Leahy Blasts Gonzales Over ‘Highly Troubling’ New Secret Memo
Leahy Blasts Gonzales Over ‘Highly Troubling’ New Secret Memo
Murray Waas revealed in the National Journal today that Alberto Gonzales “signed a highly confidential order in March 2006 delegating to two of his top aides” — chief of staff Kyle Sampson and counsel Monica Goodling, who have both since resigned — “extraordinary authority over the hiring and firing of most non-civil-service employees of the Justice Department.”
Waas says the memo “suggests that a broad effort was under way by the White House to place politically and ideologically loyal appointees throughout the Justice Department, not just at the U.S.-attorney level”:
A senior executive branch official familiar with the delegation of authority said in an interview that — as was the case with the firings of the U.S. attorneys and the selection of their replacements — the two aides intended to work closely with White House political aides and the White House counsel’s office in deciding which senior Justice Department officials to dismiss and whom to appoint to their posts. “It was an attempt to make the department more responsive to the political side of the White House and to do it in such a way that people would not know it was going on,” the official said. […]
A senior Justice Department official, who did not know of Gonzales’s delegation of authority until contacted by National Journal, said that it posed a serious threat to the integrity of the criminal-justice system because it gave Sampson, Goodling, and the White House control over the hiring of senior officials in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, which oversees all politically sensitive public corruption cases, at the same time that they held authority to hire and fire U.S. attorneys.
In a new statement, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said the secret order “would seem to be evidence of an effort to hardwire control over law enforcement by White House political operatives,” and demanded that it be turned over to congressional investigators immediately:
This memorandum should have been turned over to Senate and House committees as part of requests made in ongoing investigations. I expect the Department of Justice to immediately provide Congress with full information about this troubling decision as well as any other related documents they have failed to turn over to date.
UPDATE: More from NewsHog and Muckraker.
Read Leahy’s full statement below:
Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.,
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
On Reports of Confidential Memo Granting Sweeping Hiring/Firing Authority To DOJ Political Officials
April 30, 2007“It is disturbing to learn that the Attorney General was granting extraordinary and sweeping authority to the same political operatives who were plotting with the White House to dilute our system of checks and balances in the confirmation of U.S. Attorneys.
“This development is highly troubling in what it seems to reveal about White House politicization of key appointees in the Department of Justice. The mass firing of U.S. attorneys appeared to be part of a systematic scheme to inject political influence into the hiring and firing decisions of key justice employees. This secret order would seem to be evidence of an effort to hardwire control over law enforcement by White House political operatives.
“This memorandum should have been turned over to Senate and House committees as part of requests made in ongoing investigations. I expect the Department of Justice to immediately provide Congress with full information about this troubling decision as well as any other related documents they have failed to turn over to date.”
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92 Responses to “Leahy Blasts Gonzales Over ‘Highly Troubling’ New Secret Memo”
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The Bush gang is clearly attempting to install a fascist government.
April 30th, 2007 at 7:37 pmJesus Herbert Christ.
This gets worse and worse.
Does anyone know if there’s a date set for Mizz Monica to testify?
April 30th, 2007 at 7:38 pmPatrick!
April 30th, 2007 at 7:40 pmGonzalez:’I don’t recall”…
April 30th, 2007 at 7:40 pmi’m sure glad leahy is keeping his eye on things… this new bombshell of waas’ no sooner hit the internet than leahy is on it like flies on shit… good going, senator… just more incriminating evidence against the most criminal presidential administration in history…
And, yes, I DO take it personally
April 30th, 2007 at 7:43 pmthe corruption never ends, does it?
whatever happened to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? It’s time we started demanding that politicians follow both - to the t.
It’s pretty simple - written in plain English:
April 30th, 2007 at 7:43 pm“Contract with America: The Bill of Rights”
http://www.populistamerica.com/contract_with_america
I wonder if this is why Bill Frist got off so easily on the insider trading thing: pressure from the White House.
April 30th, 2007 at 7:45 pmDid/does Fredo delegate everything?
April 30th, 2007 at 7:45 pmMany are forgetting what I believe is the most disgusting part of this scandal: Sneaking the key provision into the Patriot Act without (allegedly) a single elected member of the House or Senate knowing about it. Spector denies he knew, although his aide put it in. Is Spector lying; if so, that’s horrible. Is Spector telling the truth; if so, that’s horrible.
