Rove Invoved In Firing Of Attorneys General

[Astronuc]

House panel subpoenas Gonzales documents
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070410/ap_on_go_co/fired_prosecutors

WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed new documents Tuesday from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as part of its investigation into the firings of federal prosecutors, with the panel chairman saying he had run out of patience.

We have been patient in allowing the department to work through its concerns regarding the sensitive nature of some of these materials," Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) wrote Gonzales in a letter accompanying the subpoena. "Unfortunately, the department has not indicated any meaningful willingness to find a way to meet our legitimate needs.,"

"At this point further delay in receiving these materials will not serve any constructive purpose," Conyers said. He characterized the subpoena as a last resort after weeks of negotiations with Justice over documents and e-mails the committee wants.

The pressure is building.

 

[edward]

Another Layer of Scandal
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/opinion/09mon1.html

Who would have thought that such a thing would happen in the US in this day and age?

This has ROVE written all over it. He was the guy in charge of getting republicans elected. This incident and similar incidents are typical of the current administration.

 

[turbo]

This has ROVE written all over it. He was the guy in charge of getting republicans elected. This incident and similar incidents are typical of the current administration.

Would Rove and the DOJ arrange to have an innocent woman sent to prison with no chance for an appeal right before an election, just to embarrass the Democratic governor and smear his administration? Sounds about right. Now why isn't this situation the lead on the nightly news? Oh, that "liberal media" doesn't want to touch it.

 

[denverdoc]

Certainly waddles and quacks like the former Orkin man.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

White House emails gone missing
Posted by Mark Silva at 10:53 am, updated 3:20 pm CDT

In the congressional investigation of the White House's role in the firing of several federal prosecutors last year, the Justice Department has turned over reams of emails and memos to Congress.

But there may be many more missing emails, it turns out, because many people within the White House have been exchanging emails on a Republican National Committee account using private laptop computers provided by the party for nearly two dozen employees of the president.

The White House maintains that the idea was to keep political business off of government computers. But the record of some public business may have gone missing, the White House acknowledges today. "We screwed up,'' Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino said today, "and we're trying to fix it.''

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, for one, isn't buying it. "That's like saying the dog ate my homework,'' Leahy (D-Vt.) said on the Senate floor today, pledging to subpeona records the White House won't produce. "Now we're learning that off-book communications are being used by these people in the White House by using Republican political email addresses, and they say they have not been preserved. I don't believe that! I don't believe that! You can't erase emails, not today.'' [continued with video]

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2007/04/white_house_ema.html

There seems to be no end of interesting stories. I can't wait for Gonzales to appear next week.

Rove's name is on the list of missing emails

 

[Astronuc]

Documents Show Justice Ranking U.S. Attorneys
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9575434

All Things Considered, April 13, 2007 · The Justice Department sent Congress a new batch of documents about the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys. The documents show Justice Department and White House staffers planning the firings and trying to control the subsequent fallout.

Some of the newly released documents are repeats, like the letter in which Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, responds to a suggestion from White House counsel Harriet Miers that all 93 U.S. attorneys be fired.

NPR now has new information about that plan. According to someone who's had conversations with White House officials, the plan to fire all 93 U.S. attorneys originated with political adviser Karl Rove. It was seen as a way to get political cover for firing the small number of U.S. attorneys the White House actually wanted to get rid of. Documents show the plan was eventually dismissed as impractical.

The Justice Department documents released today include a spreadsheet ranking all 93 prosecutors. The chart ranks them on whether they have Hill experience, campaign experience, and — in the last column — whether they're members of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group.

. . . .

So much for being impartial.

 

[denverdoc]

That's interesting I remember the tapdance, then Supreme Corte Nominee, Roberts did to distance himself from any association. Seems to have had a convenient case of amnesia--lot of that going around.

From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Society

The Federalist Society states that it is founded on the principles that "the state exists to preserve freedom," that "the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution," and that the duty of the judicial branch is "to say what the law is, not what the law should be."[1]



Members of the society have debated the abolition of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, limiting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies, limiting the reach of gender equity laws (Title IX) and voting rights laws, and expanded powers of war-time presidents. The organization also hosts panels discussing recent Supreme Court decisions, the constitutionality of school vouchers, and the scope of the commerce clause.[7] The Federalist Society does not officially lobby and does not litigate cases.

