David Corn (The Nation): Not-So-Special Counsel

[Jack Rabbit]

From The Nation
Issue of February 2
Posted online Thursday January 15

Not-So-Special Counsel
by David Corn

When is a special counsel not a special counsel?
When the Ashcroft Justice Department appoints one to investigate the White House.
On December 30 James Comey, the newly ensconced deputy attorney general, held a press conference to announce that Attorney General John Ashcroft had recused himself from the department's investigation of the Bush Administration leak that appeared in a Robert Novak column this past July identifying the wife of former ambassador Joseph Wilson, a critic of Bush's actions in Iraq, as a covert CIA officer. Comey also disclosed that he, filling in for Ashcroft, had selected Patrick Fitzgerald, the US Attorney in Chicago, as a "special counsel" to lead the probe.
It seemed as if the Justice Department was finally--after months of delay--bowing to requests from Democrats calling for an independent inquiry aimed at discovering who in the Administration blew Valerie Wilson's cover, possibly compromising national security. Not quite. In naming Fitzgerald a "special counsel," Comey violated (or disregarded) the department's own regulations. Those regulations state, "The Special Counsel shall be selected from outside the United States Government." Fitzgerald was a current Justice Department employee and thus ineligible to be a "special counsel." Comey could have chosen Fitzgerald to run the investigation without bestowing upon him the "special counsel" title. But the point was to create the impression that the Administration had taken action to guarantee that this sensitive investigation would be free of political manipulation.
Calling Fitzgerald a "special counsel" is false advertising. Moreover, a presidential appointee (Fitzgerald) remains in charge, and another presidential appointee (Comey) is overseeing his work. Fitzgerald does have a reputation for being relentless and independent. Still, he does not bring to the post the standing that would be afforded by a high-profile and accomplished attorney with no current ties to the Justice Department. "Jim Comey and Pat Fitzgerald are close friends," says a former US Attorney. "I highly respect them both. But I can't imagine Pat doing something Jim wouldn't want. This is different from having the investigation led by somebody not beholden to the department."

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