Comments (105)

ronbon wrote on May 1, 2007 9:31 AM:

....and why is it that Congress continues to fund the DOJ ??????

Dleerious wrote on May 1, 2007 9:31 AM:

First! Mr. Rove, please raise your right hand....

ronbon wrote on May 1, 2007 9:31 AM:

....and why is it that Congress continues to fund the DOJ ??????

John Emerson wrote on May 1, 2007 9:34 AM:

In short, Karl Rove (working from the RNC, as indicated by his email address) fired or squeezed out a dozen Republican USAs because they refused to take direction from the Republican Party and put their offices at the service of the RNCs campaign operation.

The Party becomes The State.

Sue wrote on May 1, 2007 9:34 AM:

Okay... so when do we get to hand them their hat and show them the door?

Code word: False... as in the false hope the Democrats keep heping on and the false witness shown by this adminnistration.

SteveW wrote on May 1, 2007 9:37 AM:

In either case, Fredo Gonzalez has been proven a liar and certainly not up to the task leading DOJ.

It's now clear Karl Rove was calling the shots in politicizing the DOJ. Is this illegal? Should a political hack like Rove be in charge of DOJ? Lastly, how many other departments is Karl Rove leading the charge?

Karl Rove never went through any Congressional confirmation, so this would seem a massive circumvention of the law.

Anna S. wrote on May 1, 2007 9:37 AM:

So, wait.

Al had limited invovlement in the firings, can't remember most of the meetings about them (but made statements lying to Congress about his involvement in those meetings), and appeared to be generally out of the loop.

Paul had limited invovlement in the firings, can't remember most of the meetings about them (but made statements lying to Congress about his involvement in those meetings), and appeared to be generally out of the loop.

Just who is running this show anyway?!?

(code: wrong)

Princess Sparkle Pony wrote on May 1, 2007 9:38 AM:

That photograph is so telling. He doesn't radiate intelligence, does he?

This is the face of Republican inbreeding. I suspect there's an extra chromosome in there somewhere.

paul lukasiak wrote on May 1, 2007 9:39 AM:

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/2004/p94-104_doj.pdf

is a list of the JoD's management ranks as of November 2004. It would be interesting to see how many of the political appointees were replaced in 2006...

Rich wrote on May 1, 2007 9:40 AM:

he looks like he's 12 years old. that seems to have been a hiring requirment, along with Federalist Society membership. The devolution of decision making away from the higher-ups is an old tact from the first Bush administration and is very common in the military (an officer always appears to be a gentleman and usually has a junior officer or non-com do the dirty work, keeping him/her out of the loop as much as possible. Here they seem to have modified this by hiring junior eager beavers who unquestionaingly would go along with the West Wing. The hgher ups knew exactly was going on but tried to create a venerr of plausible (or in Gonzales' case, non-plausible) deniability.

profmarcus wrote on May 1, 2007 9:41 AM:

emptywheel comments on the bombshell murray waas dropped yesterday...
-----
"So, too, does this put Gonzales in an awfully awkward position. All that forgetfulness, all the claims that he was only marginally informed make sense, now. But they make sense for the very good reason that Gonzales was marginally informed only after being very well informed that he was about to become very marginally informed. His lack of recall looks all the more pathetic the more deliberate it appears."
-----
yeah, i was saying the same thing yesterday after reading murray's article...

delegating away your hiring and firing authority, particularly when it's to relatively inexperienced staff political operatives and it involves the selection of highly experienced professionals, is bad enough on its face, but when those inexperienced staff are being used as a cover so that the REAL deciders in the white house are shielded, that's bad, real bad... no wonder leahy had a fit...

http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/

Bill wrote on May 1, 2007 9:43 AM:

There is no policy apparatus at all in the White House. Everything is being run from the political wing, meaning Rove. Rove is in charge, his toxic influence is in every department, except Defense.

Everything is political, even where they buy paper clips.

c4logic wrote on May 1, 2007 9:43 AM:

Should the DOJ be a political instrument of the chief strategist of the Republican Party? Are all Americans comfortable with the idea that the full weight of the courts, federal prosecutors, and prisons, can be adapted to implement the political aspirations of the Republican Party?

Isn't this pretty much Fascism? Do Americans even care anymore--is this story just a boring interference with American Idol and Anna Nicole Smith?

Anthony wrote on May 1, 2007 9:49 AM:

"Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and his aides had been working with the White House on the firings for nearly two years, the congressional aides said."

Consider two years to fired and replace USAs smacks of something nefarious going on.

Steve wrote on May 1, 2007 9:49 AM:

Perhaps we need to keep the troops busy off U.S. soil until we replace the present administration. I can invision these control freaks using the "Great Decider" to invoke martial law to keep "We the people" at bay.

Sandwichman wrote on May 1, 2007 9:49 AM:

Where is the outrage?

david78209 wrote on May 1, 2007 9:50 AM:

As Bill says, above,
"Rove is in charge, his toxic influence is in every department, except Defense."

