Former U.S. Attorney: Goodling Smeared My Record
Former U.S. Attorney: Goodling Smeared My Record
Former Minnesota U.S attorney Thomas Heffelfinger was one of 30 prosecutors the Bush administration considered firing. He eventually resigned last year, apparently voluntarily, to be replaced by the controversial 34-year-old Bush loyalist Rachel Paulose, who is “best buds with Monica Goodling.”
During yesterday’s hearing, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) asked Goodling why Heffelfinger was considered for removal. Goodling said the primary reason was that he spent “an extraordinary amount of time” on prosecuting crime related to Native Americans in his district:
ELLISON: Before [Heffelfinger] resigned, was there any conversation about problems with his performance? [...]
GOODLING: There were some concerns that he spent an extraordinary amount of time as the leader of the Native American Subcommittee of the AGAC and put — clearly, people thought that that was important work, but I think there was some concern…The concern that I heard raised was just that he spent an extraordinary amount of time on the subcommittee business.
Today, Heffelfinger spoke up in outrage to Goodling’s accusations and, like several other of the fired attorneys, said “it was the first time he heard anyone from the Justice Department articulate any dissatisfaction with his performance.” In fact, the DOJ ordered Heffelfinger to pursue Native American issues.
“I did spent a lot of time on it,” Heffelfinger said of the American Indian issue. “That’s what I was instructed to do” by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. Given the higher rates of violence suffered by American Indians, Heffelfinger said, the time was warranted, but it didn’t take away from other priorities.
“I had to work hard, but I was comfortable with the mix of my local responsibilities and my Native American responsibilities,” said Heffelfinger. … “I was very pointed in my dealings with main Justice to continually bring to their attention the need for focus on Native American public safety issues, because of the level of violence.”
Heffelfinger said that “as late as early fall of ‘05,” months after the firings list was compiled, he met privately with Gonzales and Sampson on his work with Native Americans. “Had they had concerns about my performance, (Gonzales) had the opportunity to raise them and didn’t. So I could reasonably conclude that he didn’t have a problem with my performance,” he said.
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Republicans smearing Republicans. It can't come to a good end for the party.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:20 pmIn her testimony today before the House Judiciary Committee, former DOJ White House liaison Monica Goodling joined Alberto Gonzales, Kyle Sampson and Paul McNulty in disclaiming any role in the creation of the infamous list of U.S. attorneys to be fired. It should comes as no surprise that the graduate of Regent University law school would have us believe the list so central to the prosecutors purge appeared magically, untouched by the hands of man. Call it Immaculate Conception.
For the details, see:
"Monica Goodling's Immaculate Conception."
For the latest news, document dumps, email archives, hearing transcripts and other essential materials in the firings of U.S. attorneys, see:
May 24th, 2007 at 1:23 pm"The U.S. Attorney Scandal Documents."
its the bushies, what sis you expect? not to do the right thing..... EVA!
May 24th, 2007 at 1:25 pmLittle Lying Miss Goody needs to lose her immunity deal.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:27 pm"Had they had concerns about my performance, (Gonzales) had the opportunity to raise them and didn’t..." - - That presumes that Gonzales was even close to being in the loop of his own department.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:29 pmThe finger-pointing purge is ON!
May 24th, 2007 at 1:31 pmThat presumes that Gonzales was even close to being in the loop of his own department.
If Gonzo was that disconnected from a department he was supposed to be leading, that alone is sufficient grounds for impeachment.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:32 pmThis is really hilarious. Heffelfinger has been a good boy scout and a loyal Republican up until now. He's refused to make any statements which might embarrass Bush or Gonzales -- he has essentially denied that he was forced out at all.
But then Rep. Ellison smokes out Goodling, Goodling spills the beans, and Heffelfinger can't stand it any longer. The mild-mannered Lake Wobegon Muslim looks like a rising star to me.
Heffelfinger had some disagreements with the crooked Republican (now ex-) Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer about bogus voter fraud indictments, and I believe that that was part of his problem too.
Doesn't "Kiffmeyer and Heffelfinger" sound like an ethnic comedy duo? (Heffelfinger comes from an old Minnesota family, with a famous Civil War hero and a legendary all-American football player in his family tree).