How can a law be passed if nobody even knows s/he is voting on it?
April 30th, 2007 at 7:46 pmWow! This white house is even more corrupt than anyone could dream in their wildest of nightmares! They have the nerve to call this a democracy?? Clearly, it’s a Bush Cabal Coup of the democracy of this country. The time to rid this nation of corruption at THE highest levels of this government is right NOW. The people will not tolerate this any longer.
April 30th, 2007 at 7:47 pmFu*k it…lets impeach and imprison them all, starting at the top. Slimy Bastards.
April 30th, 2007 at 7:51 pmClinton, Carter, FDR, etc.
April 30th, 2007 at 7:53 pmIf Gonzales did something wrong he’d be in jail right now.
April 30th, 2007 at 7:54 pmHoley Moley.
Bush and Cheney were trying to turn America into a Corruptopia that only did the bidding of a small fragment of a fringe of a minority of Americans.
-GSD
April 30th, 2007 at 7:54 pmComment by Patrick1
Did some 100% fool just make another declaration?
Follow a fool … suffer a fools fate.
April 30th, 2007 at 7:58 pmNext you’re going to tell me that Santa Claus doesn’t exist, that unicorns are only a figment of my imagination, and that Dick Cheney has never told a lie in his life.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:00 pmCurrently that isn’t how our justice system works fu*k head.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:05 pmRICO! RICO! RICO! RICO!
RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO!
RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO!
RICO! RICO! RICO! RICO!
Where will we ever find enough prison cells to hold ‘em all?
April 30th, 2007 at 8:06 pm(lol, Patrick1. That’s not even a decent troll. You’re slipping.)
This memo is highly troubling. Both Sampson and Gonzales had ample opportunities to mention the darned thing during testimony, requests for documentation aside. I’ve read the Waas article, and wondered if anyone knows if the instruction not to file it with the Federal Registry has any significance? Anyone know?
April 30th, 2007 at 8:08 pmIf Gonzales did something wrong he’d be in jail right now.
Comment by Patrick1 — April 30, 2007 @ 7:54 pm
I’m sure Germans felt the same way, when the first Jews were disappearing. You’re an ignorant Jake*ss.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:10 pmThis mob makes the Nixon years look like a birthday party — this crew are just unbelievable. I don’t like the idea of impeachment as a rule, but it needs to be implemented now.
This fits with the message statement of Regent University that said “God should be in all branches of the government. By putting on these goofballs into jobs that they are absolutely not qualified for is just stunning–they are absolutely destroying this country.
Congress should step in and impose a total freeze on all new hires, transfers from one agency or branch to another until this can get straightened out. Then they should go in and go through every individual hired in the last 6 years and document them so that they can be canned in the event Bush and Cheney are impeached or when a new administration comes in. This is beyond revolting–it is sabotaging the government for their own personal gain.
There better be a special place in hell for these asshats.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:14 pm@patrick
April 30th, 2007 at 8:15 pmIf BinLaden did something wrong, he’d be in jail by now.
Why Gonzales is STILL hanging on and prolonging the inevitable is beyond me. Chat at:
http://OsiSpeaks.com or http://OsiSpeaks.org
April 30th, 2007 at 8:17 pmThis mob makes the Nixon years look like a birthday party — this crew are just unbelievable. I don’t like the idea of impeachment as a rule, but it needs to be implemented now.
Comment by sconset117@yahoo.com
The difference in the witches brew this time is the addition of fundamentalist religion.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:18 pmCould this be Monica spilling the beans????
April 30th, 2007 at 8:25 pmThose bastards. This is the USA the last time I checked. Not the USBC. This could be an impeachable offense I am sure–this goes beyond ethics.
Its become the United States of Bush/Cheney for the January 2001 and I am damned sick of it.
We have no representation with these asshats. I feel so sorry for any career employee who has worked hard and risen through the Civil Service and has to put up with this crap. These poor people cannot even file a grievance because they are being ignored–its all “Bush all-the-time.
How about loyalty to America for a change and not the Republican Party!
This is all starting to make sense now. Regent University (Pat Robertson’s
non-profit) mission statement supposedly said that it was to put as many
christians and fundies into all branches of government to get the word of Jesus to all. The mission statement deleted this when Monica Goodling’s name first came to light.