At Defense, it's Cheney's toxic influence.

noshrub wrote on May 1, 2007 9:51 AM:

It's the part we don't know about that is really scaring me now.

gtash wrote on May 1, 2007 9:51 AM:

I, for one, am not cutting McNulty or Gonzales any slack on the issue of "it's not my job and I didn't know". The hell they did not know. They have attempted this "out of the loop" excuses as a matter of willful ignorance and they expect us all to lap it up in an eagerness to find and fry a bigger fish. These guys--McNulty and Sampson-- and their gal Goodling are willing accomplices and should be fried as well.

code = shame (as in "on us" we let them walk into the next Republican arranged job)

JMarra wrote on May 1, 2007 9:53 AM:

Actually McNulty looks like he's trying on his father's toupee.

paul lukasiak wrote on May 1, 2007 9:53 AM:

from Kyle Sampson's opening statement 3/29/07

"I received input from a number of senior officials at the Department of Justice who were in a position to form considered judgments about our U.S. Attorneys. These included not only senior political appointees such as the Deputy Attorney General but also senior career lawyers at the Department of Justice such as David Margolis, a man who has served Justice for more than forty years under Presidents of both parties and who probably knows more about United States Attorneys than any person alive. "

Okay, now we have McNulty (Dep AG) denying he was involved. So one of them is lying.

Moschella is also reportedly denying involvement in recommending people to be fired. Margolis is scheduled to talk to Senate investigators soon --- but its highly unlikely that he is going to say he was the guy, given that he was career civil service and most of the people who got fired wre high-quality.

mattsteinglass wrote on May 1, 2007 9:56 AM:

Isn't this pretty much Fascism?

Keep a suitcase packed, and if you hear a sedan coming up the street in the middle of the night, start changing out of your pajamas.

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on May 1, 2007 10:02 AM:

Hold on. McNulty was USA-EDVA when Monica Goodling was supposedly prosecuting low-level criminal cses out of his office in the fall of 2004 during a presidential election.

Goodling was supposedly doing a six-month stint at the USA-EDVA's office as part of an ongoing DOJ program to give political appointees field experience.

Goodling is a Tim Griffin protege and a very experienced oppo researcher. One would think that Goodling would have manned the DOJ PA office during a presidential election rather than spend her time in Alexandria on b.s. plea bargains.

I suspect Goodling was working on the Bush campaign out of sight in the fall of 2004.

McNulty was also the USA-EDVA in mid-2003 when Kyle Sampson was listed as USA-EDVA SAUSA on an appeals case that he had nothing to do with.

I know Senator Schumer regards McNulty favorably but the good senator from NY has an obligation to ask McNulty what the hell was going on at the USA-EDVA's office with Goodling and Sampson.

AJ wrote on May 1, 2007 10:02 AM:

So Alberto has been delegating -- makes me worry about what he has been spending his time on lately.

Jason Shapiro wrote on May 1, 2007 10:03 AM:

Rove, Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, Rice, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld..... what we have is a perfect storm of a lamentable personality type that has appeared throughout history. Whether they are labeled fascists, autocrats, or a run-of-the-mill totalitarian thugs is irrelevant and and I agree with Steve that whether or not there is an election in 2008 is still an open question.

Anonymous wrote on May 1, 2007 10:05 AM:

Senior DOJ leadership was 'out of the loop' in hiring and firing. Two WH placed political operatives, or (that are known so far, maybe more) were tasked with reshaping the organizations cultural and political ideology to act as one mind, one voice...in a few short years. First signs of trouble…dump those two operatives who were identified with the plan. Plausible deniability all around for the principles. Nice strategy.

The WH obviously MUST have other operatives still active because Gonzales basically serves as a figurehead who signs off on the plan, whatever it may be.

The obvious question then is what else is the WH deliberately controlling within DOJ. Individual criminal cases/investigations? I can't believe, at this point that Goodling and Sampson were the only 'moles' placed in DOJ by the WH. Finding evidence of WH meddling in criminal cases/investigations might be the catalyst that finally awakens the American Idol/Oprah nation to the idea of impeachment.

JFP wrote on May 1, 2007 10:07 AM:

Alberto and Co. are just creatures of the environment in which they were raised.

Looks like Ma (W) and Pa (Rove) did a WONDERFUL job of teachin' the young'ens to "trust and obey"--just like the good books says.

paul lukasiak wrote on May 1, 2007 10:07 AM:

One name that hasn't come up is Alice Fisher, who got a recess appointment from Bush to head the DoJ's Criminal Division. In his testimony, Sampson denied that Fisher was one of the senior people he referred to in his statement...

"CORNYN: At any point during the process that you were evaluating U.S. attorneys, did you have any direct contact with attorneys or other employees of the Public Integrity Section or supervisors in the Criminal Division in relation to the work of a particular United States attorney or a particular district?

SAMPSON: I don't remember that.

I spoke with Alice Fisher from time to time about various issues, but I don't remember speaking with her ever about the idea of identifying a set of United States attorneys who might be asked to resign. And I certainly didn't speak with her with the idea of identifying U.S. attorneys who might be asked to resign so as to influence a case for political reasons. "

yet, doesn't it seem odd that the head of the criminal division wouldn't be consulted?

