Post by psychecc on Sept 29, 2008 19:58:12 GMT -6
This is a report from the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. A surprising development from an Attorney General who has shown no backbone so far. Link to full article follows.
Posted: September 29, 2008, 1:50 PM ET
Special Prosecutor Named in Attorney Firings Case
Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed a special prosecutor Monday to pursue possible criminal charges against individuals involved in the controversial firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
Mukasey's appointment of Nora Dannehy, a career prosecutor, follows the recommendation of a Justice Department investigation that harshly criticized Bush administration officials, members of Congress and their aides for the ousters, many of which were seen as politically motivated.
The Justice Department on Monday also released an inspector general's report that found former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had "abdicated" his responsibility in the matter. Gonzales resigned in September 2007.
"At a minimum, the process by which nine U.S. Attorneys were removed in 2006 was haphazard, arbitrary and unprofessional, and that the way in which the Justice Department handled those removals and the resulting public controversy was profoundly lacking," Mukasey said in a statement.
....
The report singled out the removal of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico as the most troubling.
Republican political figures in New Mexico, including Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, had complained about Iglesias' handling of voter fraud and public corruption cases, and that led to his firing, the report said.
The report concludes that Gonzales' chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, was the person most responsible for coming up with the plan to fire the prosecutors and said that Sampson's comments to Congress, the White House and others were misleading.
The report also found that Bud Cummins, the U.S. Attorney in Arkansas, was forced out to make way for Timothy Griffin, who had served as Rove's deputy in the White House political office.
It also said that the dismissal of Todd Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, probably resulted from pressure from the office of Republican Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond.
---- Compiled from wire reports and other media sources
www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/politics/july-dec08/usattorneys_09-29.html
Posted: September 29, 2008, 1:50 PM ET
Special Prosecutor Named in Attorney Firings Case
Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed a special prosecutor Monday to pursue possible criminal charges against individuals involved in the controversial firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
Mukasey's appointment of Nora Dannehy, a career prosecutor, follows the recommendation of a Justice Department investigation that harshly criticized Bush administration officials, members of Congress and their aides for the ousters, many of which were seen as politically motivated.
The Justice Department on Monday also released an inspector general's report that found former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had "abdicated" his responsibility in the matter. Gonzales resigned in September 2007.
"At a minimum, the process by which nine U.S. Attorneys were removed in 2006 was haphazard, arbitrary and unprofessional, and that the way in which the Justice Department handled those removals and the resulting public controversy was profoundly lacking," Mukasey said in a statement.
....
The report singled out the removal of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico as the most troubling.
Republican political figures in New Mexico, including Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, had complained about Iglesias' handling of voter fraud and public corruption cases, and that led to his firing, the report said.
The report concludes that Gonzales' chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, was the person most responsible for coming up with the plan to fire the prosecutors and said that Sampson's comments to Congress, the White House and others were misleading.
The report also found that Bud Cummins, the U.S. Attorney in Arkansas, was forced out to make way for Timothy Griffin, who had served as Rove's deputy in the White House political office.
It also said that the dismissal of Todd Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, probably resulted from pressure from the office of Republican Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond.
---- Compiled from wire reports and other media sources
www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/politics/july-dec08/usattorneys_09-29.html