Prosecuting Criminals

By criminals:

Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Tuesday said former Justice Department officials will not face prosecution for letting improper political considerations drive hirings of prosecutors, immigration judges and other career government lawyers.

Mukasey used his sharpest words yet to criticize the senior leaders who took part in or failed to stop illegal hiring practices during the tenure of his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales.

But, he told delegates to the American Bar Association annual meeting, "not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime. In this instance, the two joint reports found only violations of the civil service laws."

Nothing like a good old-fashioned independent AG.

Bedtime for Gonzo

At last:

Bush administration officials say Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will announce his resignation today.

The embattled attorney general has been under increasing pressure by lawmakers in both parties, amid accusations that the Justice Department has been used for political purposes.

Seems like Fredo needs to spend more time with the family.

Profiles in "Wait, What in the World Could That Be?!"

Alberto Gonzales.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, under congressional pressure to quit over the firing of nine U.S. prosecutors, vowed on Monday to stay and fix problems with the Justice Department.

In testimony prepared for a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Gonzales acknowledged the Justice Department has been shaken by accusations that partisan politics played a role in hiring practices and the administration of justice.

"There are two options available in light of these allegations," Gonzales said. "I could walk away or I could devote my time, effort and energy to fix the problems."

"Since I have never been one to quit, I decided that the best course of action was to remain here and fix the problems."

Abu is going to fix the problems - the leakers and dissenters.

I promise this is not an Onion article.

Showdown at the OK Corral

Things get interesting.

The Bush administration says the president's immediate advisers are absolutely immune from having to appear before Congress, but legal scholars say the issue isn't that clear cut.

The question grew more pressing Wednesday as President Bush ordered former White House counsel Harriet Miers to defy a congressional summons in the controversy over the administration's dismissals of federal prosecutors.

The Democratic chairmen of the Senate and House judiciary committees have said they would consider introducing contempt of Congress citations against any subpoena recipients who resist.

Bush thinks he is king. That notion is antithetical to democracy. Anyone who supports Bush needs to come out of the closet and admit that what they really want is a militaristic dictatorship and tyranny that outlaws all dissent. Otherwise they are lying through their teeth.

I Am the Law

George W. Bush:

President Bush invoked executive privilege Monday to deny requests by Congress for testimony from two former aides about the firings of federal prosecutors.

The White House, however, did offer again to make former counsel Harriet Miers and one-time political director Sara Taylor available for private, off-the-record interviews.

In a letter to the heads of the House and Senate Judiciary panels, White House counsel Fred Fielding insisted that Mr. Bush was acting in good faith and refused lawmakers' demand that the president explain the basis for invoking the privilege.

Bush does not understand the simplest things about our democracy. Congress makes the laws and President executes them. His position transcends neither the law nor existence. Executive privilege cannot be used as an excuse to prevent our government from properly functioning. Congress needs to hold Bush in contempt.

More Poop

Fired prosecutors.

Crying Will Not Help You Now

Monica Goodling.

"She proceeded for the next, it seemed like forever but it was probably only about 30 or 45 minutes, to bawl her eyes out and say, 'All I ever wanted to do was serve this president and this administration and this department,'" Margolis said of Goodling in his closed-door May 1 interview.

Never mind that the president swears to uphold the Constitution and that is also exactly what the Department of Justice should be doing as well. Via FDL,

"People like Monica … were misguided and didn't get it," said H.E. "Bud" Cummins III, one of the U.S. attorneys dismissed last year. Still, Cummins said, Gonzales and other senior officials deserve the lion's share of the blame. "It is their job to stand up and say, 'No,' " he said in an interview. "There obviously was a failure, no matter whose idea this was, at the top levels of the department to assert independent judgment."…

If she did not understand what her job was then she is also guilty of negligence and no amount of crying will help her now. We need to kill, and not pardon, these GOP zombies so they die for good.

FDL is liveblogging the hearings. Read on.

Bad Management, Bad Judgment

Alberto G.

Corruption

From TPM:

I've read TPM for years, and appreciate your work. I email you because I read something today about the firing of John McKay that finally put me over the edge.

Apparently during Comey's testimony today he said that one of the reasons McKay got himself in hot water with the DOJ heavyweights was because he was pushing for additional resources to investigate the murder of Tom Wales, who was an Assistant US Attorney in Seattle. Tom Wales was shot and killed in 2001. What nobody has talked about, and what you may not be aware of, is the fact that Tom Wales was extremely active in attempting to get tighter gun control laws passed here in Washington.

Think about that for a second. A pro-gun control federal prosecutor was shot and killed. John McKay was agitating for more resources to bring his killer to justice. That pissed off DOJ, who apparently thought that McKay should spend his time going after bogus voter fraud prosecutions rather than solve the murder of a guy who was in favor of gun control. If you don't think the fact that Tom Wales' political views weren't taken into consideration by the higher ups at DOJ when they decided to punish McKay for fighting to find his killer, you haven't been paying attention to the way these guys have operated for the last 6 years. Every single thing they do is
about politics, and the political views of those they help or hurt.

The bottom line of this whole McKay firing could be summed up in this way: try to catch killers, you get fired. File BS charges of voter fraud, you keep your job.

It's a slap in the face to every prosecutor in the country. It's our job to seek justice for those that aren't able to seek it for themselves. None of us should give a damn what the political views are of the victims we try to protect. It's beyond reprehensible for them to punish McKay for doing this. But for this administration, it's par for the course.

Follow-up from McJoan at Kos:

Wales's killer still hasn't been apprehended. The Seattle U.S. Attorneys office was recused from the case, and the Seattle FBI office put in charge. However, in June 2006, the case was transferred to the Portland FBI office. Guess why the matter was transferred:

"High-level officials at the Department of Justice expressed displeasure to the FBI about Laura Laughlin's resource allocation decisions," said a
Justice Department source familiar with the case.