The outrage wrote on May 1, 2007 10:08 AM:

Leave me alone! I've got ... stuff ... to do, or something.

And another thing - Get off my lawn!

mk wrote on May 1, 2007 10:13 AM:

How can the Federal Government "prosecutors" prosecute "criminals"? They are criminals - - Bush has made the government a joke run by a cabal of born again liars and phoneys fronting for a criminal political class . . .

Anthony wrote on May 1, 2007 10:13 AM:

"Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and his aides had been working with the White House on the firings for nearly two years, the congressional aides said."

Consider two years to fired and replace USAs smacks of something nefarious going on.

global citizen wrote on May 1, 2007 10:18 AM:

Fascism may have a harder time taking hold in a federal society. Every state legislature is now really, really obliged to make sure that the next election is clean -- ban the robocalls, all of them, get voting machines that print out confirmations, have enough polling places in poor neighborhoods, and separate electoral district setting from the political process. The corruption is very, very deep and comprehensive, but it can be rooted out.

William N Smith wrote on May 1, 2007 10:18 AM:

When is somebody in Congress going to start putting a stop to the gross abuse going on in the executive and judicial branches of governmnet??

Are the legislators afraid the "whole" truth will come out??

osage wrote on May 1, 2007 10:18 AM:

Alberto R. Gonzales turned over the Department of Justice's legislatively assigned responsibilities for nonpartisan selection of United States Attorneys to Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and Georgie W. Bushie. In other words, the "politicians" perverting our laws were illegally selecting malleable co-conspirators who would facilitate and defend their wrong doing, while the Attorney General of the United States was actively hiding and covering up their crimes and misdemeanors and running interference for them. Nothing more than powerful criminals selfishly corrupting our laws and system of government. They deserve nothing less than indictment and prosecution. Let the legal system they tried to circumvent determine the price for their crimes and misdemeanors.

Official A wrote on May 1, 2007 10:19 AM:

Karl Rove never went through any Congressional confirmation, so this would seem a massive circumvention of the law. Posted by: SteveW

True enough that Rove was not confirmed, and the law was no doubt circumvented, but let's not forget that Ashcroft and Gonzales were confiirmed, so part of the responsibility lies with the rubber-stamp Senate. Hopefully, this will radically change the dynamic for future confirmations in both Republican and Democratic administrations and lead to more critical examination of candidates. The founders gave the Senate advice and consent powers for a reason.

Bushco, in its not-so-subtle attempt to consolidate executive branch power, may have accomplished the exact opposite. Let's hope so.

Of course, a modicum of responsibility also rests with the American people, who twice elected numbskulls and evil-doers to run (or ruin?) our government.

William N Smith wrote on May 1, 2007 10:19 AM:

When is somebody in Congress going to start putting a stop to the gross abuse going on in the executive and judicial branches of governmnet??

Are the legislators afraid the "whole" truth will come out??

William N Smith wrote on May 1, 2007 10:19 AM:

When is somebody in Congress going to start putting a stop to the gross abuse going on in the executive and judicial branches of governmnet??

Are the legislators afraid the "whole" truth will come out??

JMarra wrote on May 1, 2007 10:20 AM:

Well, "out of the loop" seems to have worked well for Reaganistas of the 80s. No reason they wouldn't dust it off and fire it up again.

cds wrote on May 1, 2007 10:25 AM:

Where is the outrage?

Posted by: Sandwichman

Right here. This makes me sick! When will the MSM begin to expose these criminals in the highest level of government? And if there is ample evidence that Ms Goodling was deeply involved in advancing the agenda of the RNC, why give her immunity? The only reason for doing so would be to nab the BIG FISH in the WH. But Rove is a slippery eel and will probably get away - just as he did in the Plame outing.

RW wrote on May 1, 2007 10:28 AM:

This fuzzy picture is getting clearer by each day. Gonzales the loyal lieutenant of the Bushies is hired as a front man, he installs more front men like McNulty who look the part but in reality signs a secret executive order installing two young'ins as primary hiring agents, one is the liason the other his Admin Chief of Staff.

Goodling does what? Talk to the WH every day, talk to whom? Myers and Rove's office. And then coordinates with Sampson what they talk about. Her real function is to report what Sampson gets from the field .

Example is Sampson's email, "we got problems"...

The architect's plan was not enforce the law but use the law for the political aim of the Bushies and Party....

Understand something else, there is to be no independence...total authoritarianism at hand...

Back to Goodling. She or her lawyers appear to be masters, she said she wouldn't testify because of self incrimination, well she probably gave reports and prepared McNulty & Gonzo on how to testify originally and those reports some of them were in writing with her signing off...and if she testified under oath she probably would do the same as Gonzo and others did.

With this revelation it will be interesting to see the wind contort to try to smother her immunity but it is inevitable and there will probably be more to collaberate. It might be as big as John Dean's '73 testimony. She will outline the entire architecture and operation, all the ways that DOJ (Sampson) moved litigation and investigation up to the oval office and the tactical moves made and discussed.

The closer we get to Rove and Myers the closer we get into the Oval Office.

