GOP leader (Blunt) defends Heather Wilson

[babylonsister]

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-leader-defends-wilson-2007-03-07.html

GOP leader defends Wilson
By Susan Crabtree and Jackie Kucinich
March 08, 2007

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) Wednesday defended Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), who has become entangled in a controversy over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year.

During his weekly meeting with reporters, Blunt said that it was inappropriate for members to pressure U.S. attorneys but added that he did not believe Wilson did anything wrong.

“My view is it is inappropriate for any member of Congress or their staff to pressure a person from the Justice Department in any way,” Blunt said. “But it is also my view that Heather Wilson has made it clear that she didn’t do that, and I have confidence in her.”

Blunt was responding to a question about whether the ethics committee should launch an investigation into Wilson’s phone call. Another question was whether Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) should recuse himself from any ethics investigation into Wilson’s actions because one of his former staffers, Ed Cassidy, made a different call to another U.S. attorney in 2004.

Just weeks before last year’s election, Wilson called David Iglesias, the then-U.S. attorney in New Mexico who was fired along with six other U.S. attorneys in December. Wilson and Iglesias have different accounts about what Wilson said during the call. She maintains that she called about the slow progress of prosecutions. Iglesias has said she called to inquire about the progress of an investigation into a courthouse construction project involving Democrats. Wilson eked out a victory in November with fewer than 1,000 votes.

The Senate Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into a separate call that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) made to Iglesias some two weeks after Wilson’s phone call. Domenici’s and Iglesias’s accounts of that conversation also differ, an area the ethics committee no doubt will explore.

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[acmavm]

1. One corrupt Republic asswipe covering for another.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. Just had a mental image of the Rep. singing "You're Beautiful."

Yep, with the undressing, jumping and all.

[Snellius]

3. "and I have confidence in her"?

Who has confidence in you. This is a pretty lame defense.

It's too bad that the Libby trial has focused attention away from this scandal which the Senate committee uncovered last week. It's a perfect example of how the Republicans have been doing business the last few years. Except now, with the Democrats in control, they can't get away with it like they used to.

[gratuitous]

4. Isn't that sweet?

"Heather is all like, 'Nuh uh' so I go 'Well, that's good enough for me.'"

Thank you very much, Mr. Blunt; but you're hardly in a position of high credibility when it comes to estimating the truthfulness of someone in your caucus. How long were Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney corrupting the system? And did you have confidence in them, too? Remember, the term "con man" derives from "confidence man," someone who betrays your confidence.

Partisan hack.