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As featured on p. 218 of "Bloggers on the Bus," under the name "a MyDD blogger."

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

26

Someone's got another I lied to Congress issue:

The Justice Department considered dismissing many more U.S. attorneys than officials have previously acknowledged, with at least 26 prosecutors suggested for termination between February 2005 and December 2006, according to sources familiar with documents withheld from the public [...]

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified last week that the effort was limited to eight U.S. attorneys fired since June, and other administration officials have said that only a few others were suggested for removal.


It's no more an issue to fire 26 attorneys as it is 1, really, if the reasons are equally flawed. But the fact that lots of the prosecutors on the list of two dozen are in either swing states or states with competitive 2006 House races is the key.

Feb. 24, 2005

Thirteen U.S. attorneys recommended for removal by D. Kyle Sampson, who sends the list to the White House in early March.

Steven Biskupic (Milwaukee)
Margaret Chiara (Grand Rapids, Mich.)***
Bud Cummins (Little Rock)***
Thomas Heffelfinger (Minn.)*
David L. Huber (Louisville, Ky.)
Carol C. Lam (San Diego)***
Dunn Lampton (Jackson, Miss.)
John McKay (Seattle)***
Greg Miller (Tallahassee)
Paula Silsby (Maine)
Ana Mills Wagoner (Greensboro, N.C.)
Kasey Warner (Charleston, W.Va.)**
David York (Mobile, Ala.)*

--

January 2006

Justice documents show two separate lists compiled by Sampson around this time.

List 1, 5 names

Todd P. Graves (Kansas City, Mo.)***
Heffelfinger (Minn.)*
Bill Leone (Colo.)*
David O'Meilia (Tulsa, Okla.)
Silsby (Maine)

List 2, 8 names
Chiara (Grand Rapids, Mich.)***
Cummins (Little Rock)***
Graves (Kansas City, Mo.)***
Lam (San Diego)***
Kevin Ryan (San Francisco)***
Heffelfinger (Minn.)*
Leone (Colo.)*
O'Meilia (Tulsa, Okla.)

Sept. 13, 2006
Sampson sends a memo to White House including nine prosecutors recommended for firing, five of whom would be dismissed.

Daniel Bogden (Nevada)***
Chiara (Grand Rapids, Mich.)***
Paul K. Charlton (Arizona)***
Lam (San Diego)***
McKay (Seattle)***
Thomas Marino (Scranton, Pa.)
Miller (Tallahassee)
Silsby (Maine)
Wagoner (Greensboro, N.C.)

Nov. 1, 2006

Michael Elston, chief of staff to the deputy attorney general, suggests five other firing candidates.

John Brownlee (Roanoke, Va.)
Christopher J. Christie (Newark, N.J.)
Colm F. Connolly (Delaware)
Mary Beth Buchanan (Pittsburgh)
Frank Maxwell Wood (Macon, Ga.)


Remember, the whole motivation for these firings comes from Karl Rove's "permanent Republican majority" fantasy (along with the hive mentality of protecting Republicans from prosecution and investigating Democrats). The entire process here was to fire as many attorneys as was politically allowable, to ensure that the new hires would use their office to intimidate voters push bogus voter fraud cases and suppress the vote.

McClatchy adds to this tonight, focusing on two of these new attorneys selected for prosecution, Gregory Miller, of the northern district of Florida in Tallahassee, and Bill Leone, of Colorado. Once again, they're both swing states, and voter fraud allegations have run rampant in both places. And Josh Marshall notices a huge catch at the end of the article, at a part where the writer is going through other USA cases:

A U.S. attorney in Minnesota, who disagreed with the Justice Department on a case involving voting rolls, was asked to resign early last year.


Wha now? Thomas Heffelfinger, who was replaced by the notorious Rachel Paulose, was asked to leave his job because he wouldn't purge the voter rolls? Can we have more about this, please?

Gonzales has to be gone now, right? I mean, the Senate is openly questioning whether he lied to them during hearings on the warrantless wiretapping case, in the wake of James Comey's riveting testimony yesterday (shades of John Dean in 1973). And now, this out-and-out lie to Congress. I would like to see Abu G prosecuted for contempt of Congress and sent to hais namesake prison, frankly. I'll SETTLE for a resignation.

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