 

[drankin]

That's interesting I remember the tapdance, then Supreme Corte Nominee, Roberts did to distance himself from any association. Seems to have had a convenient case of amnesia--lot of that going around.

From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Society

The Federalist Society states that it is founded on the principles that "the state exists to preserve freedom," that "the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution," and that the duty of the judicial branch is "to say what the law is, not what the law should be."[1]



Members of the society have debated the abolition of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, limiting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies, limiting the reach of gender equity laws (Title IX) and voting rights laws, and expanded powers of war-time presidents. The organization also hosts panels discussing recent Supreme Court decisions, the constitutionality of school vouchers, and the scope of the commerce clause.[7] The Federalist Society does not officially lobby and does not litigate cases.

Interesting!

 

[Astronuc]

Senator Christopher Dodd's perspective on the lost emails concerning the firing of Federal prosecutors.

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Reports that the White House may have lost e-mails relating to the firing of federal prosecutors is part of a pattern of stonewalling Congress, Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd said Friday.

"I can't even feign being shocked. They would have shocked me if they produced them," the Connecticut senator said of e-mails requested by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is investigating whether eight U.S. attorneys were dismissed by the Justice Department for political reasons.

. . . .

"There's such a pattern of behavior, this is one example after another of this administration's refusal to support basic law and to respond to legitimate inquires for information," he said.

from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070414/ap_on_el_pr/on_the2008_trail;_ylt=AmDz.Xp_45E.O7.iP1ANReOtOrgF

In the article, Obama compares rappers to Imus.

 

[edward]

Monica Gooding, the AG's former top aid and liaison to the White House, resigned last week. She also refused to testify before congress citing her constitutional protection against self incrimination.

Apparently she didn't want to possibly end up in jail with Scooter.

Gooding is one of the 150 graduates of Pat Robertson's, Regent University, who work in the Bush administration. A religious agenda was definitely involved in the firing of some of the State AG's.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Gonzale's testimony is delayed until Thursday due to the tragedy at Va Tech.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

...But even conservative Republicans expressed outrage at how Gonzales had handled the issue, putting his continued tenure at risk. Sen. Thomas Coburn (R-Okla.) asked the attorney general, "Why should you not be judged by the same standards you judged these U.S. attorneys?" When Gonzales said, "We all make mistakes" and asked for time to correct his failings, Coburn replied, "Mistakes have consequences."

Disavowing allegations of partisan motive in the firings -- "I know that's the politics of the blood sport that we're playing," he said -- Coburn argued, "The best way to put this behind us is your resignation."

Still, after the testimony, President Bush expressed continued confidence in his attorney general. "President Bush was pleased with the attorney general's testimony today," deputy press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement. "After hours of testimony in which he answered all of the senators' questions and provided thousands of pages of documents, he again showed that nothing improper occurred." [continued]

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-ex-gonzales20apr20,1,5012003.story?coll=la-headlines-politics

CNN is just now reporting that in private, even White House aides say that Gonzales "went down in flames".

...that one Senator counted "I don't know" or "I don't recall" as an answer over one-hundred times, in a hearing for which Gonzales has prepared for weeks.

With this much smoke, must be a fire somewhere.

 

[denverdoc]

If he doesn't resign or be fired, I imagine that impeachment articles will be brought.

 

[Astronuc]

Senators Renew Bipartisan Call for Gonzales to Go
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9515295

Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) complained at the hearing's end that they still did not know – after hours of testimony – how the names of the attorneys had ended up on a list of those to be fired. Schumer said he counted close to 100 "I don't knows" or "I don't recalls" in Gonzales' answers.

Sen. Sessions: 'Sad Day' for Gonzales and Agency
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9692298

Inquiry into Fired U.S. Attorneys
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7791372

 

[edward]

Gonzo is now having memory problems.