May 24th, 2007 at 1:32 pmWell, Native Americans were the best friend to Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed. Karl Rove was best friends with Jack and probably friends with Reed (but, hey, Jack had all the cash so does it really matter). Karl Rove was apparently all about the Justice Department and the people who ran it. So, perhaps the concern over Native American generally raised concerns that enough federal pocking around would uncover something, well, illegal. Just a thought.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:34 pmA right-wing buddy of mine sent me a link to a Newsmax article (naturally) that highlighted Bush's signing of a proclamation that in an emergency, he's The Decider for Everything. This wingnut, who has backed Bush uncoditionally (naturally) for the past six and a half years all of sudden calls for his impeachment.
That strikes me as bad news for Bush. Bad news for Republicans.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:38 pmHeffelfinger:
“Had they had concerns about my performance, (Gonzales) had the opportunity to raise them and didn’t. So I could reasonably conclude that he didn’t have a problem with my performance,†he said.
Gonzales didn't utter a peep, but in his mind, he went "Aha! Here's the ready excuse we need to oust this one."
And many of us know just how little the Neo-cons care about indigenous peoples.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:38 pmAlso, without wanting to be sound racist, and simply state a fact of life in North America; Gonzo has roots in a culture that can have significant bigotry against Native Americans.
Comment by Zooey
Well, she's not going to lose her immunity. She didn't have to testify at all for you, missing a day of work for these loons.
The firings were suspicious, I get the point. Now, its time to either issue some sort of charges/reprimands or move forward completely here.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:39 pmre 12
in order to issue charges we first have to find out the truth. dems still believe in the truth. what are you afraid of?
May 24th, 2007 at 1:43 pmI didn't know Harvey Keitel was in the DOJ!!
May 24th, 2007 at 1:45 pmI think the Kiffmeyer connection is of paramount importance in this case and I hope someone digs into her interesting tenure as MN Secretary of State. As I recall, her office had some "administrative" issues with ballot paper weight or some bogus problem that almost resulted in some districts not getting ballots. There's a story in the Pawlenty/Kiffmeyer alliance.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:46 pmMonica has admitted to "crossing the line" but not breaking the law. Now, she is trying to make shit up and blame others. Just another reason to ask her to return to Congress to clarify her comments. Gonzo, Goodling, Rove, Bush, et al are telling so many lies, they can't keep them straight and they keep contradicting each other. How amusing.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:48 pmI guess he just wasn't a loyal enough Bushie.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:48 pm#4 - Greg Palast says he has sent those WH emails that were directed to the wrong site to John Conyers. He also said that what is in them will prove the Goodling, Gonzales and Sampson perjured themselves. He believes that Conyers is handing out rope and will turn it into a noose when he has them all dead to rights.
I hope he's right.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:54 pmComment by CompTROLLER V-1 — May 24, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
Get bent, you useless waste of skin.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:55 pmSo, when is the no-confidence vote for Goonzales?
May 24th, 2007 at 1:55 pmIt's obvious that this list of U.S. Attorney's is the result of divine creation and should therefore not be subject to criticism...
May 24th, 2007 at 1:55 pmI hope he’s right.
Comment by powkat
I do, too. Palast is a good guy, he's probably right. I would be a source of hope...
May 24th, 2007 at 1:58 pmThe list of Alberto Gonzales' offense keeps growing. First, he signed off on the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys whose terms had expired and who served as political appointments at the pleasure of the president. Next we learned that his staff had, at one time or another, considered dismissing other U.S. attorneys. And yesterday it was revealed that one of Gonzales' aides felt "a little uncomfortable" during a meeting on the subject with Gonzales.
That last bit comes from Monical Goodling's testimony. Goodling told the House Judiciary Committee that she met with Gonzales in mid-March to discuss her future at the Justice Department. During the discussion, Gonzales recounted his general recollection of the process that led to the firing of the U.S. attorneys and asked Goodling if she had any reaction. According to Goodling, she felt a little uncomfortable because she knew she would be called upon to testify about this. Thus, she didn't respond.
