"When a prosecutor goes after powerful, white-collar criminals, power brokers and politicians, such as Duke Cunningham, defense contractor Mitchell Wade and Brent Wilkes ---- a Poway defense contractor believed to be another Cunningham co-conspirator ---- sensitive and powerful nerves are struck in unexpected places higher up. Obviously one nerve leads to Rep. Darrell Issa, for, as the NC Times editorial ( "The one that got away," Feb. 1) stated, "Investigators could easily pick up the fingerprints of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, on Lam's back." Something about Lam's investigations was making Issa very uncomfortable. This in itself is reason for further investigation."
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:l705V23sqe4J:www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/09/opinion/commentary/20_47_412_8_07.txt+Sinister+scheme+behind+Lam%27s+firing&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-aand the opinion article linked in above article:
The one that got away
By: North County Times Opinion staff -
Our view: U.S. Attorney Carol Lam forced out for favoring big fish like Duke over small fry
Let us now praise Carol Lam.
The U.S. Attorney for San Diego for the last 4 1/2 years announced her resignation Jan. 16 and will leave office Feb. 15. We'll miss the widely praised, quietly effective and thorough prosecutor who rightly concentrated her efforts on big cases. And these were no small fish she bagged.
Among her accomplishments: a guilty plea by Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in the biggest congressional corruption case in history; a pair of convictions of San Diego City councilmen on extortion, fraud and other charges in a sleazy strip-club bribery scheme; and, sometime this year, her office will begin a death-penalty case against Francisco Javier Arrellano-Felix, the elusive alleged kingpin of a notorious Mexican drug cartel arrested in his yacht off Baja in August.
Sure, she might not have delivered enough gun- or people-smuggling cases to please her bosses in Washington, D.C. ---- that's the official story, anyway. But Lam did dunk Duke, and for that, we are quite grateful.
In a scene few of us will forget, Cunningham pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and tax evasion on Nov. 28, 2005, in a tearful confession outside of U.S. District Court in San Diego, and resigned from his 50th Congressional District seat. The Navy ace of Vietnam and Top Gun fame admitted to accepting cash bribes and embarrassingly lavish gifts from four unnamed co-conspirators in exchange for helping two defense contractors get federal contracts worth millions of dollars. Cunningham is now serving an eight-year, four-month sentence at a federal work camp outside Tucson, Ariz.
One of Cunningham's co-conspirators, Washington-based defense contractor Mitchell Wade, pleaded guilty last February to bribing Duke with more than $1 million and committing election fraud to line his own pockets. Wade is said to be cooperating with federal investigators and faces more than 10 years in the clink himself.
Next up is Brent Wilkes, a Poway defense contractor believed to be another Cunningham co-conspirator and the target of a federal grand jury for more than a year. Well-placed sources told our William Finn Bennett that an indictment of Wilkes should come any day now; the Wall Street Journal reported last month that Lam is pushing to indict Wilkes before she steps down.
We urge Lam's successor to pick up this investigative thread. We must continue to unravel a knot of corruption that endangered our troops by, at best, compromising what is supposed to be a performance-based defense-contracting process. Of course, we can't call Cunningham's capture Lam's victory alone; the reporting done by Copley News Service's Marcus Stern especially, and, to a lesser extent, our own Bennett and Mark Walker, laid down a roadmap that greatly assisted Lam's prosecution.
Lam's decision to concentrate her office's efforts on white-collar crime, corruption and criminal kingpins necessitated a shift in resources ---- time, money and cases ---- away from the border-related crimes that had dominated the dockets of Lam's predecessors. A Syracuse University analysis found that the number of prosecutions dropped 38 percent between 2001 and 2005.
Her priorities set Lam against the powerful forces, including the Border Patrol union, pushing for tighter enforcement of the nation's border laws. But Lam's office also targeted corrupt Border Patrol agents and border inspectors, and her office caught seven such poor guardians of our southern gates.
*****CSI investigators could easily pick up the fingerprints of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, on Lam's back; Issa has campaigned for more than two years against Lam's priorities and failure to pursue prosecutions of "coyote" smugglers.
But just this December, Lam bagged a huge fish in another immigration-related case when the Golden State Fence Co. and two of its top executives pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The Riverside-based fencing giant, which also has an office in Oceanside, agreed to give up $4.7 million to the federal government, and other employers shirking their responsibilities had to take note.
The Bush administration says it will seek Senate confirmation for whomever it selects as Lam's replacement. That's certainly a better choice if the goal is to make this political decapitation more palatable across the aisle. The administration slipped a provision into last year's reauthorization of the Patriot Act to allow the appointment of U.S. attorneys without the Senate's OK, but using it would cast an unnecessary cloud over the appointee's tenure.
And before she leaves, we thank Carol Lam for her service. If she hadn't done anything other than catch Duke, North County would still owe her a tremendous thank you.
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Comments On This Story
Randy wrote on February 01, 2007 3:53 AM:"Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, has accomplished nothing worthwhile in office. Getting Lam fired for successfully prosecuting Issa's bosom buddy Randy "Duke" Cunningham is nothing to crow about. The Bush administration should give Issa an ambassadorship to the Middle East that he has been angling for all his political career. Then we will have an opportunity to replace Issa with someone a bit less vindictive and opportunistic."