This is so unbelievable, you can’t make this shit up.
O/T Yesterday was the day the Rapture was supposed to happen. Gee, what happened Pat, Falwell and Dobson? How’s that working out for you? We all woke up this morning, the sun came up and as I look out my study window at 8 p.m. Monday night, the sun has set. These asshats have pushed their Jesus agenda so far, that when this country does wake up and it will, these freaks are going to wish there had been a Rapture.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:28 pm@patrick
If BinLaden did something wrong, he’d be in jail by now.
Comment by bedonkadonk
bedonkadonk,
April 30th, 2007 at 8:29 pmGood retort but probably over Patsy0’s head.
I think I double posted. Well, not quite but a variation on my other comment–but I am just ripshit about this. I don’t resort to vulgar language or profanity as a rule but I am shaking I am so livid.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:31 pmO/T Yesterday was the day the Rapture was supposed to happen. Gee, what happened Pat, Falwell and Dobson? How’s that working out for you?
Comment by sconset117@yahoo.com
They just came down from the fine ganga they smoked on 4/20 — no rapture, just munchies.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:35 pmThe NeoCans “Contract for Fascism”. I hape they all burn in hell.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:36 pmIf Gonzales did something wrong he’d be in jail right now.
Riiiiggghhhttt, because Abu is such an outstanding AG that if he broke the law, he’d arrest, try and convict himself, immediately.
Dumba**
April 30th, 2007 at 8:40 pm“They just came down from the fine ganga they smoked on 4/20 — no rapture, just munchies.”
Hey hey, we here in the wild north woods resemble that remark. Careful or we’ll set all of our plastic Jesus’ on your tail.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:43 pmYeah, and you know what?
April 30th, 2007 at 8:50 pmNothing is going to happen.
Is the Gonzo memo supposed to be a case of the left hand not knowing what the right foot is doing?
April 30th, 2007 at 8:51 pmHey look, Bush has his own Monica. To be fair, he should be impeached like Clinton….
April 30th, 2007 at 8:54 pmThis is a repeat from our Lady Z “SSDD” and it’s only a Monday…Blessings.P.S. Every one Please write Speaker Palosi and demand Impeachment be put back on the table..Send Blessings to RUCerious..
April 30th, 2007 at 8:58 pmHey hey, we here in the wild north woods resemble that remark. Careful or we’ll set all of our plastic Jesus’ on your tail.
Comment by HumboldtBlue
Heh. Humboldt County’s finest….
April 30th, 2007 at 9:00 pm“If Gonzales did something wrong he’d be in jail right now.”
Wrongdoing = already in jail. Yes, in the cells right there next to OJ and Osama bin Laden, and Patrick1.
‘Course it’s even tougher to convict a crook when the criminal justice system has been subverted, isn’t it?
April 30th, 2007 at 9:01 pmThis is a repeat from our Lady Z “SSDD†and it’s only a Monday…Blessings.P.S. Every one Please write Speaker Palosi and demand Impeachment be put back on the table..Send Blessings to RUCerious..
Comment by Sharon
Great Lady, this is a case of UBSDD — and it’s only Monday. :)
RUC posted a couple comments today. Yay!
April 30th, 2007 at 9:02 pmThis is all starting to make sense now. Regent University (Pat Robertson’s
non-profit) mission statement supposedly said that it was to put as many
christians and fundies into all branches of government to get the word of Jesus to all.
Ex-fugging-zactly. Finally someone sees it. Robertson and the insane Christian Coalition freaks projected this 15 years ago. They came to the realization they could not get their agenda across through the normal political process, because the majority of Americans don’t buy their ideology. I remember watching that insane lunatic fruitcake on his insane television show, in between healing people by tele-proxy, talking about how the only way to create Christ-merica was through grass-roots infiltration, starting at school boards and working up by hijacking state legislatures, then Congress, then minor judicial appointments, then the White House, and finally the Supreme Court.
This is not conspiracy, it’s well planned (and openly planned) use of the political process and taking advantage of the power of propa-god-ganda. Now we are living a 1984 nightmare.
Thankfully as a nation we are waking up just in the nick of time (I hope).
April 30th, 2007 at 9:09 pmOh, I forgot to mention, the lobotomizing of the MSM and replacing of them with NeoChristoBots was also part of the Robertson agenda.