Goodling testified that she did not believe Gonzales was trying to shape her testimony, and that he was just being kind. Since the topic was her future with the Department, perhaps Gonzales was trying comfort Goodling by indicating that he didn't think she had done anything wrong. Alternatively, perhaps Gonzales was trying to make sure his recollection of the process was correct. In any case, Goodling didn't think he was trying to influence how she would testify, so there doesn't appear to be anything improper here.
Gonzales would later testify that he had not discussed the details of the firings with other potential witnesses. That statement does not seem inconsistent wtih Goodling's recollection that he tried to discuss with her, at a general level, the process that led to the terminations.
The Democrats may have more arrows to fire at Gonzales, but Goodling's appearance probably was the best one they had left. My sense is it missed its mark.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:10 pmI'm surprised it's taken this guy this long to realize he was forced out to make way for a friend of a friend of Dubya. This administration has turn justice on its ear in favor or partisanship. The justice system as we knew it no longer exists. The sad part about all of this is that Republicans voters and elected officials don't see anything wrong with it. The claim to love America, but they clearly hate their fellow Americans who are Democrats.
The people who vote for Republicans are the same types who supported Hilter in pre World War Germany. They only see party and anyone who disagrees with them doesn't count. That kind of thinking is going to tear this country apart at a time when we need each other more than ever. The reason for my comparisan between Republican voters and 1930s Germans is because both groups believed in a single leader and party so much they were willing to give up their rights for the sake of the state. When a people put the state ahead of individual rights and desire a totalitirian government, they not only endanger the themsleves, but they will lose everything the country has stood for. Human history is filled with examples of people deferring to the state and in every instance government went too far and abused power.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:11 pmComment by Patrick1 — May 24, 2007 @ 2:10 pm
Plagiarized directly from Power Line.
Patty, if you can't even be bothered to write original twaddle, kindly STFU.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:22 pmComment by Zooey
"Get bent, you useless waste of skin."
Quite the conspirator, I see.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:28 pmComment by TripMaster Monkey
"STFU."
I know, much more friendly and tolerant than the perceived "meanness" of those conservative threads. Thanks, but I would rather just get banned.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:34 pm#12
"The firings were suspicious, I get the point. Now, its time to either issue some sort of charges/reprimands or move forward completely here."
Comment by CompTROLLER V-1 — May 24, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
It takes time for corruption to fully decompose into its constituent elements.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:42 pmThere is no point in wasting to much time and effort on the little maggots who swarm over the larger corpse of the beast which will yield the most nutrients for the re-blooming of democracy in this nation.
We will yet see this administration thrown on the dung pile of history.
Plagiarized directly from Power Line.
Patty, if you can’t even be bothered to write original twaddle, kindly STFU.
Comment by TripMaster Monkey
Exactly! Patty, if ya got nothin', and I mean nothin' individual to say, then STFU. Ya know? I don't read assrockets powerline - I don't read bigoted and racists words. Those are your friends, not mine. God, still another reason to question your mental capacity.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:48 pmCompTROLLER V-1 sez:
Of course you would, Compie...after all, you'd rather "ignore" me than engage in debate.
Don't worry...not expecting a reply, seeing as how I'm on your Ignore List â„¢.
<snicker>
May 24th, 2007 at 2:58 pmMy computer virus software is reminding me to download an update to increase protection against a nasty virus called the 'TripMaster Monkey'. Call be brutal especially if you click on one of its links. Don't click on any of them, please everybody.
Viruses are to computers as terrorists are to America.
May 24th, 2007 at 3:17 pm...and now he's addressing me in the third person.
Compie, you remind me more and more of a certain bygone poster and his infantile "ignore list" every day...
May 24th, 2007 at 3:20 pmAnother example of the Bush administration's political right hand not knowing (or caring what the professional left hand was doing. Politics uber alles, from the janitor to the CEO.
May 24th, 2007 at 3:21 pmComment by TripMaster Monkey
"…and now he’s addressing me in the third person."
"STFU" is your own ignore list. Think that's any different, scholar?
Oh, and Professor Monkey, you won't be receiving any extra credit for indentifying my POV. I'm glad you've kept your handouts from high school English.