BBC wrote on February 01, 2007 6:02 AM:" Did it ever dawn on you that the reason Carol Lam got dumped is because she DID get Randy Cunningham and the Golden State Fence?"
Gary wrote on February 01, 2007 9:58 AM:"U.S.Attorney Carol Lam knew her political appointment was for four years. She was an "at will" employee of the Justice Dept., and her time was up. "
Catch & Release wrote on February 01, 2007 12:30 PM:"Lam allowed the catch & release of illegal aliens during her watch. That is why she will no longer be in a position to turn a blind eye to the growing crimes by coyotes and human smugglers. I am glad to see her go because I have a hope that her replacement will be more responsible in addressing the mass influx across the border."
Skip wrote on February 02, 2007 6:55 AM:"I do not consider Illegal Alien Smugglers, and Illegal Alien drug runners to be samall fry."
Harry wrote on February 02, 2007 7:36 AM:"Yes BBC I am sure of it. The major cases that Attorney Lam prosecuted were the contributors and deep pocket buddies of Issa and the Bush administration! It makes you wonder who else was feeling threatened. It is clear that this action was "payback" and 100% political payback. I wish she could run against Issa and win, that payback would be so sweet. "
to catch and release wrote on February 02, 2007 7:39 AM:"Even you know that the problem is with Americans who hire the illegals. The only way to stop the mass illegal immigration is to prosecute those who exploit this cheap labor source. That is exactly the action that Lam was taking. The problem is that those interests are the ones who contribute to Republican candidates--like Issa. I hope that the next attorney will continue to aggrssively protect us by going after the "cause" not the "symptom". "
More Resources Needed in San Diego wrote on February 02, 2007 7:45 AM:"If the US Attorney's office here cannot pursue both types of criminal activity ("big fish" like Cunningham and "small fry" like coyotes and drug smugglers) then the office here clearly needs more resources. That should be the focus of our representatives, rather than removing an effective US Attorney."
K wrote on February 02, 2007 8:35 AM:"Yes, we do have a problem with illegals, however; there is a larger, more critical issue. The issue with Government. The people like traitor george W. , cunningham & issa and the likes. Lets get the Gov't back into business, uphold the constitution rather than altering it to suit their own needs. Ignorance and apathy are the terrorists. Lets get the Fox out of the chicken coup."
We want the ILLEGALS wrote on February 02, 2007 10:25 AM:"caught and RELEASED in MEXICO"
Bucky wrote on February 02, 2007 10:52 AM:"Carol Lam was a total failure. First she raised the requirements for the border Patrol to refer criminal illegal aliens so high that it was impossible to get even violent offenders prosecuted. Then even those who did qualify under the ridiculous rules were often refused for proceed or simply ordered deported to Mexico. Most of them were back in the USA committing crimes the very next day. I'm glad she busted Duke Cummingham, but to make a real difference in the quality of life of the average San Diego citizen, putting criminal illegal aliens in jail for long sentences is more important. Every one of those criminals will commit a robbery, burglary, rape or murder every day there are in this country. Protecting the average citizen is JOB 1. Goodbye and good riddens to Carol Lam."
Joe B wrote on February 02, 2007 5:09 PM:"It is a shame Lam was forced out. It is not everyday we have an opportunity to see a high ranking Asian woman in here role. Moreover, ot is not too often we see people go after dirty politicians. I hope she runs for office, I'll contribute and vote for her."
Voter For Ethics & Oversight wrote on February 02, 2007 10:27 PM:"Anyone who breaks the law is an illegal! Being from across the border does not change the venue. Be it white collar, brown or black, the law is the force of law provided there's a legal beagle paying attention outside of the political posture of north county."
YOU GIVE LAM TOO MUCH CREDIT wrote on February 03, 2007 3:16 PM:"Actually investigative reporting by the San Diego Union Tribune unmasked Cunningham's bribery scandal. They were tipped to it by the glaring facts surrounding the sale of Randy's house for a bloated price to a DOD contractor who in turn sold the house at market value of many thousands less than he paid The Dukester. The difference was The Dukester's bribe by the contractor to steer juicy DOD contracts to him by, yes ~ THE DUKESTER. So......all Lam did was sic some of her attorneys on the case...and it went from there. This after huge publicity and a public outcry. Lots of posturing and taking credit by Lam. Meanwhile, whe was neglecting issues of illegal immigration, drug smuggling and such. Her dismissal was appropriate ~ she set her own priorities and was insubordinate in not following those given to her by The Attorney General. Of course Cunningham and all the other corrupt politicians should be prosecuted, but that would have happened anyway. From public pressure if nothing else. The crimes were exposed and THEN acted on. "
Jay wrote on February 04, 2007 12:57 PM:"This is no different than the FBI agent who was fired for warning her superiors of the 9/11 suspects BEFORE that fateful day. Nixon...oops..I mean Bush, is playing politics with peoples lives yet again. Why are we waiting two years to get rid of HIM?"
1997-2007 North County Times – Lee Enterprises editor@nctimes.com
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/01/opinion/editorials/20_13_121_31_07.txt
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