NYT: ‘Loyalty’ to Bush and Gonzales Was Factor in Prosecutors’ Firings, E-Mail Shows

[maddezmom]

‘Loyalty’ to Bush and Gonzales Was Factor in Prosecutors’ Firings, E-Mail Shows

By DAVID JOHNSTON and ERIC LIPTON
Published: March 14, 2007

WASHINGTON, March 13 — Late in the afternoon on Dec. 4, a deputy to Harriet E. Miers, then the White House counsel and one of President Bush’s most trusted aides, sent a two-line e-mail message to a top Justice Department aide. “We’re a go,” it said, approving a long-brewing plan to remove seven federal prosecutors considered weak or not team players.

Documents Regarding the Department of Justice Firings From the House Judiciary Committee Web SiteThe message, from William K. Kelley of the White House counsel’s office to D. Kyle Sampson, the chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, put in motion a plan to fire United States attorneys that had been hatched 22 months earlier by Ms. Miers. Three days later, the seven prosecutors were summarily dismissed. An eighth had been forced out in the summer.

The documents provided by the Justice Department add some new details to the chronicle of the fired prosecutors but leave many critical questions unanswered, including the nature of discussions inside the White House and the level of knowledge and involvement by the president and his closest political aide, Karl Rove.

The White House said Monday that Mr. Bush and Mr. Rove had raised concerns about lax voter fraud prosecutions with the Justice Department. And several of the fired attorneys told Congress last week that some lawmakers had questioned them about corruption investigations, inquiries the prosecutors considered inappropriate. The documents do not specifically mention either topic.

While the target list of prosecutors was shaped and shifted, officials at the Justice Department and the White House, members of Congress and even an important Republican lawyer and lobbyist in New Mexico were raising various concerns.

more:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14justice.html?_r=1&ref=washington&oref=slogin

all documents released also at the link

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1. LAT: E-mails detail White House tactics behind firings

E-mails detail White House tactics behind firings
The documents reveal criteria and plans that led to the ouster of eight U.S. attorneys.
By Richard A. Serrano, Times Staff Writer
March 14, 2007


WASHINGTON — Just weeks after President Bush was inaugurated for a second term in January 2005, his White House and the Justice Department had pretty much settled on a plan to "push out" some of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys.

But which ones?

D. Kyle Sampson, chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, came up with a checklist. He rated each of the prosecutors with criteria that appeared to value political allegiance as much as job performance.

He recommended retaining "strong U.S. attorneys who have … exhibited loyalty to the president and attorney general." He suggested "removing weak U.S. attorneys who have … chafed against administration initiatives."

Those words are enshrined in some 150 pages of e-mails and other documents the White House turned over Tuesday to the Senate and House Judiciary committees. The panels are looking into allegations that the firings were motivated by political reasons rather than the prosecutors' performance, as the Justice Department has said.

more:http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6478441,00.html

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2. The Guardian: Excerpts From E-Mails on U.S. Attorneys

Excerpts From E-Mails on U.S. Attorneys

Wednesday March 14, 2007 3:16 AM


By The Associated Press

Excerpts from e-mails regarding the firings of eight federal prosecutors, signed off upon by the White House legislative, political and communications offices:

``Tim said he got a call from Bud offering this idea: that Tim come on board as a special AUSA (assistant U.S. attorney) while Bud finalizes his private sector plan. That would alleviate pressure/implication that Tim forced Bud out. Any thoughts on that? Tim seemed relatively excited about that option this morning on the phone.''

-Aug. 24, 2006, e-mail from J. Scott Jennings, White House deputy political director to Kyle Sampson, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff. The two were discussing the ouster of U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins' ouster in Little Rock, Ark., and his replacement, Tim Griffin. Jennings wrote from an e-mail address of ``gwb43.com,'' which online tracking records show is registered to the Republican National Committee.

``We're a go for the U.S. atty plan. WH leg, political and communications have signed off and acknowledged that we have to be committed to following through once the pressure comes.''

- Dec. 4, 2006 e-mail from Deputy White House Counsel William
more:http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6478441,00.html

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3. McClatchy: E-mail excerpts show interest in preserving new powers

E-mail excerpts show interest in preserving new powers
By Margaret Talev
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - In a remarkably candid series of emails, Justice Department officials said its new powers to appoint interim U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation offered the administration the chance to efficiently "get our preferred persons appointed" to the top prosecutors jobs.


Using the authority it quietly inserted into the USA Patriot Act that passed in March 2006, the officials discussed the prospected for a former operative for political adviser Karl Rove was appointed to the U.S. attorney's job in Arkansas, replacing one of eight suddenly fired by the administration.


"Our guy is in there so the status quo is good for us . . . note that he is qualified whenever asked, pledge to desire a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney and otherwise hunker down," Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, wrote in an e-mail in Dec. 19, 2006.


At the same time, Sampson wondered whether Rove aide Tim Griffin was "the guy on which to test drive this authority, but I know that getting him appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc.," Sampson wrote, referring to Harriet Miers, former White House Counsel and Karl Rove.

more:http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16897238.htm