is what I am referencing, during Watergate.

[tavalon]

23. They couldn't manage more parallels if they had someone

memorizing the play book from that time. It's kind of amazing.

[progressoid]

25. Except, this time they are getting away with it.

[formercia]

24. Fearless Leader wants to disarm you

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070112-9999-1n12lam.html

"Lam, a Bush appointee who took the helm in 2002, was targeted because of job performance issues – in particular that she failed to make smuggling and gun cases a top priority, said the official, who declined to be identified because Lam has yet to step down."

I had to think about this for a while but I had noticed a trend here in Maine by the US Attorney to go after people with prior Felony convictions who were caught with guns. At first this seemed like a good thing but when I obtained my State hunting permit for 2007, there was a note attached stating anyone with a conviction, even a juvenile one where the records had been expunged should not sign it and return it. Even police officers that had served their communities honorably were losing their jobs because of a protection order that had been issued against them decades in the past.

What this says to me is that the Bush Administration is trying to disarm everyone they can, using any law they can. They sense trouble down the road and they want to make sure that no potential troublemakers might shoot back. It also has a very chilling effect on honest citizens by saying, in effect, keep your nose clean or we will take your guns and throw you in jail for a long time.

NRA members take note.

[cascadiance]

27. And even those Attorneys who aren't fired have to be getting the message!

Do what we want you to do or you'll be fired next!

It's just the same way that Bushco is ruling by fear in so many other places now. With the whistleblower laws for government employees slanted in his favor now too, they have to be careful not to hasten their exit by being whistleblowers as well!

[formercia]

28. This is how Bush Gang works

Poppy was the same way. I found that out the hard way.

"If you're not with us, you're against us."

It's all black and white.