April 30th, 2007 at 9:26 pmReposted from a previous (wrong) thread:
The sad part is that all this was absolutely predictable, in scope if not in precise detail, from the very beginning of this administration’s tenure. I suppose it had to happen for people to start waking up from the dream-state fog that drifted over this nation during the Reagan years.
Unfortunately, there isn’t all that much left to salvage. Real estate has been inflated beyond recovery, productive industry is all gone, and the transportation system is unsustainable. Instead of Reagan’s shining city on a hill, it looks more like a lean-to shitter with a bare light bulb.
April 30th, 2007 at 9:51 pmHang on cowboys.
The GOP n Reagan/Bush ran Iran/Contra right up the ass of those who think left.
I read something today about Pakistan’s nukes and connections to the GOP’s neocons.
If, as suggested, the DOJ played the Congress; wouldn’t that suggest consistent behavior on the part of an out of control segment of an out of control GOP?
April 30th, 2007 at 9:56 pmNo wonder La Goodling wanted to take the Fifth!
April 30th, 2007 at 10:15 pmAnd we are exporting democracy to Iraq?
It sounds more like we are importing some of Saddam’s government practices to the “homeland”….a fascist state…and my family moved us here to get away from corrupt authoritarian governments….now I am trying to figure out where to take my grandchildren…I don’t want them living in the U.S. I want them to live as FAR as possible away from this place.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:28 pmI would like for the wingnuts who keep reciting the talking point that this is much ado about nothing, to explain why the Bushites keep LYING and COVERING UP.
If there is nothing to see here, why are they dishonest at every single turn about this matter? Wouldn’t it be less trouble to be truthful and get it over with?
I guess not.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:28 pmThe Bush gang is clearly attempting to install a fascist government.
Comment by VerbalKint — April 30, 2007 @ 7:37 pm
well, duh…
April 30th, 2007 at 10:30 pmthis has only been absolutely, irrebuttably clear since, oh, Sept 12, 2001…
I’ve been saying this for years. It’s not been a secret at all that this was their agenda, but I can’t tell you how often people look at me like I’m some nutcase, like I am yammering about the Bilderburgers and the Illuminati.
It’s the same thing with the Federalist Society, but again you can’t get anyone’s attention… until the day all those FS justices chuck Roe v. Wade out like they have the Constitution.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:31 pmThis is not conspiracy, it’s well planned (and openly planned) use of the political process and taking advantage of the power of propa-god-ganda. Now we are living a 1984 nightmare.
Thankfully as a nation we are waking up just in the nick of time (I hope).
Comment by gorn by any other name — April 30, 2007 @ 9:09 pm
i think you’re overly optimistic about the ability of the country to prevent future outrages, or to roll back those already in place.
Opus Dei mean anything to y’all folks? the Inquisition, by any other name…
April 30th, 2007 at 10:33 pmsure as good made little green apples,
this was a concerted effort to protect those in the white house and the doj involved in torture rulings, and the authorization of domestic spying.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:36 pmAnd we are exporting democracy to Iraq?
if you can name anytime in the last 60 years when the US has exported anything other than militarism, colonialism, and/or imperialism, i’ll buy you a tall, cold one, pardner…
April 30th, 2007 at 10:36 pm./
Something’s got to give. The most politicized administration in this nation’s history (even Nixon’s didn’t compare) is finally coughing up some of its own toxic waste. All that’s missing: a press corps with cojones. Thank you Murray Waas, Josh Marshall and a few honest prosecutors.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:38 pmThe reason why Gonzales hasn’t been retired is that the gang of criminals is too small now. There aren’t enough “lawyers” left with blank track records to put before a nominations review. Look at the nomination of Ms. Meirs-the bottom of the barrel hs been scraped. There are few left with as little scruples as the present crew.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:47 pmComment by sconset117@yahoo.com — April 30, 2007 @ 8:28 pm
Any blogs where I can read about that? That the rapture was supposed to be today? First I heard of it.
And I was wearing clean underwear!
Seriously, anytime that happens you just have to hope it sews doubt in the benighted heads of all those simpleminded folk holding up these religion-racket crooks.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:49 pmTypical. Leave it to Republicans to outsource their dirty work to other people.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:55 pmDo they remember not recalling to remember or recall not remembering to recall or do they not? That is the question.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:01 pmFor the latest news, document dumps, email archives, hearing transcripts and other essential materials in the firings of U.S. attorneys, see:
April 30th, 2007 at 11:05 pm“The U.S. Attorney Scandal Documents.”
I know this is off topic but seeing that TP doesn’t have a recent thread on global warming I want to remind everybody to watch the Glenn Beck special Wednesday evening titled something like “Hidden Agenda Behind The Global Warming Nonsenseâ€. Now I know some of you will say, I would never watch Glenn Beck because………….. But I’m counting on you! I know you liberals are such global warming experts that you surely will be able to point out to us where Beck is going wrong. Won’t you? So, I’ll remind you tomorrow and again on Wednesday and forgive me for going off topic? By the way, where’s zooey?
April 30th, 2007 at 11:15 pmThey just came down from the fine ganga they smoked on 4/20 — no rapture, just munchies.
Comment by Zooey — April 30, 2007 @ 8:35 pm
Well they’ve been counting on the rapture. There so crazy that they thought there would be no consequences for their actions that Jesus wouldn’t fix. Now that the rapture didn’t happen, they are so f*cked.
It’s like they went to the track and bet the house on a horse that will never finish the race. What a bunch of dumb shits.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:19 pm“A senior Justice Department official, who did not know of Gonzales’s delegation of authority until contacted by National Journal, said that it posed a serious threat to the integrity of the criminal-justice system because it gave Sampson, Goodling, and the White House control over the hiring of senior officials in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, which oversees all politically sensitive public corruption cases, at the same time that they held authority to hire and fire U.S. attorneys.”
…I know a great many posters on TP…
…don’t read or take my posts seriously because…
…I have a tendency to use words like:
…TREASONOUS…
…ad nauseum…
…maybe after reading the excerpt above…
…you all can finally understand why…
April 30th, 2007 at 11:33 pmHey, I don’t want to upset anyone or let facts get in the way of a good hate fest, but …
All of the US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President. He can fire them all, just like Clinton did. DOH!
Let me say this in plain English for those without the wherewithal to comprehend the situation.
THIS IS NOT AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE!
April 30th, 2007 at 11:39 pmWhy Gonzales is STILL hanging on and prolonging the inevitable is beyond me.
Gonzales is doing his Bushie job by acting as the firewall, or lightning rod. As Bush said to someone else taking heat for him, as long as you’re the target, they aren’t hitting me. So you’re doing your job.
I forget who pointed this out, but someone did it with quotes and examples going back to Nixon. It’s the repub way: leave someone to twist in the wind so his boss doesn’t have to.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:43 pmObstruction of Justice
IS an IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE.
And I have done just THAT, by impeding investigations of MY CRIMINAL BUDDIES.
I AM a TRAITOR coxucker PUNK, and WILL burn in hell for ETERNITY.
See YOU in hell “con10tious” (cause I’LL be THERE),
April 30th, 2007 at 11:44 pmMr. Bush
MURDEROUS WAR CRIMINAL
COWARDLY TRAITOR TO THE USA (TM–BushCrimeCo, Inc.)
A TRUE NI66ER (black folks will understand AND agree…)
THIS IS NOT AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE!
You forgot to explain what “This” is, but if it’s a pattern of obstructing justice (by concealing evidence requested in an investigation), then you would be wrong.
And can you show us where Clinton fired a buncha USA’s in his second term? NO? Then you’re a real asshole, aren’t you.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:47 pmHey big papa, re: #60
No treason there, only some lame maroon who got his ego stroked by leaking a foolish opinion to some equally lame reporter.
Just because President Bush replaces any or all of the US Attorneys with every pal he ever had doesn’t mean that he or anyone committed treason or imperiled the justice system, except to the intellectually challenged.
In the future big papa you might do well to remember the old adage that “It better to remain silent and thought a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt!”
April 30th, 2007 at 11:47 pmTREASON for exposing a CIA COVERT spy and her company who specialized in WMD’s.
TREASON for LIES about WMD’s that James Inhofe today BLAMED ON THE MEDIA!!
I DID commit TREASON, and I deserve to go to JAIL for the REST OF MY LIFE.
My MASTER
SATAN
will take it from there…
See YOU in hell “con10tious†(cause I’LL be THERE),
Mr. Bush
April 30th, 2007 at 11:53 pmMURDEROUS WAR CRIMINAL
COWARDLY TRAITOR TO THE USA (TM–BushCrimeCo, Inc.)
A TRUE NI66ER (black folks will understand AND agree…)
This administration has been systematically preparing for a Coup d’état the entire time they’ve been in office, it seems. The Patriot Act was signed swiftly after 9/11, in late Oct, 2001. Remember, Dept of Justice staffer James Baker testified before Congress at the time that the Patriot Act revisions completely met the needs of the Administration for clandestine information-gathering. And yet we learned later that at that same time, President Bush was authorizing the “Terrorist Surveillance Program” which spied on American citizens in the US without warrant or court order.
Remember also the change in the Insurrection Act which makes it possible for the President to press the National Guard into national service without the authorization or consent of the govenors of the States. () Under the revised law, the President may declare martial law if a condition exists that “opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.”
With the Justice Department packed, the power to declare martial law, and unlimited access to information about the citizenry, the administration is still in a very powerful position in spite of the loss of Congress in Nov last year. i have wondered whether a hot war with Iran would provide dubya enough excuse to declare martial law and suspend the 2008 presidential elections.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:59 pmre: 63, “Mr Bush Goes To Hell”
You are seriously deranged! You need some serious professional help and I hope you get it soon before you harm yourself any further …
President Bush is no war criminal. Hoping, wishing and / or dreaming it does not make it true.
May 1st, 2007 at 12:03 amTHIS IS NOT AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE!
Comment by con10tious — April 30, 2007 @ 11:39 pm
What are you so worried about then. Let the chips fall where they may.
The rest of us will just wait to see what Monica has to say. We’ve got lots of time.
May 1st, 2007 at 12:07 amYou are seriously deranged! You need some serious professional help and I hope you get it soon before you harm yourself any further …
Eat zhit, troll. I AM a TREASONOUS coxucker PUNK and YOUR “president”. REAL Americans know I am a COWARDLY TRAITOR.
Again:
TREASON for exposing a CIA COVERT spy and her company who specialized in WMD’s.
TREASON for LIES about WMD’s that James Inhofe today BLAMED ON THE MEDIA!!
I DID commit TREASON, and I deserve to go to JAIL for the REST OF MY LIFE.
My MASTER
SATAN
will take it from there…
See YOU in hell “con10tious†(cause I’LL be THERE),
May 1st, 2007 at 12:11 amMr. Bush
MURDEROUS WAR CRIMINAL
COWARDLY TRAITOR TO THE USA (TM–BushCrimeCo, Inc.)
A TRUE NI66ER (black folks will understand AND agree…)
President Bush is no war criminal. Hoping, wishing and / or dreaming it does not make it true.
Comment by con10tious — May 1, 2007 @ 12:03 am
Not all of us are experts on constitutional law like you are. Some of us will just wait to see what happens.
May 1st, 2007 at 12:23 amHow interesting… Clinton got into trouble because of a Monica, and NOW, Bush is getting into trouble because of a Monica…
May 1st, 2007 at 1:01 amPerhaps there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation why this order would be categorized as “highly confidential.”
Maybe Tony Snow can explain for us what it is, since the only possible one I can think of is incredibly corrupt and despicable.
May 1st, 2007 at 1:07 amPresident Bush is no war criminal. Hoping, wishing and / or dreaming it does not make it true.
Comment by con10tious — May 1, 2007 @ 12:03 am
Actually should read
President Bush is no competent President, war-time or otherwise. Hoping, wishing and / or dreaming it does not make it true.
Glad to be of service
Also
If you can point out any previous experiences of a mass-firing of US Attorneys halfway through a President’s second term, please do share
And why do the AG’s stories keep changing, and only after documents and e-mails are disclosed which show up the absurdity of Gonzales’ unbelievably faulty memory, if not because of outright criminality?
May 1st, 2007 at 1:12 amBush may not “technically” be a “war criminal”, but what is a man quilty of who dishonestly and callously contrived a phony excuse to invade Iraq, which unjustly ended the lives of thousands upon thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens and the lives of over 3400 American citizens, “criminal negligence” or “crimes and misdemeanors” against mankind? Isn’t he personally responsible for their deaths since he gave the orders and continues to give the orders that result in even more death? Isn”t he the decider-in-chief? Is he responsible for nothing?!
May 1st, 2007 at 1:30 amThey politicized the DOJ so they could trump up charges of “Democrat voter fraud” in order to put up a smokescreen for the actual voter fraud and execute the theft of the election in ‘04 and continue the steamroll on to ‘08. Rove even announced what he was up to at his speech to a Republican Lawyers’ powow. (Rove miscalculated the wave of opposition in ‘06 but had no intention of making the same mistake in ‘08.) Karl actually said that because of the “voter fraud” perpetrated by Democrats, elections got down to who stuffed the ballot box the best. He didn’t hone his skills with Jeb Magruder (1st to plead guilty in Watergate) in the re-elect Nixon campaign to be chopped liver.
May 1st, 2007 at 2:23 amHe’s the best, baby.
I’m sure there is a good explanation for this. He doesn’t remember when he delegated this authority to them but he remembers he had a proper reason for delegating it. And of course, that’s why he takes responsibility for the decision as evidenced by the fact that Sampson and Goodling are now gone while he remains in his position. He delegated both the decision-making AND responsibility to Sampson and Goodling.
This administration is being run just like the well-oiled corporation the CEO-in-Chief envisioned.
May 1st, 2007 at 5:29 amSure, Republicans are fascists. But can’t they see they’re just WAY too incompetent to bring it off?
May 1st, 2007 at 6:46 amKurds To Oppose Draft Oil Law
In a surprise move, Kurdish lawmakers have announced that they plan to oppose Iraq’s controversial US-backed oil law.
Back in February, the Kurds had agreed to support the draft law, which has been heavily criticised as giving too much control to foreign oil companies.
Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani had predicted the draft law would be approved by parliament in April, but it has yet to be debated.
Kurds hold 58 of the 275 parliament seats _ not enough to defeat the measure on their own. But Kurdish objections could delay passage of the bill, whose ratification has been strongly urged by the White House.
But Kurdish spokesman Khalid Saleh has said: “We are not going to support†the provisions in the bill. Some Sunni legislators have also raised now objections, saying the oil law would give foreign oil companies too much power.
So the draft oil law could be in for a tough time before it becomes law. They will be sweating in Houston.
http://www.priceofoil.org/
YEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
May 1st, 2007 at 7:24 am“All of the US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President. He can fire them all, just like Clinton did. DOH!”
May 1st, 2007 at 10:08 amHey con10tious- I agree that the President has this authority but apparently according to Jesus Walker Bush he had nothing to do with the firings. AG Gonzales also has that right but he apparently secretly delegated that authority to several Bush toadies and then “forgot” to mention this at his hearing. For the ultimate judicial appointee to be so deceitful/forgetful coupled w/ Roves “missing” e-mails, Goodling’s taking the 5th and the White House’s stonewalling on documentation you would have to be mentaly challenged not to be bowled over by the stench of corruption emanating from the White House.
If you read post # 75 you may begin to understand that there is a severe and growing distrust in everything this President and his corrupt group of power hungry friends touches.
p.s. re: post # 51 What about the US’s endless export of good paying manufacturing jobs, pardner?
The Republicans got bitch-slapped at the polls in November, so they took it out on the civil service. Man gets humiliated by the boss, so he comes home and kicks his dog. Same thing.
Conservatives are weak, vindictive little people (but we already knew that).
May 1st, 2007 at 10:11 am.
“All of the US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President. He can fire them all, just like Clinton did. DOH!â€
But that’s not what we’re talking about, DOH!
Weak little conservative runs and hides behind the nearest irrelevancy. Typical.
May 1st, 2007 at 10:12 am.
IMPEACH Cheney then Bush
REPEAL the MCA, Patriot Act, Bankruptcy Act, tax cuts for the obscenely wealthy
PASS legislation that sets a specific dollar limit $5 k maybe for recovery by federal employees who claim to have been wrongly fired, to be effective IMMEDIATELY
Once the WH changes hands in 2008, FIRE EM ALL. Give em their 5 grand and then embark on an effort to re-hire al lthe experienced, competent, career employees that have been forced out by these fifth rate hacks.
CLEAN SWEEP 2008
May 1st, 2007 at 12:23 pmOh, I forgot to mention, the lobotomizing of the MSM and replacing of them with NeoChristoBots was also part of the Robertson agenda.
Yes, folks– remember the World Journalism Institute, of which Jack Kelley was a member? Its mission statement asks Christian journalists to “report Biblically, not objectively”. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for crying out loud. He got away with ‘lying for the glory of God’ for years.
May 1st, 2007 at 12:55 pmDidn’t Gonzales swear UNDER OATH to tell THE WHOLE TRUTH?? Why can’t they throw the book at him?
May 1st, 2007 at 1:09 pmI’m getting the impression that Gonzalez sits around with his thumb up his ass all day, waitng for the Bat Phone to ring.
May 1st, 2007 at 1:45 pmDo you think “ethical” Pat Leahy will ever get around to asking Dianne Feinstein about her husbands government contracts? Hmmm….
May 1st, 2007 at 2:29 pmGitmo
May 1st, 2007 at 3:52 pmTHIS IS NOT AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE!
Let’s assume it’s not (it is, but let’s just assume it isn’t). Not being a legal scholar I am still qualified to point out that it is possible to impeach someone even if the majority of their offenses are not impeachable.
So let’s say the president has breakfast - this is not impeachable, an offense for certain to waste good food, but certainly not impeachable. Then over brunch he tells his aides to ensure Halliburton, or some other company he has close ties to gets sole-source contracting to profiteer from a war he started against international law after misusing, misenterpreting, and falsifying intelligence to the congress and the American people. This one is impeachable.
He then has lunch and tells his aides to fire any US attorneys who may be probing the sole-sourcing of said contract. He is obviously firing them to avoid investigations into his own behavior or that of close allies, but since they serve at the pleasure of the president let’s just say it’s not impeachable.
He could theoretically go an entire week only comitting offenses that were not impeachable, but still, due to our wacky legal system, he can be impeached and convicted for the one offense that was impeachable.
So let’s not worry so much about which offenses were impeachable. Today you can fill a library with books written on the subject of impeachable offenses this administration has committed, and essentially none of the facts in the books are even in dispute.
If we fail to end our military Kineseyanism and global imperialism program and root out the deep corruption in our government, the US will face financial collapse in the very near future. Republicans often claim to be fiscal conservatives, ironic that they would follow an obviously twisted and evil administration straight over the financial cliff in the name of world domination - oops I mean the war on terror.
May 1st, 2007 at 4:00 pm#61 “Hey, I don’t want to upset anyone or let facts get in the way of a good hate fest, but …
All of the US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President. He can fire them all, just like Clinton did. DOH!
Let me say this in plain English for those without the wherewithal to comprehend the situation.
THIS IS NOT AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE!”
Comment by con10tious — April 30, 2007 @ 11:39 pm
Well, if Bill Clinton had fired all the US attorneys, investigators, and Ken Starr during the goose chase that was Whitewater and Lewinsky, would you have been so sanguine? Would you have supported his actions and reaffirmed his right to fire all the people who “serve at his pleasure”??? Bet not.
May 1st, 2007 at 4:44 pmApparently nobody understands that impeachment is a political process to remove a person from office - whether or not that person has actually committed a crime is not necessarily relevant. The closest analogy I can think of wold be to compare impeachment to the Scottish legal system’s use of “Not Proven” in court cases; where “Not Proven” is used to indicate a belief in the person’s guilt, but acknowledges that there isn’t enough evidence to say “Guilty”. The necessity of concrete proof of illegal action is not needed under impeachment just because it is a political action.
May 1st, 2007 at 6:08 pmAt present Bush could be impeached and convicted under the aegis of “High Crimes and Misdemeanors” in relation to: the misuse of intelligence prior to the Iraq invasion, the Katrina fiasco, permitting 9/11 to occur after having been warned, and finally, the obstruction/perversion of justice in relation to the FDA’s.
D.E. Stamate
USN (ret)
See anyone surprise that Gonzo was up to no good. I knew this idiot should not have been confirmed by the Senate in the first place. He’s nothing but a moron who hitched his wagon to Bush years ago and went along for the ride, saying: “Yes boss, yessss, yessss, BOSS!” This guy has not intregrity whatsoever and never has. He’s a kiss ass and that’s all there is to it. He’a little weasle who can’t survive unless he’s sucking blood like a parasite.
May 1st, 2007 at 8:03 pm