This reminds me of WWII in another analogy. Congress is is attacking from Secretary of State and Niger...
Congress is attacking from DOJ
and now wildfires are erupting with Tenet and McGovern against the VP.

nathaniel wrote on May 1, 2007 10:29 AM:

I understand that Sampson and Monica "700 Club School of Law" Goodling were politicizing the shit out of the DOJ...

I'm just not as clear on what makes this particular revelation so important?

The DOJ is part of the Executive, and the President, the emobidment of the Executive, can fire or hire, or delegate those responsibilites, to whomever. In the DOJ it's the AG, but can't he delegate that authority?

The reason I ask all this, is because, this story has gotten so complicated, that I can't figure out what make this so bad. Or perhaps, it's just that since this narrative is not reducable to a simple sound bite i.e. "he lied, people died," or "retreat and defeat," that it's just harder to digest...

aganapol wrote on May 1, 2007 10:30 AM:

A Slate commentator has a very different take on the Alberto Gonzales DOJ that is worth thinking about... his "performance" in front of the Judiciary Comm. was according to the Unitary President concept of our Federal Republic as outlined by none other than AG our AG. HIs "not remembering, etc" was basically rejecting Congress as having any right of oversight of the Executive Branch. "I don't recall, etc." was saying, "None of your business what and how we do things!"

Robin wrote on May 1, 2007 10:32 AM:

You know what makes me uneasy?

The fact that this 'secret order' was entered into the Federal Register on Feb 1, 2007. It was revised after some reps complained about a constitutional issue, and then was re-entered Mar 1, 2007.

So, why the hell wouldn't the senate judiary committee ask Gonzo about this delegation of duty?

Why wouldn't they ask Sampson? And McNulty?

It wouldn't be the first time that our dem reps and senators put on a great show to show us they are doing their jobs, but at the same time fall just short of actually doing their jobs.

It's too fricking cozy in DC. I think they are all corrupt bastids.

TheraP wrote on May 1, 2007 10:35 AM:

nathaniel:

Fox minding the hen-house.

In other words criminals looking after "justice."

This should not be difficult for ANYONE to understand.

willycrash wrote on May 1, 2007 10:36 AM:

uhm...this may not be the correct place to bring this up, but in this great country, we used to have a great political tradition that I feel should be brought back, in these times of gross malfeasence. it's called being tarred and feathered, followed by being rode out of town on a rail.

dominiccjr wrote on May 1, 2007 10:41 AM:

You don't understand that a taxpayer-funded agency that functions as the nation's top law enforcement apparatus being used to further the goals of a particular political party to consolidate total power over all federal govt functioning via manipulation of the electoral process to get like-minded fellow republicans elected to office is wrong?

There is a reason why DOJ is tax-payer funded and RNC is privately funded....think hard.

j swift wrote on May 1, 2007 10:43 AM:

Why don't they just admit that they delegated the hiring to Goodling and Sampson with no direction or restrictions, except those provided by Karl Rove and whats her name Miers. They were not hiring primarily attorneys they were hiring RNC boot lickers who also needed to be attorneys.

Robin wrote on May 1, 2007 10:43 AM:

Nathanial asks:

"The reason I ask all this, is because, this story has gotten so complicated, that I can't figure out what make this so bad."

________________________________

That's a whopper of a question. And I bet the majority of americans who even tune into this DOJ business have the same question. In essence, the issue goes to the bedrock of integrity in govt.

The president appoints lead people to federal agencies. But after the appointment... that's it. The White House doesn't get to dictate how a federal agency behaves. That is Congress' job -- oversight and purse strings. The pres weighs in only on budgets passed by the Congress. It's called separation of powers.

Do you think Bill Clinton spent much time calling up his AG Janet Reno re investigations of him? Hell no. That would be as unseemly as a prosecutor or a defense attorney calling up jury members just to feel them out during the trial proceedings. It is that unseemly!

This is not a good answer to your question. But you have to go back in time before the reagan/bush cabal hit town and learn more about CIVICS in our system.

antimatter wrote on May 1, 2007 10:44 AM:

One of the benefits of having an MBA for president is that we get a government that follows the latest business models. What exists in the Department of Justice is just another instance of the virtual poduct. This modern business invention is designed to create the appearance of providing value without actually delivering the goods. Virtual products are everywhere today. Any time you go to a restaurant and are waited on by kids you are experiencing a virtual product. Contact practically any business or help line by phone and you get a virtual experience. Try dealing with any insurance company, particularly medical. Look at the so-called mainstream media. At the DOJ the leadership and by extension, justice are just other instances of virtual products. It's like having a picture of Colonel Sanders in the front window, with teenagers working behind the scenes and spitting on the food. As with any accounting-driven business process the goal is not to produce something of value but to screw the customer. Really adding value by incrementally building in product features that are useful to the customer just adds cost and reduces "competitivenes." It takes away from the bottom line. To the modern MBA, value is no longer treated as a function of the quality of a product or service. It has been made the responsibility of the public relations department, and the goal is to create the appearance of value by manipulating perceptions, a core competence of this administration. This is the underlying equation that drives Bush-world. The goal is to win elections, and governance is just another virtual product.