"You have answered `I don't know' or `I can't recall' to close to 100 questions. You are unfamiliar with inner workings of your department," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., scolded. "I urge you to re-examine your performance, and for the good of the department and the good of the country, step down."

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/nation/17104984.htm

 

[mathwonk]

in my accidental pause on pat robertson's channel i heard him say gonzalez was "weak". after that he accused republicans of not lining up behind gonzalez. what a weasel. then he started attacking salt in food. does anyone listen to this lying cynical money grubber?

then he gave a phone number for sending for his educational materials, and one to send money. good lord. are there actually voters listening to this guy? answer is yes because one of my friends does so.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Based on the reporting that I have seen today, it seems to be conclusive among "Washington insiders" that Gonzo is gonzo, and all eyes are now on the missing emails and Rove.

As for Pat Robertson... hmmmm, can't say that here.

 

[mathwonk]

sorry, i have broken my rule against stating things clearly in public forums, because these screwups are getting serious. these guys are close to ruining our world for ours and our childrens' lifetimes.

i mean they are not only killing people, but changing the climate for hundreds of years to come. they are annihilating whole species, melting glaciers, and changing the future of the planet. these are the people kirk and spock warned us about!several decaDES AGO THE AMERICAN ELECTORATE ACCEPTED THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE smarter then average like Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, should run things. Now it seems we prefer people dumber than average like GW.

GW and his gang are so incompetent, even Republican senators cannot stand them any longer. I guess the only thing they liked about him was that he wAS WINNING ELCTIONS FOR THEM. NOW THAT is over they have dumped him like a hot rock.

I am glad even Republicans are offended by the "defense" Gonzalez has presented. Apparently they do not enjoy being lied to either. When Rove will go is a matter of time now. He has been tolerated for the same reason as Bush, his slime ball tactics were working. That is at an end.

I would like to think republican senators are offended by his lies but they waited until the public spoke before objecting to them. It seems to take about 6 years for the US public to give up even on a totally hopeless leader whose incompetence has been all too evident from the beginning.

 

[Astronuc]

As for Pat Robertson and the like . . .

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40F13FA385B0C708DDDAD0894DF404482&n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fPaul%20Krugman
By PAUL KRUGMAN, NY Times OP-ED, April 13, 2007

In 1981, Gary North, a leader of the Christian Reconstructionist movement — the openly theocratic wing of the Christian right — suggested that the movement could achieve power by stealth. “Christians must begin to organize politically within the present party structure,” he wrote, “and they must begin to infiltrate the existing institutional order.”

Today, Regent University, founded by the televangelist Pat Robertson to provide “Christian leadership to change the world,” boasts that it has 150 graduates working in the Bush administration.

Unfortunately for the image of the school, where Mr. Robertson is chancellor and president, the most famous of those graduates is Monica Goodling, a product of the university’s law school. . . .

The infiltration of the federal government by large numbers of people seeking to impose a religious agenda — which is very different from simply being people of faith — is one of the most important stories of the last six years. It’s also a story that tends to go underreported, perhaps because journalists are afraid of sounding like conspiracy theorists.

But this conspiracy is no theory. The official platform of the Texas Republican Party pledges to “dispel the myth of the separation of church and state.

. . . And it’s clear that unqualified people were hired throughout the [Bush] administration because of their religious connections.

. . . .

One measure of just how many Bushies were appointed to promote a religious agenda is how often a Christian right connection surfaces when we learn about a Bush administration scandal.

. . . .

access requires subscription or purchase of article

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The basic debate at this point is whether Gonzo is being deceptive, as D Sen Leahy claims, or if he is just incompetent, as R Sen Specter claims. Given those choices, it is nice to know that this is the man who determined for the Bush admin what was and was not legal - gitmo, torture, wire taps, etc.

The Constitution? I don't recall...

 

[edward]

As for Pat Robertson and the like . . .

access requires subscription or purchase of article

The fact that Bush never funded the "Faith Based Initiative" as he promised in 2000 should have given the Christian right a clue that they were being had. It didn't.

