LATimes: California Attorney's Firing Draws Democratic Ire (Carol Lam)

[Hissyspit]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-na-usattyb19mar19,0,5490447.story?coll=la-home-headlines

California attorney's firing draws Dems' spotlight
By Richard A. Serrano, Times Staff Writer
4:07 PM PDT, March 18, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats signaled Sunday that of the eight U.S. attorneys abruptly fired by the Bush administration, the case in San Diego is emerging as the most troubling because of new allegations that U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was fired in a direct attempt to shut down investigations into Republican politicians in Southern California.

Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., revealed fresh evidence in which Lam notified Washington of search warrants in a Republican corruption case there last year that quickly prompted a top Department of Justice official in Washington to describe a "real problem we have right now with Carol Lam."

- snip -

Schumer said he was told by Justice Department officials that Lam and others were terminated because of "performance-related" problems -- a claim the department has been unable to back up, Schumer said. In fact, he said, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty later apologized. "He called me on the phone and said, 'I am sorry that I didn't tell you the truth,"' Schumer said.

- snip -

Lam spearheaded the case against Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the former Republican congressman from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., who pleaded guilty to bribery and income-tax evasion. He was sentenced in March 2006 to eight years and four months in prison.

Then, Feinstein said, in a broadening of the Cunningham investigation, Lam turned her sights on two of the former congressman's associates: Brent R. Wilkes, a defense contractor, and Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo, a top CIA official who abruptly resigned May 8.

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[peacetalksforall]

1. Question 1. Would the impetus for firing her before she got to

Wilkes and Foggo be at the request of the CIA or was the firing an attmept to protect extra charges or revelatons against Abramoff or DeLay or someone?

ARROGAN - they have lost the C and E in arrogance - they are going down.

[peacetalksforall]

2. Questions 2: Is there a place to go to for a list and summary of the

trouble they're in regarding just the Attys?

[Old and In the Way]

6. Talking Points Memo and their sister site are good resources

I'd suggest starting here....at the bottom and work your way up.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/cats/brent_wilkes/

Joe Cannon at Cannonfire had very interesting details of the sham companies in Poway, CA.

It appears that this scandal will show that there were major no bid contract awards made to front companies with no real business...and the money was funneled back into the RNC through Wilkes andWade...other Republican pols in California are deeply involved in this...specifically, one who used to be head of the House Appropriations Committee.

This is the real target of the firings...the others were probably done to provide some cover.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

5. Some info follows...

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/16931329.htm

Feinstein said Lam notified the Justice Department on May 10, 2006, that she planned to serve search warrants on Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo, who'd resigned two days earlier as the No. 3 official at the CIA.

And definitely check this OP out: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=424873

[peacetalksforall]

3. Question 3: Is the Guam Atty situation related to Rep. Jerry Lewis?

[beltanefauve]

4. I hear

it's regarding Jack Abrahamoff and the Marianas Islands, but I don't have the details nor a link, sorry.

[Hubert Flottz]

7. K&R

We need a special prosecutor on the case in California...HookerGate is a biggie.

[Hissyspit]

8. .