Maxine Mesbergen wrote on May 1, 2007 10:47 AM:

I sure agree with you, willycrash. Disappointed that impeachment is "off the table." Come on!!!
All this ballyhoo about Gonzales is a waste of time. The very important issues of: Where has all the money gone?? How many more young kids need to die (in war or in refugee camps) until our elected "officials" get serious. This is all just more rhetoric from those trying to sound so "wise."
Ray McGovern is one wise man; also Juan Gonzales and Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. If you want to hear NEWS that has important meaning for all of us, tune in and/or click on.
Maximr

dominiccjr wrote on May 1, 2007 10:47 AM:

Think RNC/Rove = Napolean (crowning himself)..."L'Etat, c'est moi..." Any political cartoonists out there? I invite you to use the image...it's simple enough.

Peter Duffy wrote on May 1, 2007 10:48 AM:

DAG is well advanced in his job hunting , and is jumping from a fast sinking ship, and clearly owes the present fast fading regime ZILCH....so we can expect him to accelerate the process of dumping on Sansom and Goodling and feeding Li'l Al to the coyotes.

Mooser wrote on May 1, 2007 10:50 AM:

This is what you are up against.

Robin wrote on May 1, 2007 10:51 AM:

Oh, Nathanial... also, if you haven't seen the Senator Sheldon Whitehouse chart about who interacts with each other in the DOJ and the White House with a comparison of the Clinton WH and the Bush WH, make sure you see it.

I have a copy of it on my blog at:

http://www.radrobin.com/?p=93

It also contains a FANTASTIC editorial from Slate Magazine that homes in on the key issues.

Check it out. I think everything will become much clearer.

VJB wrote on May 1, 2007 10:51 AM:

Why do all these Republican operatives look like a young Don Imus? Even Monica G.

Bob wrote on May 1, 2007 10:54 AM:

I have a feeling it's not illegal for the White House to dictate hiring and firings of DOJ (non civil-service and non-Senate approved) employees, whether it is done through powerless underlings or Gonzales.

However, it is probably illegal to conceal this fact in sworn testimony to Congress.

Security Code: Wind (Blowing in the)

Sagrilarus wrote on May 1, 2007 10:54 AM:

So how did these guys lose the election? They own everything.

GSD wrote on May 1, 2007 10:55 AM:

Call Annakin Skywalker, the younglings need some discipline. The Republic demands it.

-GSD

Comment made to be satirical and in no way advocating of a Jedi Knight engineered purge.

GSD wrote on May 1, 2007 10:57 AM:

So how did these guys lose the election? They own everything.
Posted by: Sagrilarus
Date: May 1, 2007 10:54 AM

The surge was bigger than the purge and the levees didn't hold.

-GSD

goldberry wrote on May 1, 2007 10:57 AM:

Is this any way to run a justice department?
As Jon Stewart said on Bill Moyer's Journal last week, they would have us believe they were incredibly incompetant rather that let us see what they are *really* up to.
AGAG wasn't stupid, Paul McNulty wasn't out of the loop. They all knew what was going on. They just tried to keep their hands clean.
And if the healthy hive got taken over by a bunch of killer bees, so what? They never really believed in the nutritional value of honey anyway.

David in NY wrote on May 1, 2007 11:04 AM:

Think RNC/Rove = Napolean (crowning himself)..."L'Etat, c'est moi..."

Actually, Louis XIV said, "L'etat, c'est moi." /pedantry Actually, picturing Rove with Louis's hair and outfit would make a good cartoon.

Official A wrote on May 1, 2007 11:06 AM:

"I have a feeling it's not illegal for the White House to dictate hiring and firings of DOJ"

And therein lies the problem. It probably is NOT illegal, but it's definitely not right and definitely not in the best interests of the citizenry. We have lowered the bar so far now that plausible deniability of illegal activity (in this case, "I can't recall") is all that is really required of our public servants. We have many people to thank for this lower standard, including President Reagan who "couldn't recall" and President Clinton who argued the meaning of the word "is". We gave him an inch and Bushco took a mile.

It is finally up to us, the American people, to hold our elected officials to a higher standard. Too bad the MSM is part of the morality parsing. Thank God for Josh, TPM, and the blogosphere for keeping things real.

jeffgee wrote on May 1, 2007 11:06 AM:

When every cop is a criminal
and all the sinners, saints
Wwhen heads is tails call me Lucifer
I'm in need of some restraint
When you meet me show some courtesy
some sympathy and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
or I'll lay your job to waste

NTB wrote on May 1, 2007 11:06 AM:

Has anyone created a flow chart of all the players in this scandal yet?

dominiccjr wrote on May 1, 2007 11:09 AM:

Bob,

If it becomes abundantly clear that the hiring/firing is just a means to the end of having Republican-operative USA's to bring ridiculous/unsubstantiated indictments against Democrats and snuff out indictments of Republican's running or in office...that's appropriating a federal agency to function, with illegal and unethical behavior, as the arm of the Republican Party. This is different from the President or any designated individual to simply choose the USAs they want...They are putting in political hitmen/henchman as prosecutors and removing USAs who were actually principled enough to refuse to do their bidding. Nothing wrong here???

