Fired U.S. Attorneys
The Bush regime is still struggling to come up with a coherent explanation for the abrupt firing last December of eight U.S. Attorneys, who serve at Bush’s pleasure, but are supposed to remain strictly apolitical in the cases they prosecute.
Some of the fired U.S. Attorneys pursued cases with a high potential for political damage to the Bush regime. For example; Carol Lam prosecuted former Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham for bribery, and was actively investigating Republican House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis at the time of her dismissal.
Improper political pressure was applied to David Inglesias to bring indictments against Democrats before last November's election. He has testified that he felt "leaned on" by telephone calls from Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, both Republicans from New Mexico. Inglesias is a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and the basis for Tom Cruise's character in A Few Good Men.
Paul Charlton was investigating Republican Congressman Rick Renzi for bribery and illegal land dealings, and had publicly clashed with the Bush regime over the merits of the death penalty.
Former Washington state GOP Chairman Chris Vance admitted to pressuring fired U.S. Attorney John McKay to investigate Democrats at the urging of the "White House's political office."
Documents released by the Justice Department show a very high level of White House involvement in the decision to fire these attorneys, most notably by Karl Rove and Harriet Miers. For example, the candidate proposed to replace the U.S. Attorney fired in Arkansas was a Rove aide, with relatively little prosecutorial experience, but plenty of experience in suppressing minority voters.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said "I can accept that mistakes were made." He admitted that eight U.S. prosecutors were improperly fired, because of a Patriot Act provision slipped in by Congressional Republicans, which allowed them to be replaced without Senate confirmation by Bush cronies. Gonzales claimed that he would "never, ever make a change in a United States attorney for political reasons or if it would in any way jeopardize an ongoing serious investigation."
When questioned by Congress, Gonzales's deputy, Paul McNulty, claimed they were fired for poor performance, even though most of the fired attorneys had received excellent performance reviews. The purge of U.S. Attorneys wasn't a "mistake," as Alberto Gonzales claims. It was part of a calculated effort by the Bush regime to silence its critics and remain above the law.
Some of the fired U.S. Attorneys pursued cases with a high potential for political damage to the Bush regime. For example; Carol Lam prosecuted former Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham for bribery, and was actively investigating Republican House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis at the time of her dismissal.
Improper political pressure was applied to David Inglesias to bring indictments against Democrats before last November's election. He has testified that he felt "leaned on" by telephone calls from Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, both Republicans from New Mexico. Inglesias is a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and the basis for Tom Cruise's character in A Few Good Men.
Paul Charlton was investigating Republican Congressman Rick Renzi for bribery and illegal land dealings, and had publicly clashed with the Bush regime over the merits of the death penalty.
Former Washington state GOP Chairman Chris Vance admitted to pressuring fired U.S. Attorney John McKay to investigate Democrats at the urging of the "White House's political office."
Documents released by the Justice Department show a very high level of White House involvement in the decision to fire these attorneys, most notably by Karl Rove and Harriet Miers. For example, the candidate proposed to replace the U.S. Attorney fired in Arkansas was a Rove aide, with relatively little prosecutorial experience, but plenty of experience in suppressing minority voters.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said "I can accept that mistakes were made." He admitted that eight U.S. prosecutors were improperly fired, because of a Patriot Act provision slipped in by Congressional Republicans, which allowed them to be replaced without Senate confirmation by Bush cronies. Gonzales claimed that he would "never, ever make a change in a United States attorney for political reasons or if it would in any way jeopardize an ongoing serious investigation."
When questioned by Congress, Gonzales's deputy, Paul McNulty, claimed they were fired for poor performance, even though most of the fired attorneys had received excellent performance reviews. The purge of U.S. Attorneys wasn't a "mistake," as Alberto Gonzales claims. It was part of a calculated effort by the Bush regime to silence its critics and remain above the law.
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