Robert Parry: Bush Family's Prosecutor Games

[babylonsister]

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/030307.html

Bush Family's Prosecutor Games

George W. Bush learned at least one lesson from his father: You want your federal prosecutors to be team players who will throw a political elbow or two when the White House needs some help.
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By Robert Parry
March 4, 2007


When George H.W. Bush faced a tough reelection battle in 1992, his administration tried to destroy Bill Clinton by implicating him in criminal investigations. But those plans collapsed when federal law enforcement officials, including a U.S. Attorney in Arkansas, resisted what they saw as improper White House political pressure.

Now, the younger George Bush is moving to ensure that he won’t be sabotaged by similarly independent-minded prosecutors. The Washington Post reported that the White House approved the firing of seven U.S. attorneys at the end of 2006 after the Justice Department identified them as insufficiently supportive of the President’s policies.

The Justice Department got input on the firings from congressional Republicans, including Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico who criticized the performance of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, the Post reported.

Iglesias has alleged that two New Mexico legislators – whom he says he will identify only under oath – pressured him to speed up indictments of Democrats before Election 2006. At the time, the Republican congressional majority was in jeopardy, in part, because of a series of GOP corruption scandals.

Some of the fired prosecutors handled those Republican corruption cases or served in offices that could play significant political roles in Campaign 2008. For instance, ousted San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam oversaw the prosecution of Republican Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, whose case had opened a window on Washington war profiteering.

President Bush also replaced the U.S. Attorney in Arkansas, which was a focal point of investigative activity during Campaign 1992 when George H.W. Bush’s reelection campaign was digging for dirt on Bill Clinton – and which could be mined again if Hillary Clinton becomes the Democratic presidential nominee.

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[seafan]

1. This is also a MUST read for the background of *how* the Whitewater witch hunt commenced.

Forgive me for straying from topic a bit, but this clip is from deep in this same Parry story:

The Whitewater report noted, too, that another senior Bush aide, White House counsel Boyden Gray, appeared to have been in the know about the Madison case.

Albert Casey, then Resolution Trust Corp. chairman, “recalled receiving a call from Gray about the referral’s status,” the report said. “Casey went to William Roelle, executive vice president of the RTC, and asked about the status. Roelle told Casey the Clintons were not named as targets, but simply as potential witnesses.”

When questioned by Whitewater investigators, Gray said he “did not remember a telephone conversation with Casey, along the lines discussed above,” the report said. Gray “believed he first learned about the referral from Casey, but he thought it may have been at a dinner party. Gray might also have heard about the referral from a journalist.”

:rofl:

These guys really only have one gear.


Thanks for posting this, babylonsister.