"House Panel Eyes Immunity Grant" POSSIBLE IMMUNITY FOR GOODLING!

[in_cog_ni_to]

Gonzo's shakin' in his boots now!


House Panel Eyes Immunity Grant
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer

38 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee is set to vote on whether to grant Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' former counsel immunity from prosecution and force her to testify about the firings of eight federal prosecutors.

"I am hopeful we can approve immunity so that we can schedule her to testify as soon as possible and begin to clear up the many inconsistencies and gaps surrounding this matter," Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said in a statement Tuesday.

A two-thirds vote of the panel is required to approve the resolution, which would direct the House counsel to apply to U.S. District Court for a grant of immunity for Monica Goodling, Conyers' statement said.

Goodling's lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

More at link:
http://www.comcast.net/news/politics/index.jsp?cat=POLITICS&fn=/2007/04/17/638874.html

[wiggs]

1. Wouldn't issuing subpoenas for Rove and Meiers also help? nt

[in_cog_ni_to]

2. One would think so.

:shrug:

[yardwork]

3. I think that this is a shortcut - a way to get the info out in the open asap.

Conyers knows that the White House will stonewall, stonewall, stonewall. Justice is ignoring the subpoenas. This bunch of criminals is willing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court and who knows that that bunch would decide?

Give immunity to a relatively small player, get her to sing like a canary, and maximize the political damage to the White House.

Sounds like a plan to me. Go Representative Conyers!

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. IF Conyers can get Goodling to talk, Gonzo and this administration are in HUGE trouble.

All he needs is ONE person to sing.

[WiseButAngrySara]

5. Didn't Sampson already sing? At least a small melody?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x673228

Edited to add link...

[in_cog_ni_to]

8. Monica knows MORE. From empyt wheel:

April 08, 2007
Monica Goodling's Loyalty Oaths. Again.

by emptywheel

<snip>
And just to reiterate why I'm so suspicious about Monica Goodling's personal involvement in politicizing the DOJ, let's look at precisely the questions Schumer asked Kyle Sampson during his Senate Judiciary testimony:

SCHUMER: Thank you.

OK. Are you aware of whether anyone at DOJ who has -- whether anyone at DOJ has asked applicants for career positions, not political positions, line positions -- questions about any of the following: their support for the president?

SAMPSON: I'm not aware of that.

SCHUMER: How they voted in any election?

SAMPSON: I don't remember. I did not participate in career hires. And I'm not aware of people doing that.

SCHUMER: You're not aware -- that's my question: Were you aware of anyone doing that?

SAMPSON: Let me be precise. I don't remember ever being aware of anything like that.

SCHUMER: OK -- whether they were registered Democrats or Republicans?

SAMPSON: I don't remember being aware of anything like that.

SCHUMER: OK -- and what their political leanings were?

SAMPSON: I don't remember anything -- I don't remember anything like that.

SCHUMER: OK. So you have no knowledge if such questions were ever asked of line-level assistant U.S. attorney applicants?

SAMPSON: Senator, I don't have any recollection of anything like that. I was not -- did not participate in the hiring of assistant U.S. attorneys.

SCHUMER: Would it be appropriate to ask such questions?

SAMPSON: I understand that assistant U.S. attorneys are career employees, and so it would not be appropriate.

SCHUMER: Thank you.

Let me just ask you a couple more on this. Did you know whether Ms. Goodling or anyone else asked such questions?

Well, let's ask -- Ms. Goodling -- so you have no knowledge that Ms. Goodling asked such questions of such people?

SAMPSON: Of career...

SCHUMER: Career, correct.

SAMPSON: ... applicants -- I don't remember any questions like that, that she would ask.

Two "not awares," four "don't remembers," two "don't remember being awares," and one "don't have any recollection," by my count. Zero "no's."

I hate to keep harping on this point. But it seems pretty damn likely that Monica Goodling was right at the center of the inappropriate politicization of career DOJ employees.

You see, I think it highly likely that one of the reasons Goodling is pleading the Fifth is because she caused Paul McNulty to commit perjury. But another reason--a much bigger one, given the centrality of the politicization of DOJ hiring to the scandal surrounding the USA purge, is because she committed regular violations of the laws in place to prevent the politicization of our career employees.

http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/04/monica_goodling_1.html

[hang a left]

14. So many laws broken...

THe bigger ones involve "our Lam problem".

Sampson has the goods on that.

[hang a left]

17. See todays post, it is interesting to say the least

www.thenexthurrah.typepad.com

[in_cog_ni_to]

24. Uh oh....that's a long list. ...this is interesting: can you explain the Brent Wilkes/Foggo connecti

<snip>
They're bringing Steven Biskupic to find out whether he brought a crappy public corruption case to avoid being fired. Given his mention of bringing 12 cases against Republicans since 2002, I'd also like to know if he was originally on the list to be fired because he put some big fundraiser in jail. (And note, HJC has also asked the RNC for any emails discussing Biskupic; those might be interesting).<snip>

<snip>
And then there's Matthew Friedrich. He's a stumper. He hasn't really shown up on the document dumps. But I'm guessing he may be on there fore one of two reasons. He may have been involved in discussions about why various USAs weren't prosecuting the numbers and kinds of cases that AGAG wanted (including obscenity, immigration, and death penalty cases); these were used as the excuse to fire Lam, Bogden, Charlton, and Iglesias. More interesting, to me, is the allegation that Brent Wilkes' lawyer made--that DOJ demanded a number of revisions to the Kyle Foggo and Brent Wilkes indictment. That sounds like the kind of thing the AAG for the Criminal Division might have been involved in. If so, Friedrich might have a lot he could tell the Committee.

