U. S. Attorney Appointment called unconstitutional

[CatWoman]

A veteran Little Rock, Ark., attorney has lodged the first constitutional challenge to the Bush administration's attempt to appoint a U.S. attorney without seeking Senate approval.

John Wesley Hall alleged in a brief filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Little Rock that Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales' Dec. 20 appointment of Tim Griffin as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas violated the presidential appointments clause of the Constitution.

Griffin, who used to work for Bush political advisor Karl Rove, replaced Bud Cummins, a Bush appointee and one of seven U.S. attorneys around the country whom the administration has ousted since late December. The top federal prosecutors in San Diego and San Francisco were among those dismissed.

Some Democrats have suggested that the moves were made to reward friends of the White House or punish prosecutors who had taken actions that angered the administration.

Administration officials have denied that the moves were political and assert that Gonzales has the authority to take these actions under a 2006 amendment to the Patriot Act that allows recess appointments.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-prosecutor25jan25,1,2862129.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true

[BOSSHOG]

1. "Conservatives" just love the Patriot Act

which slowly but surely would undermine our constitutional liberties. If you are an honest, fair and hardworking prosecutor who uncovers republican wrong doing, you will be damned. Just like our founding fathers wanted. But if you have nothing to hide huh???

Go Mr Hall, more power to you.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I hope Mr. Hall wins

and that this wholesale pillaging of the federal prosecutors stops.

[Norquist Nemesis]

3. Just because the Patriot Act amendment says they can do it

does not mean it is Constitutional. Good for Mr. Hall!!!

[madrchsod]

4. the next democratic president can remove a republican attorney

..i wonder what the republicans are going to say about that! i think we all know...

[cascadiance]

5. Folks, a "room full of flowers" idea to fight this fascism!

Carol Lam, the "fired" prosecutor here in San Diego, is reportedly looking to get an indictment out for Brent Wilkes before she leaves office on February 15th.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2699219&mesg_id=2699219

And according to the article in this thread from "The Hill", we might even see some movement against Duncan Hunter too, since it looks like he got served some subpoenas earlier.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2701095&mesg_id=2701095

Though time is tight here, how many people here on DU think it might be good to take advantage of Valentine's Day being right before she leaves, and if she does give us a good parting gift, that we at DU return her the favor and give her a room full of roses, much like we did for Barbara Boxer and Helen Thomas!

I'd volunteer to help with the logistics here in San Diego to getting the flowers and helping get folks together to put them in her office. Just talked about it to our Dem Club leader at the SOTU speech and he thought it would be a good idea too! Might help us a lot with the Asian community here in Mira Mesa and the close surrounding area becoming more Democratic Party supporting and move away from being apolitical or to the right. One of the few Asian activist people in our Dem group who's now a local Dem party delegate told our club leader earlier that the Asian community around here is immensely PO'd with this move of firing Ms. Lam.