Some reading on Patrick Fitzgerald: "The Original Untouchable"

[crispini]

I decided to read through some articles and background info about Fitzgerald because it seems like an awful lot is riding on his shoulders right now. If you've got more info, please post!

Wikipedia
Patrick J. Fitzgerald (born 1961) is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. (snip)

Fitzgerald attended Amherst College and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1985. After practicing civil law, he became an Assistant United States Attorney in New York in 1988. He handled drug-trafficking cases and in 1993 helped prosecute John Gambino of the Gambino mafia family. In 1994, he became the prosecutor in the case against Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and 11 other individuals charged in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

more....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Fitzgerald

DOJ official biography
Patrick J. Fitzgerald began serving as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois on September 1, 2001. Mr. Fitzgerald was initially appointed on an interim basis by Attorney General John Ashcroft before being nominated by President George W. Bush. The United States Senate confirmed his nomination by unanimous consent on October 23, 2001, and President Bush signed his commission on October 29, 2001.

(snip)
During the last three years, Mr. Fitzgerald has provided leadership and played a personal role in many significant investigations involving terrorism financing, public corruption, corporate fraud, and violent crime, including narcotics and gang prosecutions.

In Chicago, Mr. Fitzgerald has supervised the continuing public corruption investigation known as Operation Safe Road, which began in 1998, and which resulted in the convictions of more than 65 defendants, including more than 30 public employees and officials. In 2004, he has overseen the beginning of an investigation of the City of Chicago's Hired Truck Program. Mr. Fitzgerald has also committed himself personally to the implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods as part of a concerted effort with the Chicago Police Department and other state and federal law enforcement agencies to reduce gun violence.

more...
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/aboutus/patrickjfizgerald.html

LA Times: A Prosecutor Who Didn't Back Down
Fitzgerald earned his reputation as a tough prosecutor when he was assigned to oversee terrorism-related cases in the U.S. attorney's office in New York. He led the first major federal probe of Al Qaeda and won convictions of five terrorists accused of plotting the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in east Africa.

Admired by counter-terrorism agents for his courtroom aggressiveness and photographic recall of facts, Fitzgerald also has been criticized by defense lawyers for harsh tactics.

more...
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-na-fitzgerald8jul08,0,1244179.story?coll=la-home-headlines

This next WaPo article is really good! Wish I could post more!

The Washington Post: The Prosecutor Never Rests
The gifted son of an Irish doorman makes no bones about challenging the establishment. His office is also prosecuting former Illinois governor George Ryan and loyal associates of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on influence-peddling and corruption charges.

(snip)
"What's been interesting is seeing the media accounts and the columnists portray him as some sort of runaway prosecutor. That makes me smile," says Comey, who is largely responsible for Fitzgerald getting the Plame assignment. "Because there is no prosecutor who is less of a runaway than this guy."

(snip)
"I thought, 'He is the original Untouchable,' " Peter Fitzgerald says. "You could just see it in his eyes that he was a straight shooter. There were no levers that anyone had over him. He had no desire to become a partner in a private law firm. He has no interest in electoral politics. He wanted to be a prosecutor." (emphasis mine)

more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55560-2005Feb1.html

Anyone else have some interesting articles or quotes on Fitzgerald?

(edited for cooler title! :D )

[Cha]

1. Thanks, crispini..

This sounds really good to me.

A man who is decent..what a wonderful concept.

[crispini]

3. "The Original Untouchable"

I'm all, "Like, WOW." That actually makes the hair on my arms stand up.

[pberq]

2. Thanks, crispini.

You're right, a lot is on his shoulders. Perhaps too much? We know how ruthless BushCo is.

[crispini]

5. He's no slouch,

he went up against the Mafia and lived to tell the tale.

From the WaPo article: "For years, Fitzgerald has avoided receiving mail at his apartment because of the threat of a letter bomb from one murder-minded defendant or another." (!!!)

[FreedomAngel82]

7. Oh wow

So no anthrax nonsense is going to bring him down! I think Bush made the mistake of appointing him. ;) This guy is definitley one of the best. If someone like him and with his credits is on this case then it's for some reason. So all these republican talking points are just that a lone.

[Straight Shooter]

4. "You could just see it in his eyes that he was a straight shooter."