It was recently reported that the Bush campaign had e-mailed members of the clergy, soliciting help in identifying "friendly" congregations that would do the campaign's bidding in their areas. When the e-mail came to light, legal experts warned that any religious organization that endorsed one candidate over another could lose its tax-exempt status. A few days later, House Republicans added a measure to a tax bill working its way through Congress called the "Safe Harbor for Churches" act, which would allow any religious organization to make as many as three "unintentional" political endorsements in a calendar year without jeopardizing its tax-exempt status.

http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=7858

 

[Astronuc]

By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 16, 2004; Page A25

House Panel Drops 'Safe Harbor for Churches' Measure

The House Ways and Means Committee has killed a proposal that was intended to give clergy members freedom to endorse candidates for political office without endangering the tax-exempt status of their congregations.

The provision, titled "Safe Harbor for Churches," was removed from a corporate tax bill during a committee markup of the legislation Monday night, staff members said.

Watchdog groups -- including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Interfaith Alliance and People for the American Way -- opposed the provision as a step toward dismantling the constitutional ban on state-sponsored religion. Some also called it a "back-door" attempt to help reelect President Bush, whose campaign is focusing on churches as potential centers of support.

But the proposal's fate was sealed when religious groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, also expressed strong reservations.

In a letter to House members last week, the Rev. Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptists' Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, criticized the provision for making distinctions that would have required more scrutiny of churches by the Internal Revenue Service, not less. For instance, the provision would have allowed a clergy member to engage in political campaigning as a private citizen but not at "an official function" of a church.
. . . .

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Low-key office launches high-profile inquiry
The Office of Special Counsel will investigate U.S. attorney firings and other political activities led by Karl Rove.

...The new investigation, which will examine the firing of at least one U.S. attorney, missing White House e-mails, and White House efforts to keep presidential appointees attuned to Republican political priorities, could create a substantial new problem for the Bush White House.

First, the inquiry comes from inside the administration, not from Democrats in Congress. Second, unlike the splintered inquiries being pressed on Capitol Hill, it is expected to be a unified investigation covering many facets of the political operation in which Rove played a leading part.

"We will take the evidence where it leads us," Scott J. Bloch, head of the Office of Special Counsel and a presidential appointee, said in an interview Monday. "We will not leave any stone unturned." [continued]

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-probe24apr24,0,3535547.story?coll=la-home-headlines

It looks like the WH may have new image problems given that this is a presidential appointee.

 

[turbo]

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-probe24apr24,0,3535547.story?coll=la-home-headlines

It looks like the WH may have new image problems given that this is a presidential appointee.

I am confident that this WH appointee will leave no stone unturned. Letting the WH investigate itself is always best because they are in a position to know where the skeletons are.

 

[Astronuc]

This may have been mentioned already -

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2007/03/15/rove_attorneys/index_np.html

The Bush administration's first instinct was to shield Karl Rove from scrutiny when Congress began inquiring about the unusual firings of eight U.S. attorneys. Among the replacements, the proposed new U.S. attorney for Arkansas happened to be one of Rove's most devoted underlings, his head of opposition research, Tim Griffin, who boasted during the 2000 presidential election about the effectiveness of the negative campaign against Al Gore: "We make the bullets!" Griffin also posted a sign in his department at Bush headquarters: "Rain hell on Al!" A letter written by the Department of Justice in late February informed Congress: "The department is not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint Mr. Griffin." Despite this categorical disavowal, a sheaf of internal Justice Department e-mails released this week to Congress under subpoena revealed Kyle Sampson, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff, writing in mid-December 2006, "I know getting him appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc." Harriet, of course, was Harriet Miers, then the White House legal counsel.

The Justice Department's statement on Karl Rove was simply one part of its coverup. . . . .

Karl Rove and the one party state
Is Karl Rove the greatest threat to American democracy since the civil war?