I am sad.

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Stool pigeon.

Stool pigeon who?

Monica Goodling.

The House Judiciary Committee voted moments ago to grant immunity to Monica Goodling — former counsel to Alberto Gonzales and the Justice Department’s liaison to the White House — and issue a subpoena compelling her to testify. Yesterday, fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias said he believes that Goodling holds the “keys to the kingdom” in terms of uncovering the roots of the U.S. Attorney purge

Even with Bush's support, Gonzales cannot last much longer.

Another One Bites the Dust

Thanks, Karl!

The prosecutor, Paul Charlton, was one of the eight prosecutors fired by the Justice Department over the winter.
Brian Murray, Renzi's top aide, issued a statement late Tuesday acknowledging that shortly after the local media reported that the congressmen was being investigated, he called Charlton spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle.

Rotten to the core. By the by, the guy investigating Karl Rove is also under investigation, so do not expect much out of that one.

Abridged Republican Philosophy

Kyle Sampson:

"The distinction between 'political' and 'performance-related' reasons for removing a United States attorney is, in my view, largely artificial," said Kyle Sampson.
The aide, who quit because of the furor over the firings, is to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. A copy of his prepared remarks was obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
"A U.S. attorney who is unsuccessful from a political perspective ... is unsuccessful," Sampson said.

When a Democrat engages something that could be construed as partisan politics, it automatically is and that is news. When a Republican does something that could be construed as partisan politics, that is not news, so who cares?

You Keep Saying That Word, But I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

Taking the 5th.

A party can request a hearing (in federal or state court) to examine whether the party invoking the Fifth has done so properly. Goodling's attorney's letter does not provide a valid basis for invoking the Fifth. You can't invoke the Fifth to avoid perjury charges (or obstructing justice with the selfsame testimony). (I have the cases here, if you want them.) You can't invoke the Fifth because you think the Committee is on a witch hunt. Etc.

Is anybody surprised that this lawyer Bush crony who graduated from Pat Robertson's Regent University does not understand the law?

Lying Liars

The Bush administration and their cronies:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales approved plans to fire several U.S.
attorneys in an hourlong meeting last fall, according to documents released
Friday that indicate he was more involved in the dismissals than he has
claimed.

Last week, Gonzales said he ''was not involved in any discussions about
what was going on'' in the firings of eight prosecutors that has since led to a
political firestorm and calls for his ouster.

Bush will not let Gonzales go down because Abu is another piece of chaff protecting Bush. The sooner those go away the sooner people will start focusing their attention on Bush, who bears real responsibility for most of these scandals.

Be Thankful for Small Miracles

T'was a merry Fitzmas indeed.

While Patrick Fitzgerald was prosecuting the CIA leak case, his name appeared on
a Justice Department chart that was the first step in an effort to identify U.S.
attorneys who should be removed, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

The Justice Department ranking of Fitzgerald, which was sent to the
White House in March 2005, listed him among prosecutors who had "not
distinguished themselves" and put him below "strong U.S. attorneys . . . who
exhibited loyalty" to the administration, but above "weak U.S. attorneys who ...
chafed against administration initiatives, etc.," the Post said, citing Justice
documents.

I think we all got very lucky that they did not fire Fitzgerald. I certainly would not put it past the Bush administration to toss aside anyone who got in their way - just look at Carol Lam. The idea that Fitzgerald had not distinguished himself, after prosecuting corruption and organized crime in Chicago up to the highest levels, is flat-out wrong. Then again this is the same Justice Department that issued the following statement.

In a statement accompanying the release of documents to Congress, Scolinos said,
"The department did not remove the U.S. attorneys for improper reasons, such as
to prevent or retaliate for a particular prosecution in a public corruption matter."

Sure, whatever you say.

Decidering

Out of Gonzales' hands.

Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Wednesday it's up to
President Bush whether he remains in the administration and said he wants to
stay and explain to Congress the circumstances surrounding the firings of eight
U.S. attorneys.

Way to accept responsibility, Alberto. As someone commented in a dkos thread yesterday, when a Republican says "I accept responsibility" what he means is "shut up and move on." Now he has passed the buck to Bush, who, as we all know, has never admitted to making any mistakes and has never held anyone in his administration accountable - with the possible exception of Rumsfeld, but there are no longer any elections to be lost on Bush's watch - for any mistakes he has made. Katrina? Heckuva job, Brownie. Plame? I will fire anyone involved in it. Iraq? Mistakes were made.

Furthermore, Gonzales has been a loyal lieutenant. Unitary executive theory? Check. Torture? Check. Illegal wiretapping? Check. Firing prosecutors who were not partisan enough? Check. After all, Gonzales was only doing the White House's bidding. I have a feeling we will get a "Gonzales is doing a heckuva job" line out of Bush. Once again, it falls to the Democrats to fix another mess created by Republicans.

Red Rover, Red Rover, Can Karl Come Over?

Digby was right, Rove's taint was all over the fired prosecutors from the start.

The president did not call for the removal of any specific United States
attorneys, said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman. She said she had “no
indication” that the president had been personally aware that a process was
already under way to identify prosecutors who would be fired.
But Ms Perino
disclosed that White House officials had consulted with the Justice Department
in preparing the list of United States attorneys who would be removed.

...

The idea of dismissing federal prosecutors originated in the White House more than a year earlier, White House and Justice officials said Monday.

The White House can keep playing its ponzi game, but these facts together too nicely. Rove has demonstrated that he cannot govern; all he can do is further amass Republican power and slime the opposition. This is a perfect example of the kind of sleazy thing he would do to win elections.

I hope John Conyers will be calling Rove over soon.

Link.