Well, personally, I can think of no greater compliment than that ;)

Some say what's Fitzgerald doing on this Plame case, since he "made his bones" going after the Mafia. I can think of no one better qualified, because what we've got in the White House is nothing less than organized crime.

[crispini]

8. LOL

I agree.

[FreedomAngel82]

6. Sounds good!!

I'm glad he's the person doing this. Think of his place in the history books if he's the one who brings down Bush!!! That last paragraph says it all for sure. He's going after the golden ticket so to speak. This is why the republicans are scared.

[crispini]

9. It sounds REALLY good.

From the WaPo article:

"Seeing Fitzgerald in action, says Los Angeles lawyer Anthony Bouza, a college classmate, is "like watching a sophisticated machine." Colleagues speak in head-shaking tones of Fitzgerald's skills in taking a case to trial. A Phi Beta Kappa math and economics student at Amherst before earning a Harvard law degree in 1985, he has a gift for solving puzzles and simplifying complexity for a jury."

[CantGetFooledAgain]

10. This doesn't need to be said, but I'll say it anyway...

Patrick Fitzgerald, please stay away from small planes and nighttime car trips in isolated areas, and please make sure you have stated in writing that you are in no way suicidally depressed.

[MelissaB]

11. Thanks for doing this. I've been wondering about him.

:kick:

[Spiffarino]

12. I heard that he's an "R", but so what?

I also understand that he's tough, aggressive, and - thanks to Crispini - "untouchable" by dangerous and/or powerful people. No wonder the RNC Spin Machine is running at full production capacity. They may have made a serious mistake appointing this guy.

Edit: Nominated

[TomClash]

13. I'm reserving judgment

Let's see where his investigation goes. You don't get to be US Attorney in Chicago in the Bush Administration without some political connections to Bush.

[txindy]

14. He took down the repub governor of Illinois and his admin.

Something I seriously doubt was approved by the * admin. in DC.

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. Ashcroft was in charge of the DOJ

but had to recuse himself because of a conflict of interest. His second in command made the appointment.

[txindy]

16. And look who he picked

They certainly didn't expect what they got. Their arrogance precluded them from seeing that they could be caught doing anything by anyone, particularly another repub. appointee.

That worked out well, didn't it? :evilgrin:

[TomClash]

30. Big difference between Ryan and the Bush "Team"

[katinmn]

17. Thanks. Bookmarked. I've been thinking of doing the same

but never got around to it.

He is a very important figure right now. Our future is going to be impacted on how he plays his cards.
:scared:

[katinmn]

18. Official biography

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/aboutus/patrickjfizgerald.html

He's only 44.

[Tommymac]

21. He also investigated Osama...

Short bio link

http://patrick-fitzgerald.biography.ms/

"In 1996, Fitzgerald became the National Security Coordinator for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. There, he served on a team of prosecutors investigating Osama bin Laden.<4> He served as chief counsel in prosecutions related to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa.<5>"

[snot]

19. Expanding on # 10: Pls make more than one copy of all key evidence &

deposit it in several safe places with instructions to publish if anything happens to you.

[liberalla]

39. I know what you mean....

Somehow, I think Fitzgerald knows the stakes also, and will be smart...

I just found this chilling!

"The cult of Bushevism is fighting for its life. The pressure of Fitzgerald to let Rove off the hook must be enormous. And Janice Brown and the rest of Bush's Washington, D.C, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals hack judges are just waiting for a wink and a nod to overturn any Bush Administration convictions if there are indictments and findings of guilt.

So the obstacles to holding Rove and other White House officials accountable for their treason are formidable, even though their guilt is hidden in plain sight."

from: GOP Goes for Broke in Defending Treason
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/05/07/edi05058.html

I hadn't even thought about that --- they can REVERSE or OVERTURN any conviction!!! Damn!

Hopefully by then so much will be exposed, they won't be able to pull it off.

[crispini]

20. GREAT thread in GD P

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1931051

Plenty of good stuff in the thread. This is the OP by lancdem:

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine, a veteran investigative reporter, who in turn said he recently talked to one of his old editors, who covered Patrick Fitzgerald when he was an assistant U.S. attorney going after mob guys in New York. So my friend asked him what he thought of the guy.