...Two academics, Donald C. Shields of the University of Missouri and John F. Cragan of Illinois State University, studied the pattern of U.S. attorneys' prosecutions under the Bush administration. Their conclusions in their study, "The Political Profiling of Elected Democratic Officials," are that "across the nation from 2001 through 2006 the Bush Justice Department investigated Democratic office holders and candidates at a rate more than four times greater (nearly 80 percent to 18 percent) than they investigated Republican office holders and seekers." They also report, "Data indicate that the offices of the U.S. Attorneys across the nation investigate seven times as many Democratic officials as they investigate Republican officials, a number that exceeds even the racial profiling of African Americans in traffic stops." Thus what the 85 U.S. attorneys who were not dismissed are doing is starkly detailed.

If the Democrats hadn't won the midterm elections last year there is no reason to believe that the plan to use the U.S. attorneys for political prosecutions -- as they have been used systematically under Bush -- wouldn't have gone forward completely unimpeded. Without the new Congress issuing subpoenas, there would be no exposure, no hearings, no press conferences -- no questions at all.

. . . .

http://www.prospect.org/print/V15/2/kuttner-r.html

Politics
With Carl M. Cannon
National Journal White House Correspondent

What role is Karl Rove playing in the Bush administration? How has he made the transition from political consultant and campaign strategist to White House insider? Is Bush's decision to move toward war with or without the United Nations in America's long-term interests?

 

[Astronuc]

Monica Goodling may be offered immunity, if she has already received the offer, in which case she may be compelled to testify.

House Panel May Give Monica Goodling Immunity
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9626752

All Things Considered, April 17, 2007 · The House Judiciary Committee may grant immunity to former Justice Department official Monica Goodling as early as Wednesday. Goodling, a central figure in the unfolding scandal over the firing of eight federal prosecutors, has refused to answer questions from the committee, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself.

Well it apparently happened.

House Judiciary Panel Gives Goodling Immunity
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9833666

All Things Considered, April 25, 2007 · The House Judiciary Committee has voted to extend immunity from prosecution to Monica Goodling, who was the Justice Department's White House liaison and senior counselor to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Committee leaders want to know about the White House's role in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys in 2006.

. . .

Dems vote subpoenas in widening probes
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070425/ap_on_go_co/congress_subpoenas

WASHINGTON - Putting their congressional control to work, Democrats approved new subpoenas Wednesday — and a grant of immunity — for probes ranging from the prosecutor firings and White House political activities to President Bush's justification for the war in Iraq

Democrats said the broad array of investigations represents a revival of Congress' role after six years of little oversight of the Bush administration by Republican lawmakers.

The White House is pushing back, refusing to allow officials to testify under oath about the firings and arguing that top officials — including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, subject of one of the subpoenas — already have answered questions about the administration's now-discredited claim that Iraq was seeking uranium for a bomb.

. . .

Congress' effort isn't driven solely by Democrats. Republicans have barely restrained their disdain for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' accounting of the firings, including his claims of a faulty memory.

Sen. Arlen Specter ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, co-signed a letter with Leahy Wednesday urging Gonzales to freshen his memory and provide answers within a week.

. . . continued

So, according to some sources, Goodling has been granted immunity.

 

[edward]

John Stewart on Bill Moyers program talking about Gonzo's testimony.

 

[Astronuc]

John Stewart on Bill Moyers program talking about Gonzo's testimony.

I think Stewart pegged it - pinhead! And a very well paid pinhead at that.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

So the real test was whether or not he could evade Congress, and not to show that he is competent as attorney general, or if he broke the law, of if he has lied. I think that pretty much says it all except for the most memorable line, "and you did it for me".

 

[edward]

This speaks for itself.

Karl Rove's Coaching Session

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Friday, May 4, 2007; 1:50 PM

Back on March 5, several top Justice Department officials were summoned for an emergency meeting at the White House. On the agenda: Going over "what we are going to say" about why eight U.S. attorneys had been summarily fired.

Deputy White House counsel William Kelley sent an e-mail over to Justice early in the afternoon, saying that he had "been tasked" with pulling the meeting together, and that "we have to get this group together with some folks here asap."

The meeting was held at the White House later that day. And who did Kelley mean by "some folks here"? Well, among others, Karl Rove -- the White House's chief political operative, and the man who may very well have set the unprecedented dismissals in motion in the first place.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100879.html

Gonzo is still around and Rove is still running the show.