PAUL KRUGMAN: Surging and Purging

[Veronica.Franco]

PAUL KRUGMAN: Surging and Purging

There’s something happening here, and what it is seems completely clear: the Bush administration is trying to protect itself by purging independent-minded prosecutors.

Last month, Bud Cummins, the U.S. attorney (federal prosecutor) for the Eastern District of Arkansas, received a call on his cellphone while hiking in the woods with his son. He was informed that he had just been replaced by J. Timothy Griffin, a Republican political operative who has spent the last few years working as an opposition researcher for Karl Rove.

Mr. Cummins’s case isn’t unique. Since the middle of last month, the Bush administration has pushed out at least four U.S. attorneys, and possibly as many as seven, without explanation. The list includes Carol Lam, the U.S. attorney for San Diego, who successfully prosecuted Duke Cunningham, a Republican congressman, on major corruption charges. The top F.B.I. official in San Diego told The San Diego Union-Tribune that Ms. Lam’s dismissal would undermine multiple continuing investigations.

In Senate testimony yesterday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales refused to say how many other attorneys have been asked to resign, calling it a “personnel matter.”

In case you’re wondering, such a wholesale firing of prosecutors midway through an administration isn’t normal. U.S. attorneys, The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, “typically are appointed at the beginning of a new president’s term, and serve throughout that term.” Why, then, are prosecutors that the Bush administration itself appointed suddenly being pushed out?

The likely answer is that for the first time the administration is really worried about where corruption investigations might lead.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[depakid]

3. The Dems have nobody to blame but themselves

They could have blocked the so called "patriot act" but Reid, et al. lacked the courage and political fortitude to do it.

Now the chickens have come home to roost. Nice job....

[groovedaddy]

8. Yep, it should have been voted down

They don't read this crap thoroughly (if at all!).
Supposedly, Arlen Specter slipped this one in AFTER the bill had passed! Isn't that enough to recall the damn thing?

[Veronica.Franco]

22. SURGING AND PURGING .... KRUGMAN LINK!!! ...

http://wealthyfrenchman.blogspot.com/2007/01/surging-and-purging.html

here's another one ... VF ...

[global1]

5. A Couple Of Questions Here........

1. It is stated that "Mr. Specter slipped in a clause eliminating that rule." Sorry I'm so dense - but where did he slip this in - to what piece of legislation?

2. Did he come up with this 'slip-in' by himself or was this something that came from *Co to put in?

3. Why are we first hearing about this now? Why wasn't it caught as it was slipped in?

4. Is there anything that can be done to reverse this?

[CrispyQ]

7. Have Americans completely forgotten the Constitution?

How do we get them to care about the constitutional crisis we are facing?

[applegrove]

12. Thanks for the post n/t

[angstlessk]

18. I thank you for the brilliant way you posted this story..I do not have 'times select'

and am frustrated more than illuminated when reading the 4 paragraphs provided...Thanks again!

[cosmicdot]

21. try this site

for this and future Krugman commentary

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/01/paul_krugman_su.html

[Demeter]

2. And the Congress Must Address This STAT!

The prosecuters are the only public servants that have been serving the public, and restraining the monster.

[pacalo]

4. My mouth literally dropped when I heard about this Patriot Act provision during the hearing.

Feinstein & Leahy both asked Gonzo for the number of U.S. attorneys who have been ousted; Gonzo is supposed to get back with the figure. This needs to be pursued doggedly.

Imagine that the boy king is apparently keeping a tally of cases each of his own appointed U.S. attorneys are taking; if they don't toe his corrupt line, he replaces them with those who will, without congressional confirmation!

Any doubt now that he thinks of himself as a king?

[uberllama42]

6. It is a "personal matter"

These attorneys are doing their jobs, and the Bush Administration is taking it personally. Therefore the attorneys are being purged. Standard operating procedure for this bunch; the only difference is that people are starting to notice the rank corruption.

[groovedaddy]

9. They're worried, very worried

But I don't think they can stop the shit that's already hitting the fan...it will be very nasty before it's all said and done.