This is from my friend's memory, but given that he's got 20+ years in the business, and I've known him longer than that, I trust his quotes:

"Fitzgerald is a prosecution machine," the old editor said. "When he wants somebody, he goes after them with whatever he's got. If he can't make the case he started with, he'll figure out what you did do and hit you with that. He's relentless, and he doesn't give a flying fuck about the press or the First Amendment. He'd throw us all in jail if it would help him make his case."

more...

http://billmon.org/archives/002012.html

[txindy]

22. Substitute some WH names here and enjoy

Fitzgerald certainly sounds thorough! :evilgrin:

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ct-ryan-charges,0,2879467.realvideo?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines

[crispini]

23. Cool! Here's some stuff in print on the Ryan case.

I'll have to watch the video when I get back to my broadband connection. Looks good!

Former Gov. George Ryan indicted

Tribune staff reports
Published December 17, 2003, 7:09 PM CST

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan was charged today in a federal racketeering indictment with conspiracy and fraud while he was governor and secretary of state.

Ryan allegedly engaged in a pattern of corruption that included performing official government acts, awarding lucrative government contracts and leases and using the State of Illinois for his own benefit, members of his family, his campaign organization and certain associates, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office.

"I submit that the citizens of this state expect honest government from the secretary of state or the governor," U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said during a news conference this afternoon at the Dirksen Building in downtown Chicago. "They deserve nothing less."

(more)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-031217ryindict,1,3034194.story?coll=chi-homepagepromo451-fea

And an update on the Ryan trial, which apparently has been put off until later this year...

Trial of George Ryan delayed until September
Friday, January 21, 2005

By The Leader-Chicago Bureau

CHICAGO - The Associated Press reported today that the federal corruption trial of former Illinois Governor George Ryan orginally set to begin in March will be delayed until September 26 of this year.

The delay also applies to the trial of Ryan associate Larry Warner who is to be tried with the former Governor.

Ryan had sought the delay so that his lead attorney, former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb, would be available. Webb is involved with defending Philip Morris in the ongoing litigation against Big Tobacco that would have precluded his presence were the trial to begin in March as scheduled.

more...
http://www.illinoisleader.com/news/newsview.asp?c=22172

[bleever]

27. Hey, I DID enjoy that. Fitzgerald comes across as thorough and

intelligent, speaking in detail without notes, and not at all flamboyant or grandstanding.

Some time in October, with luck, we'll see a repeat performance with the names of Rove, Libby, and even Cheney mentioned. Throw in a little Bolton and Hadley, and we might even get a side of Condi.

:evilgrin:

[crispini]

24. The man who appointed Fitzgerald...

Deputy Attorney General James Comey quickly then appointed his close friend and longtime colleague, Mr. Fitzgerald, to the job of special counsel, giving him all the powers of the attorney general, including the authority to issue subpoenas.

(snip)

"I knew we needed someone who was extremely good, extremely careful and had a reputation for fairness and independence," Mr. Comey says. "He came to mind immediately.

"I thought it was important that there be not just the reality of independence, but also the appearance of independence," he adds.

From Google cache of WSJ article:

[crispini]

25. Here's the Google cache link

cut and paste into brower, it's too long to work.....

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:6bxE9PLi8LMJ:online.wsj.com/
article_email/0,,SB112017632774574830-H9jfYNolaR4oZurZX2Gb6aHm4,00.html+Justice+deputy+appointed+Fitzgerald&hl=en

[crispini]

26. Here's the Comey bio...

On October 3, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Jim Comey to serve as Deputy Attorney General, he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on December 9, 2003, and the President signed his commission on December 11, 2003. Prior to becoming Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Comey served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from January 2002 to the time of his confirmation. From 1996 through 2001, Mr. Comey served as Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Richmond Division of the United States Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Mr. Comey was educated at the College of William & Mary (B.S. with Honors 1982, Chemistry and Religion majors) and the University of Chicago Law School (J.D. 1985). After law school, he served as a law clerk for then-United States District Judge John M. Walker, Jr. in Manhattan, and worked for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in their New York Office. He next joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he worked from 1987 to 1993, eventually serving as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.

