McClatchy: Bedrock principle is at the center of U.S. attorneys controversy

[Pirate Smile]

Bedrock principle is at the center of U.S. attorneys controversy

By Ron Hutcheson and Marisa Taylor
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Former Attorney General John Ashcroft had a standard spiel for new U.S. attorneys: "You have to leave politics at the door to do this job properly."

Maintaining that independence, without fear of repercussions, is the bedrock principle at stake in the controversy over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. As the top law enforcement official in each of their jurisdictions, these federal prosecutors have the power to destroy reputations, careers and even lives.

They're political appointees, but they're supposed to follow the evidence wherever it leads, without fear or favor. While presidents have the power to remove them for any reason, tradition holds that prosecutors should stay on the job unless they're corrupt or incompetent.

-snip-
"I think it does smell," said Frank DiMarino, a former federal prosecutor who served under six U.S. attorneys in Florida and Georgia during his 18-year Justice Department career. "There's no problem with putting somebody who has been loyal to the party into the position, but once they're in place, you have to give U.S. attorneys independence."

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16920796.htm


Who would have ever dreamed that Ashcroft would seem like one of the "saner" Bush appointees?

[MO_Dem]

1. Yeah, this is really significant

coming from Ashcroft! He's as right-wing partisan as they come!

[Bucky]

2. There's a reason why the true believers left and croneys all moved into their offices

AT its core, the Bush administration was always more corrupt than conservative, more optortunistic than ideological.
Ashcroft maybe never knew, but it's hard to believe he couldn't feel that his fellow nutcases were being used by the Bushbots.

On a side note, have you ever noticed how, even when he smiled, Ashcroft looked like he was in pain?