The Muckraker's Reference Section
Harriet Miers
Harriet Miers served as counsel to the White House and was once nominated by the President to the Supreme Court. Miers spoke several times with Justice Department official Kyle Sampson about the possible replacement of all 93 US Attorneys, first in 2005 and later in early 2006. Although it was decided that a complete replacement was unadvisable, Miers continued to receive updates about the firings from Kyle Sampson, including a ranking of all US Attorneys, a list of recommended firings, and an execution plan.
Additionally, Miers and Sampson discussed the appointment of Karl Rove aide Tim Griffin to US Attorney of Eastern Arkansas, and Sampson wrote that the the appointment was "important" to her and Karl Rove. Miers also asked US Attorney John McKay in an interview for a federal judgeship why local Republicans "would be mad at him"; despite glowing praise from the Justice Department, McKay was not selected.
Miers resigned her position on January 4, 2007.
Key Points:
Miers initially discusses the firing of US Attorneys.
Harriet Miers was involved in early discussions to replace US Attorneys. On February 3, 2005 she wrote Kyle Sampson to discuss whether all 93 Attorneys should be replaced. On March 2, 2005, Miers received from Sampson a list ranking all US Attorneys, in part according to their loyalty to the administration. On January 9, 2006, Sampson recommended to Miers that only a limited number of the attorneys be fired.
Miers was routinely informed about the Justice Department’s intention to fire US Attorneys. She even received an email from Sampson on December 4, 2006, three days before the firing, to discuss the date of the firing.
Miers took special interest in having Tim Griffin appointed US Attorney
On May 11, 2006, Kyle Sampson mentioned a need to discuss with Miers the appointment of Tim Griffin as the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. On December 19, 2006, Sampson wrote to another Justice Department official that installing Griffin was “important to Harriet, Karl, etc.”
Miers relayed complaints from local Republicans.
Miers was present at a meeting in which William Kelley interviewed US Attorney John McKay for a federal judgeship. In 2004, John McKay had refused to push forward with voter fraud investigations into a particularly close gubernatorial race, and local Republicans had expressed their frustration to the White House. According to McKay, the first question asked in his interview was, “why Republicans in the state of Washington would be angry with me.”
Research by Will Thomas
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