As United States Attorney, Mr. Comey oversaw numerous terrorism cases and supervised prosecutions of executives of WorldCom, Adelphia, and Imclone on fraud and securities-related charges. Mr. Comey also created a specialized unit devoted to prosecuting international drug cartels

http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/comey-bio.html

[crispini]

28. Hey! Comey's resigning as of the fall!

Comey to step down as deputy attorney-general
By Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
Published: April 21 2005 03:00 | Last updated: April 21 2005 03:00

James Comey, the deputy attorney-general who oversaw President George W. Bush's war on white-collar crime and has also handled high-level terrorism prosecutions, said yesterday he would leave his post later this year.

Mr Comey said in a statement that he intended to return to the private sector in the autumn but did not disclose the reason for his planned resignation from the Department of Justice.

(The rest of this article is for FT.com subscribers only)

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/43755788-b202-11d9-8c61-00000e2511c8.html

VERY interesting. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

[barbaraann]

36. I think that info should be posted on its own thread.

It seems to bode ill.

I just posted it...

[crispini]

34. Some James Comey tidbits from TalkLeft:

(snip)...
But we're not up in arms about Comey. We're sorry to see Larry Thompson go, but we doubt Bush and Ascroft would ever appoint anyone as reasonable as Thompson to that position again. In a sense, one tough prosecutor is the same as the next. We don't know of any attacks on Comey's integrity as a prosecutor or of charges of deliberate misconduct. We don't doubt we'll be criticizing his policies, but we have no criticism now of him as an appointee. That could change, of course, but that's our position now.

(snip)

http://talkleft.com/new_archives/003943.html

And an interesting tidbit in the comments.... Comey was the one who prosecuted Martha Stewart.

[bleever]

29. Thanks, crispini!

There oughta be a board game so that we can all play along at home.

:evilgrin:

[crispini]

31. I'm beginning to think

that this will be our generation's Watergate, and I for one am on the verge of becoming obsessed with this story. Man, it's here, it's live, it's in prime-time!

[crispini]

32. Hey! Comey had been on the job for only DAYS when he appointed Fitz!

1985 - Comey graduates law school. All of his work after his clerkship is in the US Attorney's office; he was the US Attorney for NY from 2002-2003.

Dec. 11, 2003. Comey confirmed as US Deputy Attorney General

Dec. 2003. Ashcroft recuses himself, Comey appoints Fitzgerald.

April 2005. Comey announces his planned resignation from DoJ and return (?!) to the private sector in the fall.

I find it very, very interesting that the guy who appointed Fitzgerald was scant DAYS at his new job when he did so.

[crispini]

33. Fitzgerald refuses to shill for the Patriot Act:

In one instance before he was named special prosecutor, Mr. Fitzgerald and other federal prosecutors across the country were told to arrange meetings with Congress to begin building support for the Patriot Act. One person at the meeting said that many of those present had misgivings but remained silent. Mr. Fitzgerald spoke up: "It sounds like lobbying. We can't do that. The law won't permit it."

Those types of comments make his prosecution of the reporters in the Plame case -- including Ms. Miller, who didn't write an article on the subject -- perplexing to some. "Pat doesn't go after journalists; he goes after the truth," says Chuck Rosenberg, the U.S. attorney in Houston who knows Mr. Fitzgerald well. "So we must surmise have evidence that will lead him to the truth."

(From the WSJ cached article at Google -- see link above)

[sattahipdeep]

35. Appointed by Ashcroft_Nominated by Bush.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald began serving as the United States Attorney
for the Northern District of Illinois on September 1, 2001. Mr. Fitzgerald
was initially appointed on an interim basis by Attorney General John Ashcroft
before being nominated by President George W. Bush. The United States Senate confirmed
his nomination by unanimous consent on October 23, 2001, and President Bush signed his
commission on October 29, 2001.

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/aboutus/patrickjfizgerald.html
One or the other....
His bud? or he hates his guts.

[crispini]

37. Newsweek article posted by Catwoman

Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4124002

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8599914/site/newsweek/

[liberalla]

38. I like everything I've heard/read about this man!

I'm almost feeling optimistic...

A Little Conspiracy Theorizing from BuzzFlash...

So as long as BuzzFlash is entering the Twilight Zone of potential conspiracy theories, then here's another one.

