Had Lunch Yesterday w/Abramoff's DOJ Prosecutor .....

[Blackhatjack]

Guy D. Singer was one of the speakers at a Continuing Legal Education Seminar held in Raleigh, N.C. by the NC Institute For Constitutional Law. He recently resigned after 13 yrs as a trial attorney in the Criminal Division, Fraud Section of the Dept of Justice, and became Of Counsel with Washington law firm Akerman Senterfitt, where he will concentrate in defense that includes Litigation and White Collar Crime.

He talked about the incredible difficulty in prosecuting bribery/corruption cases which involve Members of Congress because of the impact of the "Speech or Debate Clause" of the Constitution, Article I Sec 6.

And he was surprised that Pelosi joined in the motion with Hastert to have the seized documents in the search of William Jefferson's Congressional Office returned. He made it clear that the Order issued by Judge Hogan establishes a two step process with the ultimate decision made by the judge, not Jefferson and his lawyers, as to what documents are covered by the speech or debate clause. First, Jefferson and his lawyers review what was seized and make two stacks, those covered and those not covered. Those Jefferson deems covered are then presented to the Judge who will make the final decision. So in essence the search warrant was upheld, subject to the review procedure established by the Judge. The Order establishing this procedure includes this quote:

"Congressman Jefferson's interpretation of the Speech or Debate privilege would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime."

This could be a powerful weapon as Democratic Controlled Congressional Investigations kick into high gear on Capitol Hill, if his Order is upheld on Appeal. (Now you know why Speaker Hastert came to the rescue of Democrat William Jefferson having his office searched and documents seized).

He said that they tried to keep Abramoff out of prison to continue working with their office, but the Florida Judge presiding over the Boulis murder charges would not agree, and that there was more Abramoff cooperation needed to follow up on other corrupt individuals.

He could not reveal anything about current prosecutions underway when he left the DOJ, and he cannot participate in defending anyone he was involved in prosecuting, obviously.

He thinks we will see Abramoff resurface in the Tom Delay case if it goes to trial.

Singer was very knowledgeable, and restores public faith that there are people inside the DOJ trying to do their jobs to the best of their ability under difficult circumstances.

[Robbien]

1. Those are the people Gonzo keeps firing and replacing

with GOP hacks.

Sorry to hear Singer is no longer on the inside. Hope there are plenty more where he came from.

[DemReadingDU]

2. So was Singer asked to resign?

Paul Krugman explains why the administration has suddenly begun firing federal prosecutors:

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/01/paul_krugman_su.html

[Blackhatjack]

4. I asked why he left after 13 yrs as a DOJ Prosecutor, he said....

"It was the right time."

That was rather ambiguous. However, he indicated several times that his mindset continued to be that of a prosecutor, and he was going to have to reorient himself as a defense attorney.

My opinion is that he would still be there if the political climate were different. I do not sense that he made this decision to 'cash in' on the upcoming Congressional Investigations and charges likely to result therefrom (even though there will be a lot of money spent defending the scoundrels).

[DemReadingDU]

6. Interesting to switch from Prosecuting to Defense

I bet that was a fascinating discussion at lunch.
Thank you for sharing!

[Blackhatjack]

7. Yes it was. Most 13 yr Prosecutors Do Not Switch Sides.... n/t

[alfredo]

18. Could it be that the DoJ is changing from prosecuting wrongdoing

to defending the president? "However, he indicated several times that his mindset continued to be that of a prosecutor, and he was going to have to reorient himself as a defense attorney."

Maybe he could become a witness for the prosecution when it comes time to try the junta for its many crimes against humanity.

[EST]

3. How fascinating!

Thanks for posting this. You know, it is so easy to get caught up in our own individual battles to save the constitution, forgetting or not considering that just because a particular story fades, the beehive of activity that brought the developing situation this far does not.

The overwhelming tangle of interlocking corruption extant in - and out - of government always seems to favor the rich and powerful over the less well provided for that the underlying assumption is that the powerful person "got away" with it, again. Day after day we are slapped in the face with the alarming evidence of scurrilous collusion at all levels of the "system" that stunning cynicism seems to be the order of the day.

Individual integrity is so inspiring.

[Blackhatjack]

5. He said the key to making the Abramoff case, and those flowing from it was ....

When they reached a deal with Michael Scanlon, who was assistant and co-defendant with Abramoff. Without Scanlon to testify that they 'intended' to bribe individuals by the giving of money, and the billing and diversion of Indian Tribe money, they might not have made the case against Abramoff.

Once again, it is the arrangement of a plea bargain with a co-defendant(Scanlon) that broke the case wide open. People who want to do away with plea bargaining do not understand that cases against people like Abramoff would never happen, or would have to be dismissed, if it did not exist.