What you are saying is "There is nothing illegal about owning a tape-recorder..." -Nixon supporter

MDNY wrote on May 1, 2007 11:22 AM:

Wasn't it the AG's testimony that he was relying on the input of senior members as to which AUSA's would be asked to resign? This certainly seems to dispel some of that.

JamesRobert wrote on May 1, 2007 11:25 AM:

I continue to think that Gonzo's "bumbling amnesia" was a ruse, that he was rolled up in a ball like an armadillo being attacked by dogs, determined not to give them a thing, protecting his Leader at all costs, even to his own personal dignity.

agathena wrote on May 1, 2007 11:39 AM:

Gonzo remembers one thing very well:

"Mistakes were made but nothing improper took place."

Ah, the fingerprints of Karl Rove are all over the Justice Department and most other federal agencies.

bordersmuggler wrote on May 1, 2007 11:40 AM:

So how did these guys lose the election? They own everything.

Posted by: Sagrilarus
Date: May 1, 2007 10:54 AM

How did they lose? Arrogance. Rove had already assumed he could make no mistake. That mistake haven been made, the chain reaction of the collapse was set in motion. Nothing they can do now will reverse it.

Sean wrote on May 1, 2007 11:43 AM:

Would the real attorney general please stand up?

Jack Abramoff, America's Sweetheart! wrote on May 1, 2007 11:57 AM:

@May 1, 2007 11:40 AM

"So how did these guys lose the election?"

Thank me. I singlehandedly brought down the GOP!

mo2 wrote on May 1, 2007 11:59 AM:

Bush's presidency is a "miscomplishment."

JoeD wrote on May 1, 2007 12:18 PM:

"Perhaps we need to keep the troops busy off U.S. soil until we replace the present administration. I can invision these control freaks using the "Great Decider" to invoke martial law to keep "We the people" at bay."

Maybe we should get the troops home SAP. I think the troops and their officers would still be loyal to the constitution, but would Bush & Cheney's private army; BLACKWATER, be loyal to anyone but their source of money?

dotsright wrote on May 1, 2007 12:20 PM:

Mark May 4th on your calendars. There are going to be some fireworks when AG goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee this time. Up to bat? Senators Leahy, Schumer, and Whitehouse.

Even the most craven of the Republicans (Hatch anyone?) will have a hard time defending him this time.

It will be interesting since from the Waas article, even within the justice department or the administration it was believed that informing Congress about this change was necessary.

AngryAmerican wrote on May 1, 2007 12:24 PM:

I see a lot of outrage here, and that is good. It needs to be channeled to the right place though. It is pretty useless to sound off on a message board and wonder why America is asleep. Unless you call/write congress, not just once or twice, but constantly, and let them know that you have had enough, and that you support impeachment, this nightmare will just continue. We the people must act and take this to congress. It would be much more interesting to come to blogs like this and see people posting "I just got of the phone with 's office and let them know I'm steamed about , and that I told them I support an investigation, and want this administration held accountable. Or maybe its that you had a conversation with a doubter the other day, but by engaging them in a civil discussion about the future of our country, and holding this adminstration accountable for any one of their many crimes, I was able to bring them around. When we start seeing that kind of dialog on blogs everywhere, we will be well on our way to actually holding these crminals accountable for their crimes (provided of course that people are actually getting involved and calling congress, marching, etc.).

AngryAmerican wrote on May 1, 2007 12:27 PM:

In relation to my previous comment, I called Rep. Murtha's office this morning to thank him for bringing up impeachment. Everyone should do it to let him know it's supported, and to keep building the pressure to do their constitutional duty and impeach.

Yossarian wrote on May 1, 2007 12:32 PM:

Why do people keep calling AG Fredo or Frodo. He is Sméagol! Please refer to him as such. Anything else is just pure insult to the man.

wrb wrote on May 1, 2007 12:34 PM:

"The reason I ask all this, is because, this story has gotten so complicated, that I can't figure out what make this so bad."

Because, in the end, conversion of the DOJ into an arm of a political party, one that uses its vast powers to ensure perpetual power, is the end of democracy. It the beginning of a Soviet-style one party state. In the traditional meaning, it is treason.

jdw wrote on May 1, 2007 12:40 PM:

Schumer cut to the chase on what this and the order by Gonzo means:

"If the top folks at DOJ weren't the key decision-makers, it's less likely that lower-down people at DOJ were, and much more likely that people in the White House were making the major decisions."
-Sen. Chuck Schumer

If Gonzo, McNulty and Moschella didn't make the list, and if Kyle Sampson was just the "aggegator of information" that he claims to be, then the list was put together by "Karl's Shop" and passed along through Goodling. Karl's Shop being the Political Office of the White House.

Which I think we all knew was the case quite sometime ago. I suspect Schumer and his boys knew it as well. But they're zeroing in on it at this point as everyone in the DOJ seems to be running for "It wasn't me" cover.