Soon Bush's Rotweiller, Rove, will have his minions tone down the vicious attacks on Joe Wilson. Rove's next target will be his highest stakes maneuver yet. In a "go for broke" attack on the fundamental tenets of the system of American justice, we predict Rove is already using cut-outs to try and figure out a discreet way to personally expose some skeleton in Fitzgerald's closet that will then call the "character, judgment and motivation" of the prosecutor into question -- and sink the investigation through an ad hominem attack. This is Rove's pathological gutter tactic. He doesn't know how NOT to use it when backed into a corner.

And then there's the Attorney General who might just be open to a discreet tete-a-tete with Karl about how he can rein in Fitzgerald. After all, Alberto Gonzales is Bush's former attorney as Governor and President. He approved a record number of executions in Texas and signed off on the U.S. becoming a nation that condones torture. He's also number one on Bush's short list for a seat on the Supreme Court. In short, he's a full-fledged Bushevik "made man."

Karl knows that loyalty is everything -- so watch for slime about Fitzgerald to start oozing from the mainstream media if Judith Miller shows signs of starting to talk, in return for immunity from prosecution.

Of course, in Fitzgerald's case, Rove will have to make up the allegations, but he and Bush are master B.S. artists -- and the mainstream media loves to turn their fictions into fact.

Just look at how the mainstream media abetted the Bush Administration lying us into a war and then undercutting our national security by exposing a CIA operative who specialized in tracking the very weapons that Bush and Cheney claimed we were going to war to stop from being used by Iraq.

Of course, there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. Tens of thousands of people have died as a result. Billions upon billions of our taxpayer dollars that could have been used to improve the lives of our people here in America have been wasted. And all Rove, Bush, Cheney and the GOP can do is defend outing a CIA operative who was trying to prevent the spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

My God, that last paragraph must be a conspiracy theory, except that it's true, which puts the security of the entire nation at risk as long as Rove, Bush and Cheney love their power before they love the nation and the truth.

Bush is giving Rove carte blanche to take no prisoners in his effort to defend the indefensible, because if Rove is prosecuted for his treason, Bush is left without a brain -- and his veneer of credibility shattered beyond repair.

If we were Patrick Fitzgerald, we'd apply a few layers of teflon coating right now and get ready for the broadsides from FOX and Rush, because it's time for Karl to start trash talking the prosecutor. There's nothing left for him to do if Judith Miller breaks ranks.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

This is the last third of the editorial. Read the whole thing here: http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/05/07/ana05025.html

[Hubert Flottz]

40. The crew in the White House remind me of...

Elliot Mess and the Unflushables.

I hope Mr. Fitzgerald nails some hides to the barn, but I'll believe it when I see the neoconvicts in Irons. His experience on the Teflon Don case, should have been good training for the Teflon con case.

If the neocons are EVER found guilty of anything, they can finally force the case into the neocon heavy supreme court and the guilty will walk. Even if the SCOTUS does overturn the verdict, it will be a huge stain on the GOP. Now don't get me wrong, I'm loving what I'm seeing and so far what I'm seeing in the case, looks very positive for the Prosecutor.

If all Rove and the defense has to cover his backside, is their stupid argument about the difference between calling the lady Mrs. Wilson instead of Valerie Plame, then some heads may roll.

[crispini]

41. Interesting scenario, fight it all the way up to SCOTUS...

but IMO, if Fitzgerald even indicts anyone, the resulting trial and the glare of publicity will go a long way towards exposing the lies and misconduct of this administration.

Go, Fitzgerald, go! Here's hoping you really ARE an "untouchable." :toast:

[Hubert Flottz]

43. This could all just be another dog and pony show.

KKKarl has more money and way more pull than OJ ever had. I hope that whatever happens, the Wilsons will keep pushing in the court of public opinion. I think Joe Wilson is so pissed off that he never will get off the neocon's backs and I hope he NEVER does. I think KKKarls political planning in 02, depended heavily upon the invasion of Iraq. I think Karl's motive was to splatter the Wilson's credibility, so that KKKarl could keep the masses mindful that "W was a "WAR PRESIDENT" and that the extreme right was the only protection from EVIL," that we in America had. The objective was to gain control of all three branches of the federal government and they pulled it off in 02. KKKarl would have crushed anyone who threatened the 02 election, or the neocon plan to invade Iraq.

[Tsiyu]

42. I'm in love!

:loveya:

Falling head over heels...mmmmmmmmmmm

Fitzgerald in 2008!