Terms Expire Today For 11 Of Gonzales’ Handpicked Interim U.S. Attorneys
Terms Expire Today For 11 Of Gonzales’ Handpicked Interim U.S. Attorneys
In 2006, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales took advantage of a little-noticed provision in the Patriot Act to appoint 11 interim U.S. attorneys. But because the Senate revised the legislation in June, those attorneys’ terms expire today.
These 11 prosecutors now “find themselves at the mercy of the same U.S. district courts that the Justice Department saw fit to cut out of the U.S. Attorney appointment process last year.” The courts today will decide whether to reappoint these prosecutors who were handpicked by Gonzales and the White House.
Many judges and former U.S. attorneys believe that the federal courts today will be “less inclined than they have been in the past to rubber-stamping the attorney general’s interim picks.” As the Legal Times notes, “Some have served without Senate confirmation or court scrutiny for more than a year, inviting credibility questions.” A look at a couple of these prosecutors:
Nelson Cohen: Although the Attorney General is supposed to work with the state’s senators to find a U.S. attorney, Gonzales appointed Cohen as the U.S. attorney in Alaska over the objections of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK). Stevens said he was “furious at the way the Attorney General handled the matter” and resented that Cohen was from Pennsylvania, not Alaska.
Daniel Knauss: As in the case of Cohen in Alaska, the Justice Department “dodg[ed] recommendations from Arizona’s two U.S. senators” in order to appoint Knauss.
Rosa Rodriguez-Velez: Rodriguez-Velez is allegedly “leading a politically motivated investigation” into possibly illegal campaign contributions by Puerto Rico’s Democratic governor. Several senators have expressed reservations about Rodriguez-Velez.
Jeffrey Taylor: In May, Taylor, the U.S. attorney in DC, caved to the requests of four Justice Department officials to hire Jay Apperson. As an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia in the 1990s, Apperson “infuriated fellow prosecutors when he facetiously suggested a White History Month to complement Black History Month.” Taylor allowed him to “skip the rigorous vetting process that the vast majority of career federal prosecutors face.”
One of the 11 U.S. attorneys, James Dedrick, was confirmed by the Senate earlier this month. The U.S. attorney in San Francisco, Scott Schools, was recently reappointed by San Francisco’s federal judges for up to another four months. U.S. attorneys Jeffrey Sullivan in Washington and Karen Hewitt in California have also been reappointed by the district’s federal judges. Rodriguez-Velez cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in August, but Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has put a hold on her nomination.
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Let’s vet and cook these guys till they’re medium rare!
October 12th, 2007 at 10:23 amList of replacements:
Jake
Rory
Micheal
Bigfwat
Mighty Hermpahodite
Ron
Mr. P
Mr. P’s imaginary friend.
Mr. P’s hand puppet.
Barney
A sweaty jockstrap.
A bag of prunes.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:30 amLet them find jobs with the RNC, where their talents can be put to good use.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:30 amThere are more gangsters in Washington than I thougt!
October 12th, 2007 at 10:38 amcaption contest:
Former AG Alberto Gonzales in a failed attempt to pick his nose. He was later overheard saying, “I can’t remember where my nostril hole is. Dios mio, when I worked in the White House, Monica used to do all my “picking” for me.”
October 12th, 2007 at 10:39 am“Gonzales appointed Cohen as the U.S. attorney in Alaska over the objections of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK). Stevens said he was “furious at the way the Attorney General handled the matter†and resented that Cohen was from Pennsylvania, not Alaska.”
I agree with Ted Stevens on this one. Whoda thunk it? However, I notice that Ted Stevens happily carries water for the entire Bushco until it spills into his own back yard.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:42 amBut what about the children…? I’m so relieved that Gonzo is standing up for the Frost boy at this difficult time.
Oh yeah….
October 12th, 2007 at 10:42 amBuh bye.
∞
October 12th, 2007 at 10:48 amIs that a hospital id bracelet he’s wearing? Mental ward?
October 12th, 2007 at 10:49 amI agree with Ted Stevens on this one. Whoda thunk it? However, I notice that Ted Stevens happily carries water for the entire Bushco until it spills into his own back yard.
Comment by missmolly — October 12, 2007 @ 10:42 am
Ted Stevens is just pissed because he had already sold this US attorney spot to own of his cronies.
Unfortunately for Ted, the AG’s corruption trumped his own.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:56 amThat bracelet Gonzo’s wearing is standard issue for most psychiatric wards…..
October 12th, 2007 at 11:12 amactually its the bracelett dick gave him to go outside and play with when the adults needed to decide how many volts you could apply to a muslims testicles without being considered torture.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:35 amAt this point in time I do believe that anyone that was picked by Gonzo and GW666 need to be booted, no matter what. Sorry AG’s but they have a proven record of corruption in everything they do.
Buck Fush
October 12th, 2007 at 12:37 pmI don’t know the circumstances of the other appointments, but there was nothing political, agenda-driven, or sinister about the appointment of Daniel Knauss in Arizona. He is a career prosecutor who heads up the Tucson office and has been called on to fill in as acting U.S. Attorney on other occassions.
Knauss is probably there because the Bush administration was trying to keep a low profile until some of the smoke blows over.
October 12th, 2007 at 3:40 pmChocolate Jesus, you forgot:
-Ahmad Chalabi
-Envelopes of Anthrax
-The Carlyle Group
-Bush’s Binky
Now excuse me while I disappear the coffee spew on my keyboard (Thanks!)
October 13th, 2007 at 5:18 am