One of the odd things is that I don't recall clearly from Sampson's testimony where he indicated that he got the "information" that he "aggregated" into the "lists". He seemed a little vague on it, those Monica's name did come up.

I do think that's the next thing that Schumer & Co. will zero in on - where exactly did these names come from? We have top DOJ folks saying it wasn't from them. So where?

marblex wrote on May 1, 2007 12:42 PM:

I would cut off every stinkin cent of DOJ funding, get Congress into a legislative session to LIMIT recovery by federal employees who claim they have been wrongfully fired, to say $5 k a head.

THEN

FIRE EM ALL -- and I MEAN EVERYONE, , , and then earnestly try to entice former competent, career employees back to run the place

Oh when Chimpus Maximums vetoes, it should be easily overridden.

CLEAN SWEEP 2008

bohdi wrote on May 1, 2007 12:44 PM:

Interesting strategy. Recalls how the Nazis infiltrated the GErman-Prussian Military in the early 1930s and many Weimar institutions prior to the full scale employment of the Enabling Act.

These developments present a problem but not an insurmountable one to the Worlds Most Skilled FatMan, K. Rove. Since the retirement of Charles Barkley, no one with the exception of Forest Whitaker can challenge the obviously adroit and masterful Repub operative. The central hurdle now seems to be if I were the skilled porcine puputeer Monica Goodling. How to get to her before she sings. Do they go cash and carry with the child or do they stick a unicorn's head under her pillow? Since no one has proof of the real operation and since the evidence in the form of emails is either destroyed,being destroyed or buried, there is no clear cut way to know from her upcoming testimony if she is simply omitting and distorting key revelations.

Most certainly if I were K.R. I would already have promised her a Presidential pardon which in essence means she will never serve a day in minimum security for violating her immunity clause. T

The game is still in Rove's favor and betting odds have got to be with him. He is far too clever and skillful for the opposition.

Edna Gardener wrote on May 1, 2007 12:51 PM:

The ability to insert a clause into a bill at the last minute, virtually unseen, is the source of this problem and many others.

Legislation should be passed in both House and Senate requiring not only that sufficient time be given to read all bills as introduced, but also that any changes to the original bill must be published as a supplement, also with sufficient time to be read before voting. Both the original bill and the supplement with changes must be published on the internet for constituents to be able to read the fine print.

I don't like congresspeople not knowing what they are voting on.

Anonymous wrote on May 1, 2007 12:52 PM:

A Slate commentator has a very different take on the Alberto Gonzales DOJ that is worth thinking about... his "performance" in front of the Judiciary Comm. was according to the Unitary President concept of our Federal Republic as outlined by none other than AG our AG. HIs "not remembering, etc" was basically rejecting Congress as having any right of oversight of the Executive Branch. "I don't recall, etc." was saying, "None of your business what and how we do things!"

I agree.

Englischlehrer wrote on May 1, 2007 1:07 PM:

How can we be at a place where "it's not illegal" being the determining factor of whether it's a "partisan fishing expedition" or an ethics committee issue?

Once Shrub vetoes the bill, the pause will give them a chance to use the impeachment of Cheney by Kucinich as a bargaining chip to bluff him.

What's the worse thing if the Dems stopped funding the troops? They have to leave? They wouldn't get left out in the desert, would they?

How can we really proceed next?

webdems wrote on May 1, 2007 1:19 PM:

Never forget that Goodling and others in the DoJ purge were trained at the RNC's opposition research shop!

Goodling and Griffin were the proteges of the evil harpy Barbara Comstock -- the person in Washington most likely to oversee dirty tricks.

The whole purge was being masterminded from outside the DoJ.

Subpoena Barbara Comstock now.

Anonymous wrote on May 1, 2007 1:30 PM:

Global Citizen writes:
"Fascism may have a harder time taking hold in a federal society. ... The corruption is very, very deep and comprehensive, but it can be rooted out."
It is being rooted out. It's not going to be easy, but there's no way these bastards will survive this.

Anonymous wrote on May 1, 2007 1:33 PM:

Global Citizen writes:
"Fascism may have a harder time taking hold in a federal society. ... The corruption is very, very deep and comprehensive, but it can be rooted out."
It is being rooted out. What we're finding out is stuff that already happened. The process by which we're finding out about it is the very process by which it IS not going to happen any more. It's not going to be easy, but there's no way this crap can survive the light of day.

priscianus jr wrote on May 1, 2007 1:34 PM:

Global Citizen writes:
"Fascism may have a harder time taking hold in a federal society. ... The corruption is very, very deep and comprehensive, but it can be rooted out."
It is being rooted out. What we're finding out is stuff that already happened. The process by which we're finding out about it is the very process by which it IS not going to happen any more. It's not going to be easy, but there's no way this crap can survive the light of day.

priscianus jr wrote on May 1, 2007 1:37 PM:

Sorry about the multiple postings.

regular lurker wrote on May 1, 2007 1:40 PM:

Memo to Senate

Next time an unqualified candidate shows up on the Senate's doorstep for some advise and consent, could y'all just say "no" next time?

powkat wrote on May 1, 2007 1:45 PM:

Anybody else get a Ted Haggard vibe from this dude?