Finally, have your continuing suspicions that your dissenters could be "someone else." As if that makes any difference, anyways. Just because it doesn't take much for someone to switch their user name on this site, doesn't mean you have to constantly accuse one person of being another. I mean, where's the proof anyways? You love to ask others for the source, but this time the burden of proof is on you. Tough, isn't it?
May 24th, 2007 at 3:37 pmHee hee hee.
May 24th, 2007 at 3:46 pmStupid git.
Comment by DungROLLER 8-1
The trash can is THAT way.
May 24th, 2007 at 3:56 pmThis is why it was wrong to give the important job of hiring and firing U.S. attorneys to an immature, inexperienced partisan hack. Just one more of many reasons that Gonzales needs to be impeached. It's incompetence when a superior gives an important task to someone who clearly isn't suited for it.
The result here is that someone like Heffelfinger, whose professional life has far outshone anything that Miss Goodling could ever dream of achieving, has been trashed by the unworthy little bitch.
May 24th, 2007 at 5:38 pmSo the DOJ Staff is going after eachother. Wow, who cares -- let them pull the knives on eachother.
If this whiny DoJ-US Attorney person really thinks Goodling did him "wrong," why isn't he filing a civil lawsuit for defamation?
Oh, that's right an "immunity to prosecution" is immunity to criminal sanctions; but it's not immunity to frivolous lawsuits. Why isn't the former US Attorney going to "fight it out" over a defamation claim?
If Goodling has done anything wrong, then let the lawyers who are going after eafch other . . . go after eachother. Pass the popcorn.
May 24th, 2007 at 6:10 pmI'm wondering what happens when you compare the strategy and the outcome of Bushes business dealings with the strategy and outcome of his presidency.
May 24th, 2007 at 6:14 pmThe former repub Sec'y of State in MN...crazy Mary Kiffmeyer claimed that the "Help America Vote Act" (what a name) required Indians to use tribal id's to vote. She lost that fight in the courts in MN, and luckily lost the election. Local election supervisors also fought with her (and won) on the federal level in Minn. She was part of the master plan to control the vote in MN and she drove people completely crazy...
May 24th, 2007 at 7:21 pmI think Heffelfinger is either misunderstanding Goodling's remarks, misrepresenting them, or else his response is being misrepresented. Goodling wasn't asked to describe her feelings towards Heffelfinger, she was asked what concerns she had heard raised at DoJ that led to his firing. Simply watching the testiony makes clear that it's inaccurate to say that Goodling's testimony accused Heffelfinger of "spen[ding] an extraordinary amount of time as the leader of the Native American Subcommittee of the AGAC"; to the extent this part of her testimony "accuses" anyone of anything, it accuses unnamed DoJ staffers of being unimpressed with Heffelfinger's performance (although I think "reports" would be a more natural choice of word than "accuses").
May 25th, 2007 at 2:14 pmHeh, looks like the GOP apologists have swung into action to do some thread polluting.
For the record: As the Abramoff indictment shows, the Indian tribes that were his clients wound up being among his biggest victims -- he soaked them for at least $66 million (some records indicate as much as $100 million), then actively worked against their interests.
See, while lobbying is perfectly legal, fraud and moneylaundering are not -- and Abramoff's real gig was as a moneylaunderer of GOP campaign contributions. He used the dough he got from his lobbying front to set up various shell orgs that would turn around and become places for Republicans to get jobs, as well as serve the GOP in other ways, including cash donations.
May 27th, 2007 at 2:07 pmConspiracy Theory:
Feb 2005 - Hizzoner, St Paul Mayor Randy Kelly is
probed by 2 FBI investigations as he announces re-election.
The publicity is not good.
Mar 2005 - US Attorney Heff gets put on the US Attorney General death list.
Nov 2005 - Hisdishonor Randy Kelly is kicked
out of town with the largest loss by an incumbent mayor in the
history of St. Paul.
Jan 2006 Citizen Kelly goes to Washington
to beg for a job and get revenge, he is well connected with
the Bush people.
Feb 2006 - US Attorney Heff feels the pressure and "resigns".
May 28th, 2007 at 10:36 pm