[CrispyQ]

10. People are starting to notice? I hope you're right, but I don't see that.

I work in a small office of people who vote democratic but aren't interested in politics. This is a group of people who are making six figures & have been making that kind of money for many, many years. They think they are liberal because they are in favor of gay marriage & a woman's right to choose. However, they are disdainful of those who are not as economically viable as they are. One guy told me that at $25k, given availability, everyone in America could afford a new Prius. :eyes:

In a recent conversation where I mentioned *'s new power to open mail, they all kind of rolled their eyes, like "there she goes again." They told me if I have nothing to hide then I have nothing to fear. They don't get it & they don't care. These types of 'liberals' are entrenched in the status quo, which contributes to their cushy life style. They are fat, happy & complacent. And when things go in the shitter, they are all sitting pretty damned good with their multiple houses & six figure savings accounts. These people will never risk what they have by rocking the boat.

[uberllama42]

15. You're exactly right

These are the people Howard Zinn refers to as the "guards," the left-leaning but comfortable members of the status quo. They may be compassionate, but they are ignorant of how things really work. They are an essential arm of the Establishment; they are used as an outlet for minor instances of dissent. In my experience, limited as it is, these people are fooling themselves because they are just as deeply fearful of change as conservatives. They are entrenched in the system, and I hope I never find myself in their position.

[CrispyQ]

17. In some ways these types are more insidious that right wingers,

because they are not viewed as part of the problem, either by themselves or by other liberals. It is possible that the millions of right wingers who are starting to feel the brunt of the economy & slow housing market, may come around before these affluent "liberals" do.

Yesterday I had lunch with an acquaintance whose husband owns some type of marketing company. He has several hundred dollars worth of coupons for free meals to various restaurants. She was lamenting that they don't know enough people to give the coupons to. I suggested they give them to people less fortunate, someone who could use a hot meal, or maybe a couple that can't afford to go out. "We can't do that! Those people are not the kind of patrons our clients want in their establishment & besides, they won't be repeat customers." So instead, they will toss the remaining coupons when they expire. I appreciate they don't want to do something that would be detrimental to their business, but I still found the exchange . . . heartless.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Cha]

20. Well, let's hope they

don't get that rude awakening that would have to be atombomb toxic level to penetrate the wall of stupidity they've built around themselves.

[DemReadingDU]

11. Here's a link to read

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/01/paul_krugman_su.html

[Veronica.Franco]

13. Thanks ... great link! ... here's a bit from it ...

January 13, 2007

Official Attacks Top Law Firms Over Detainees
By NEIL A. LEWIS

WASHINGTON — 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....

[DemReadingDU]

14. Oh, in the comments section

I kept looking for a direct link to the Lewis article, but finally found it in the comments section of the Krugman article.

[cascadiance]

16. Bush college pal Pat Shea is being considered as Carol Lam's replacement!...

According to an op/ed in the San Diego Union Tribune this morning... This is what these lies about them not circumventing the Senate approval process are really all about!

Read here:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070119/news_lz1ed19top.html

UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL
Replacing Lam

Bush administration must not circumvent Senate

January 19, 2007

Unsurprisingly, the first name to surface as the Justice Department's potential replacement for purged U.S. Attorney Carol Lam is that of Pat Shea, a La Jolla lawyer and one-time mayoral candidate who was a classmate of George W. Bush at Harvard Business School. Shea says he and the president remain in regular contact with each other and he voices keen interest in the job of U.S. attorney, but says he hasn't had direct talks with anyone at the Justice Department “yet.”

Lam was ousted this week by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales amid heavy criticism from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and other lawmakers who accuse the Justice Department of forcing out U.S. attorneys without cause. Lam's strong record of fighting political corruption and drug kingpins certainly did not provide any grounds for her dismissal.

In a clash yesterday with Feinstein during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Gonzales denied that politics had anything to do with the firings of several U.S. attorneys around the country. Shea is widely regarded as a top-notch business lawyer, but speculation that a presidential friend who has no prosecutorial experience is being considered as Lam's successor can only fuel the charges of cronyism being leveled against the Bush administration.

...

[Cha]

19. Gawd! I hope they get their jobs

back when the fuckers are booted back to the Gutter in 2008.