[jelly]

8. Very very interesting.

Thank you for the inside scoop. I suspect much remains to be learned concerning the recent mysterious departures of so many AUSAs. I know it is not unusual for AUSAs to come and go -- at the law firm where I worked it was considered practically a necessary career move if one hoped to be a successful white collar defense attorney to spend a few years serving with the US Attorney's office -- but something seems off about the recent rash of departures. Gonzalez's evasive answers yesterday before the judiciary committee further suggested that something stinks. Maybe it's nothing, maybe it's just a coincidence, but it's the Bush administration we're talking about here, and we have no chance of knowing for sure until we dig a little deeper.

[Blackhatjack]

9. There is always a way to 'encourage' a federal employee to leave....

... and the big mistake was the Congress giving Bush this power over AUSAs with replacements not being subject to confirmation.

There are career prosecutors trying to 'do the right thing' that I am sure are not on the same page with Bush Repubs, and until the ADministration changes in D.C. we are unlikely to learn about this from those affected. Sometimes it is better to leave than to stay and fight, where your superiors have the power to affect your career prospects.

[jelly]

10. I agree it was error for Congress to give interim replacement power.

I was dismayed by Gonzalez's seeming position that the world would end if the power were taken away. "Critical positions" (or however it is that he characterized them), he argued, would remain unfilled. Please. How did we manage filling departing AUSA positions before the new grant of power. I don't understand a vacant AUSA office to be something akin to a vacancy in the office of the POTUS. My understanding is that the new grant of power was intended to deal with true emergency situations but Bush is using it in non-emergency circumstances, probably to appoint conservative attorneys who favor his interpretation of our Constitution and who are unlikely to prosecute Republican crooks. Gonzalez claims he will present permanent replacements for Senate approval but with loyal appointees in place, where is the incentive to quickly bring candidates before the Senate?

The problem is that putting aside the legislation's intent, on its face I think it does allow them to do what they are doing. I hope Congress works to amend the law to somehow ensure that the grant of power is only used in true emergency situations, and disregards Gonzalez's suggestion yesterday that without the power to appoint interim replacements the Office of the US Attorney would collapse.

[Blackhatjack]

11. This is a power that the Congress needs to withdraw from the President...

But really there are so many damaging bills that Congress passed while the Repubs were in the majority, it is going to be hard to correct everything at once.

[jelly]

12. All the harder to correct, I fear, because

in the interest of protecting their political careers, there are only so many out-and-out mistakes to which members of Congress will be willing to admit. That's why I think that even though the grant of power was a blunder in its entirety, there's a greater chance that if changes are made it will not come in the form of complete withdrawal but in the form of amendments to conform the grant to Congressional intent. It's overwhelming though how much there remains to undo. As with any big job I guess you just jump in and start chipping away.

[Blackhatjack]

13. Just Like Nixon, An Imperial Presidency Is Not Assembled Overnight....

... it comes about with a steady stream of changes that erode the power of the Congress and the Judiciary, and increases the independence and authority of the Executive Branch.

It will take a long time to roll back the changes that occurred over the last 6 years.

However, there will be a big roll-back if Bush is investigated and exposed.

[jelly]

14. Let the investigations begin! nt

[Straight Shooter]

15. Arlen Specter dropped that dirty provision in at the last minute.

When you say "Congress giving bush this power," I wonder how many members of Congress were paying enough attention in the heat of the moment of passing the *cough* Patriot Act *gag* to realize what Arlen had done.

That little bastard effectively tied the hands of his own committee with that provision, so there must have been some very sweet reward promised to him down the road. I don't think Specter planned on the Senate going to Democratic control.

Talking Points Memo link to Arlen Specter's betrayal of our judicial system:
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002357.php

[Independent_Liberal]

16. Kicked and recommended!

The Jefferson raid is the pandora's box. The Boulis case is the key to Able Danger which should help us uncover the 9/11 cover-up. It started in Florida, and all money trails lead to Abramoff, Greenberg Traurig, arms deals, heroin trafficking, foreign lobbyists, influence peddling involving GOP lawmakers, laundered casino money, Indian gaming, DeLay/TRMPAC/ARMPAC, Hastert/Turkish DeepState Mafia/AIPAC/Feith/Perle/Grossman, Foley, Northern Marianas, DynCorp, Lockheed Martin, Titan, MZM, Wade, Cunningham, Wilkes, Goss, the firing of US Attorneys, The Carlyle Group, Global Crossing, Unocal, Enron, the Saudis, ISI, Mohamed Atta, Russia, Israel, Turkey, Philippines, etc.

[midnight]

17. Good God was all this corruption put together either on the

eve or after jr.'s selection?