NYT:Rove Is Linked to Early Query Over Dismissals

[cal04]

The White House senior adviser Karl Rove inquired about firing federal prosecutors in January 2005, prompting a Justice Department aide to respond that Alberto R. Gonzales, soon to be confirmed as attorney general, favored replacing a group of “underperforming” United States attorneys, according to e-mail messages released Thursday.

The e-mail messages, part of a larger collection that the Justice Department is preparing to turn over to Congressional investigators, indicate that Mr. Rove and Mr. Gonzales, then the White House counsel, had considered the proposal to replace prosecutors earlier than either has previously acknowledged.

The White House had previously said that Harriet E. Miers, who succeeded Mr. Gonzales as White House counsel, initiated the idea in early 2005 of replacing all 93 United States attorneys.

Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, repeated Thursday that Ms. Miers first proposed the dismissals, but Mr. Snow acknowledged in an interview that the e-mail messages shifted the time line earlier than the White House had previously said.

(snip)
In a message on Jan. 6, 2005, Colin Newman, a White House lawyer, wrote to David G. Leitch, another lawyer in his office: “Karl Rove stopped by to ask you (roughly quoting) ‘how we planned to proceed regarding U.S. Attorneys, whether we were going to allow all to stay, request resignations from all and accept only some of them or selectively replace them, etc.’ ”

more
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/16/washington/16attorneys.html?hp

[Erika]

1. W in 2000 fired all 93

Now he got into firing the eight republicans who didn;t tow his line. Unethetical and in many cases, obstruction of justice.