Terry Curtis Fox: It's Time to Think About an Independent Prosecutor

[Flabbergasted]

With Alberto Gonzales enjoying the kind of full-fledged support from President Bush which Eagleton enjoyed from McGovern, it's time for Democrats to think about an independent prosecutor who can look into possible criminal conduct in both the Justice Department and among the White House staff.

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There will only be a short window when such an appointment is possible - between the time when Bush nominates his third Attorney General and confirmation by the Senate. That's the moment when the Senate will have its greatest power: they can refuse to confirm any nominee until a special prosecutor is named and until there is a public pledge by the White House that the independent counsel shall not be fired.

At the moment, institutions exist which can examine possible criminal conduct by the President (who is, of course, subject to impeachment by the House and trial by the Senate) and members of Congress (whose conduct is already being scrutinized by the respective houses' ethics committees and who are potentially subject to censure, sanction, and even expulsion by the bodies themselves).

But since the independent counsel law was allowed to lapse, there remains no institution which can look into potential criminal activity by the White House staff other than the Justice Department, and no one who can readily examine the Justice Department other than its Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

We know what happened the last time a member of the Bush Justice Department conducted a calm, conservative, and ultimately successful if limited prosecution of a high-ranking White House aide - Patrick Fitzgerald (according to the materials in the document dump as reported by NPR) was rated a mediocre prosecutor.

As to the OPR, it is the one segment of the Justice Department whose integrity remains unquestioned. Alas, according to an article by Murray Waas published last week in the National Journal, Gonzales and Bush responded to the OPR's integrity by squashing an earlier investigation into misconduct by DOJ lawyers regarding the warrantless eavesdropping program. So much for an unimpeded investigation into the far more publicized and politically charged U.S. Attorney firings.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20070322/cm_huffpost/044000