The Political Junkie wrote on May 1, 2007 2:12 PM:

The following Senators need to be targeted for bonified Democratic replacements in their respective primaries:

Landrieu (D-LA)
Nelson (D-Neb)
Nelson (D-FL)
Lieberman (I-ReThug)
Pryor (D-AR)
Salazar (D-CO)

They voted with the ReThugs to confirm Alberto Gonzalez. And they've been eerily quiet on calling for him to resign. Naturally, they can't because they would have to admit they were wrong for confirming him in the first place.

Security Code: unqualified

leslie wrote on May 1, 2007 2:26 PM:

Instead of granting immunity, can't the judicial oversight committee just throw Goodling behind bars for contempt of Congress?

bob voso wrote on May 1, 2007 2:35 PM:

Let's hope Monica hasn't contracted Gonzalzheimer's Disease.

Official A wrote on May 1, 2007 2:41 PM:

Anybody else get a Ted Haggard vibe from this dude? Posted by: powkat

I am getting the Opie vibe. And I think Paw ought to whip his ass.

drational wrote on May 1, 2007 2:51 PM:

This is a picture of the emails sent from the WH to the DOJ before the firing.
Sampson was the aggregator, Goodling the installer of Griffin:
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w31/drational/Crown6-1.jpg

pre AmeriKKKan wrote on May 1, 2007 3:26 PM:

code word: mother

IF the democrats do not impeach we must form the MOTHER of all third parties to get them all out as soon as 2012. we have to take back the dream of our signers and in my case, that means the signers of those unfair treaties that we were forced to sign when euro types invaded a few hundred years ago.

what in the world is going on? we signed treaties with these newcomers hoping we could save our nations and this is what we ALL as US citizens get in return? we're a LITTLE bit concerned.

before xtianity, native people had a "religion" and we called ourselves, "Dreamers". Before "democracy" we had the People.

if you're not going to honor our treaties or your OWN law, get the hell out (of power)!

no, we can't send you all back where you came from, but we can share small things with each other, like our lives, like our dreams.

btw, one reason i am so personally enraged is because i wanted to go to law school so badly once. some ideal i had about it being applied equally and administered fairly, something like that.

to the Mother.

parrot wrote on May 1, 2007 3:27 PM:

Isn't it a high crime or misdemeanor to purposefully set out to not uphold your pledge to the Constitution under the Congress? What we see here is a political government using secrecy to put forward an agenda that wouldn't stand up if the voters actually knew what the secret agenda is/was...whatever it may be. Just wish some more Republicans would get a backbone and come out in favor of open government instead of Tammany style politics. Politics, I might add, that a different Republican party ran against and put federal laws on the books to stop, rather than the current Republicans, who seem to be trying to circumvent those same laws.

Alana wrote on May 1, 2007 3:39 PM:

this whole incident is by design as the ""new" reality as we were told in the beginning.

David Susskind wrote about this when he interviewed the then early WH staff. They said that they were re-writing the rules, with a new reality.So now we see what this is the new reality means, bad is good, end justifies the means. and politics politics is the conduit to their end.

broken down to its simplest form that george bush speaks, you're with us or against us.

Well, we're not with you lying theives.
We want our country back in all its glory and we're doing that by exposing you.

Dennis A. Wilson wrote on May 1, 2007 3:57 PM:

What these people have done is beyond impeachment. They are criminals and should be put on trial like the punks that they are.

Dennis A. Wilson wrote on May 1, 2007 3:58 PM:

What these people have done is beyond impeachment. They are criminals and should be put on trial like the punks that they are.

erichwwk wrote on May 1, 2007 4:11 PM:

Paul: (or anyone)

The WP's Dan Eggen has a page 5 article entitled "Justice Dept. Official Says His Role in Firings Was Limited" http://tinyurl.com/26hxor. I have tried to steer folks to TPM Muckraker or Murry Waas with the following post:

"For a completely different take check out Murray Waas at the National Journal- Secret Order By Gonzales Delegated Extraordinary Powers To Aides and Josh Marshall and Paul Kiel at Talking Points Memo or TPM Muckraker".

As one can see by reading the comments, 3 different sets of Test Posts are accepted, but not the above post. Anyone have a clue as to what is causing the rejection?

Please save me from my speculative demons!

txgirl wrote on May 1, 2007 7:14 PM:

Nathanial asks:

"The reason I ask all this, is because, this story has gotten so complicated, that I can't figure out what make this so bad."

Understandable. How about this?

"Malicious Prosecution" and "Obstruction of Justice". Both are illegal, and even wingnuts can grasp the import of those phrases.

Malicious prosecution for bringing trumped-up cases of "voter fraud" against innocent people, and Obstruction of Justice for interfering with, stalling or otherwise shutting down prosecutions of corrupt officials. Both are morally reprehensible when perpetrated by self-described "Christians" who vow to protect and defend the Constitution and its laws.

Last but not least, lying to Congress in testimony is perjury, and there is now ample evidence that Gonzales did just that.

Does that help?

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