There's one more outstanding detail I've been pondering. HJC has subpoenaed William Moschella, who was very involved in the discussions about the firings. This means one of twho things. Either Richard Hertling tried to prevent Moschella from testifying. Or, like the fired USAs who testified before Congress, Moschella wants the cover of a subpoena before he spills to the Judiciary Committees. In either case, it suggests Moschella will have a good deal of interesting things to say to the committee. <snip>

[hang a left]

26. Brent-Wilkes-Foggo connection I believe and have read reaches

right into the white house and is why that had a "Lam problem" She was the USA that put Cunningham in prison and was going after a few other congresspeople on California (Doolittle et al).

It is all about DOD and intelligence contracts and using Wilkes to launder money back into the coffers of the RNC.

[in_cog_ni_to]

27. Ah GEEZ! That's right! I knew that! Cunningham...

sheesh. There's so much CRAP to keep track of, I lose some of it along the way. Thanks!

[WiseButAngrySara]

20. Thanks for this. I don't understand the last sentence though...

"she committed regular violations of the laws in place to prevent the politicization of our career employees."

I thought she and Sampson were aiding in the politicization? Sampson clearly lied under oath, or he hasn't much of a brain, but he did implicate Gonzo under oath.

[in_cog_ni_to]

22. She broke the laws PUT IN PLACE to PREVENT the politicization of our career employees.

:hi:

[WiseButAngrySara]

25. OMG! How embarrassing!

:blush:

:hi:

[in_cog_ni_to]

28. Don't be embarrased! Are you kidding? See my Brent Wilkes/Foggo brain fart above!

:hi:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Good move

now we have to see if Goodling has enough information to bring Gonzo down.

[hang a left]

9. I want Rove rounded up with her testimony.

Gonzo is already gone.

[ThomWV]

7. Outstanding!

Let her talk and then lock the rest of them up.

[grasswire]

10. I think she'll try to ride it out

Unless they put her in jail for contempt, she'll stonewall, I think. They are daring the Dems to get tough.

[in_cog_ni_to]

12. And they're daring the WRONG Dems! Conyers? Leahy? Schumer?

:rofl::rofl: BRING IT ON! If they want a fight, I think they have one.:)

As for Goodling....she may be worried about someone else implicating her. If so, she may accept immunity to save her own sorry ass. PLUS...those 5 MILLION emails....SURELY, some of those are hers?

[gatorboy]

11. I think it would be very difficult to get Goodling to squeal.

She relies on this circle of people too much for future jobs. Who else would hire her with that Regent education? No one.

[hang a left]

13. She should be more concerned about keeping her weasely ass of the klink.

If she is convicted, her license to practice law is toast anyway. She will have to go be a housewife somewhere.

[BuyingThyme]

15. Too early.

[in_cog_ni_to]

16. Too early for what? Immunity? Why? They don't have enough garbage on her?

Why do you say that?

[BuyingThyme]

18. What garbage are you speaking of?

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. The crimes she's committed.

I'm not an attorney, obviously.;) I see a repuke...I assume they're guilty of wrongdoing, period, end of subject. ESPECIALLY if they plead the 5th. I know, I know, I know... in a lawyer's world, it's just the opposite, but, like I said, I'm no attorney. Just a concerned and suspicious citizen who doesn't trust ANYONE connected to this criminal regime. Innocent until proven guilty? NOPE! Not with these people.

[BuyingThyme]

23. As far as we know, she murdered 14 people who didn't

think it was appropriate for her to ask about their allegiances to the Chimp.

I don't think it's a good idea to give her immunity on those 14 would-be counts of murder.

Frankly, I don't think they would be discussing immunity at all if not for the fact that she is a young, blond woman with a kitten.

[yardwork]

30. Goodling is suspected of murdering 14 people?

What did I miss?

[BuyingThyme]

31. We don't know what she's done. She's yet to testify.

[grasswire]

19. the reason it's too early...

...is that she/we have no indication yet of whether Dems will be bold, or will back down.

The challenge came yesterday when the deadline passed for DoJ to turn over documents. The DoJ did not respond to the subpoena for the documents. What will happen to that challenge?

Another challenge is happening with regard to Condoleezza Rice. She has ignored the letters of request from Congress. What will happen?

Until there is an indication of what Congress will do to enforce its own requests and subpoenas, nobody is going to cooperate fully.

[debbierlus]

29. Kick & RECOMMENDED - Link to another article

I realize the shootings have eclipsed the Gonzo news - this needs to be at the top of the page!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070417/ap_on_go_co/fired_prosecutors;_ylt=AnCMKlh9KgO7cj6qmt5xDqPMWM0F

Here is the link to the yahoo article - please keep kicked & recommended. We are talking about an inside aide FLIPPING on this scandal for immunity.

:nuke: