BREAKING: Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty To Resign
BREAKING: Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty To Resign
The AP reports:
Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said Monday he will resign, the highest-ranking Bush administration casualty in the furor over the firing of U.S. attorneys, The Associated Press has learned.
McNulty, who has served 18 months as the Justice Department’s second-in-command, announced his plans at a closed-door meeting of U.S. attorneys in San Antonio, according to two senior department aides. He said he will remain at the department until this fall or until the Senate approves a successor, the aides said.
UPDATE: Last week, the New York Times suggested that McNulty was considering resigning, possibly over a growing divide between his supporters and those of Gonzales:
[T]here has been tension between Gonzales loyalists and backers of Paul J. McNulty, the deputy attorney general.
Friends of D. Kyle Sampson, Mr. Gonzales’s former top aide, and Mr. Sampson’s former deputy, Monica Goodling, blame Mr. McNulty’s February testimony for accelerating the furor over the ousters by prompting prosecutors to speak openly about their dismissals. But Mr. McNulty’s allies have faulted Mr. Sampson for misleading Mr. McNulty and other officials about the origin of the dismissals and the extent of White House involvement.
Mr. McNulty is said by associates to be considering whether to step down soon.
UPDATE II: Gonzales releases a statement: “Paul is an outstanding public servant and a fine attorney who has been valued here at the Department, by me and so many others, as both a colleague and a friend. He will be missed. On behalf of the Department, I wish him well in his future endeavors.”
UPDATE III: The pro-McNulty spin on his leaving: “Justice aides said he has been considering leaving for months and never intended to serve more than two years as deputy attorney general. But his ultimate decision to step down, the aides said, was hastened by anger at being linked to the prosecutors’ purge that Congress is investigating to determine if eight U.S. attorneys were fired for political reasons.”
UPDATE IV: From a 4/16/07 Wall Street Journal article titled, “Gonzales Deputy, in Crossfire, Looks for Quiet Exit“:
With Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on the ropes over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, his deputy, Paul J. McNulty, is quietly testing the waters for a new job. […]
Even before the controversy erupted, Mr. McNulty, 49 years old, had been making plans to join the private sector after 24 years in government, which included a term as U.S. attorney in Virginia’s Eastern District, people familiar with his plans said. Knowing he would like to take a higher-paying job, partly to cover tuition for his four college-age children, well before the end of the administration, his friends recently have sent out feelers on his behalf for possible corporate and law-firm jobs, the people said.
UPDATE V: Sen. Schumer (D-NY) responds: “It seems ironic that Paul McNulty who at least tried to level with the committee goes while Gonzales who stonewalled the committee is still in charge. This administration owes us a lot better.”
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45 Responses to “BREAKING: Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty To Resign”
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Nobody cares!!!!
May 14th, 2007 at 5:30 pmOne down and more to go.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:31 pmExcellent.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:32 pmDoes anyone know if Rumsfeld still has his desk at the Pentagon?
May 14th, 2007 at 5:33 pmAnd I’m sure he’s all lawyered up now too.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:33 pmMcNutty… heheheh
May 14th, 2007 at 5:33 pmOne down and N more to go, where N >> 1.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:33 pmMaybe he would like to get something off his chest?
May 14th, 2007 at 5:37 pmYou gotta wonder what prompted this one, since the latest line from the administration was that Gonzalez did swell at the House hearings last week. The release of the order delegating authority for hiring and firing to Goodling and Sampson that purposefully kept McNulty out of the loop was probably tough to swallow. Exposed McNulty for the powerless figurehead that he is. But I’m betting there’s something even uglier behind it. There always is with this scandal…
May 14th, 2007 at 5:38 pmThey are chewing each other up and the smarter ones will jump to the private sector ASAP.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:39 pmThis has got to be a blow to Gonzales.
And the Repukes were saying Gonzales survived. LOL!!
May 14th, 2007 at 5:40 pmDouble, double toil and trouble;
May 14th, 2007 at 5:40 pmFire burn, and caldron bubble.
Looks like McNulty actually had some legal ethics and he couldn’t continue to serve in the corrupt Justice Department run by Alberto Gonzales.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:42 pmThe anchor chain is getting crowded with these rats.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:42 pmMajor corruption uncovered in 5…4…3…
May 14th, 2007 at 5:44 pmNobody cares!!!!
Comment by Mr. President — May 14, 2007 @ 5:30 pm
May 14th, 2007 at 5:49 pmBeing allowed to stay until this fall may be just a little optimistic.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:49 pmDo not allow mcNulty and Simpson to simply walk away from their TREASON…
…demand they be held accountable…
…or turn in the higher ups (right up to Rove and Bushiva)…
…DESTROY the Repulsivescum Party and their supporters…
May 14th, 2007 at 5:54 pmAnother one bites the dust! Don’t let the door hit you in the a$$ on your way out, Paul! Good riddance!
May 14th, 2007 at 5:55 pmThese resignations have become less and less surprising. There is even a code of honor among thieves (that the Bush Regime ignores), after all…
May 14th, 2007 at 5:57 pmGonzo doesn’t need anyone — he has the backing of W.
McNulty displeased Gonzo with some things he said at the hearings, so I don’t think it’s any great loss — at least at this time.
We will see what Goodling can add to this mix.
Personally, I am happy to see the rats all drop off, one by one, but the big cheese still stands.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:58 pmanother leg of the shaky guard tower gnawed away!
May 14th, 2007 at 5:58 pmThis is good news for Republicans.
-
May 14th, 2007 at 5:58 pmThe ship is taking on water and the rats are jumping.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:58 pmNobody cares, except the trolls who are paid to post on left-wing websites.
We take down names and IP addresses. We will fix the damage done, for good.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:00 pmEven after they leave office, if it can be proven that they violated federal laws, they can sure be prosecuted.
The question is, with so many people worth of indictment, they may all skip out simply because of the overwhelming number and the overwhelming task it would be to adjudicate them all.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:01 pmNow is the time to invest in publishing companies. As there will be tons of books by administration folks detailing the corruption after Bush leaves office.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:08 pmBoy, for this being a witch hunt and show trials, there sure are a lot of NeoCon loyal bushies jumping ship.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:08 pmMcNulty waitied until he was in San Antonio to announce this, in a meeting separate from the Bushco DOJ figureheads. He is trying to side with the currrent crop of USAs by distancing himself from his boss, Abu. “Staying til the summer” means he can’t leave immediately because his replacement would either have to be a FOOL to work for Abu or a toady, or both, and hence cannot possibly hope to get confirmation from congress. Would YOU accept a job under Abu?
May 14th, 2007 at 6:09 pmCLEAN SWEEP ‘08
Nothing short of that will save the Republic
May 14th, 2007 at 6:10 pmMcNutty… heheheh
Comment by Mr. President — May 14, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
Yeah, well we’re all sure you’re used to hearing that nickname - at least around what passes as your *dysfunctional* trailer, I mean home…
May 14th, 2007 at 6:17 pmA few passes with a Street Sweeper while the pukes are still in office would do the Republic good.
But I can wait for the ‘08 ass kicking. Looking forward to kicking the Repugnicunts in the teeth.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:18 pmComment by John Q. Public #25
shhhh!
May 14th, 2007 at 6:26 pmNobody cares!!!! Comment by Mr. Presidipstick
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa…
Too funny. Coming from the same people who thought lying about blow job should be raised to the level of a Federal case.
Who cares? 72% of the total population, or 100% of those with either functioning brain cells or a modicum of ethics.
but but but … nobody cares!!!! NOBODY CARES! Wahhh!
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa…
May 14th, 2007 at 6:35 pmha they’re playing the business as usual nothing to see here angle.
Obstructers of justice.
May 14th, 2007 at 7:59 pmElectioneering via the Justice Department.
Comment by gorn by any other name — May 14, 2007 @ 6:35 pm
How do you guys get those cool graphics?
May 14th, 2007 at 7:59 pmHow do you guys get those cool graphics?
Comment by Mr. President — May 14, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
How do you guys repeat the sane inane b*llsh*t day in and day out without learning anything other than how to be ignorant *ssh*les?
May 14th, 2007 at 8:59 pmI’ve known Mr. McNulty personally my whole life. He is a good man with impeccable character. It’s a shame this witchhunt is throwing mud on an honorable leader. He is wisely leaving, but it is the country’s loss. Places like Congress and the Justice Dept need more people like him.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:00 pmLet all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:58 pm#16
Ayup. The Democrats are trying to make a fuss about the President firing his own people…..sorry chumps it aint sticking.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:21 amwho cares about this crap anyone ?
May 15th, 2007 at 2:37 pmThe ship is taking on water and the rats are jumping.
May 15th, 2007 at 3:02 pmThese aren’t the “President’s own people”. They are supposed to act as a check on presidential and congessional power. That’s why congress ratifies any changes within the leadership of the Justice Department, and the president picks the applicants. Sure, W would like to say that they serve exclusively at his pleasure, but the fact is that these are public servants who are supposed to serve the people.
By lying to us about the reasons for the dismissal, AG and W have exposed their cronyism. It baffles me that anyone would want to defend such an obviously corrupt organization which places its own political and personal financial goals above the safety and happiness of the people it was elected to represent.
Alberto Gonzales, and other elements within W’s administration need to be excised through the process of impeachment.
May 15th, 2007 at 3:56 pmI wrote a piece on Benford’s Law that explains our Bush Nausea
May 15th, 2007 at 9:55 pmLet he who is without sin cast the first stone.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:55 pm