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Harry Hope · Guest

From TIME, 3/7/07:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1597085,00.html

Why Were These U.S. Attorneys Fired?

After Republicans lost control of Congress last year, newly empowered
Democrats promised to launch a series of tough investigations on
everything from the Iraq war to Medicare and high energy prices.

But since taking charge on Capitol Hill in January, a series of
unexpected new issues have captured their attention, none potentially
more damaging to the Bush Administration than the controversy over
alleged political influence in the firing of eight Republican U.S.
attorneys last Dec. 7, in an episode that some of its victims have
already taken to calling the "Pearl Harbor Day Massacre."

The White House approves all U.S. attorneys, who function as the
federal government's chief prosecutors in 93 jurisdictions around the
country.

As political appointees, they serve "at the pleasure of the
President," and can be replaced, at least theoretically, at any time
for any reason.

But group firings in the middle a presidential term are highly
unusual.

Though Attorney General Alberto Gonzales insisted to Congress that "I
would never, ever make a change in a U.S. attorney position for
political reasons," critics were outraged at the December dismissals,
among them the firing of an Arkansas U.S. attorney to make way for
Timothy Griffin, a protege of White House political guru Karl Rove.

The outcry forced Griffin to withdraw.

Gonzales' top deputy later claimed the firings were necessary because
of "performance-related" issues.

But it was later revealed that all but two of the dismissed
prosecutors had won outstanding evaluations for competence.

Those revelations set the stage for Tuesday's dramatic appearance of
six of the ousted Republican prosecutors before House and Senate
committees dominated by Democrats.

One of the fired prosecutors, David Iglesias of New Mexico, testified
that he felt "leaned on" by Sen. Pete Domenici over a case he was
pursuing.

Iglesias said the New Mexico Republican and former mentor hung up on
him after learning Iglesias would not seek indictments in a criminal
investigation of Democrats before the 2006 election.

"He said, 'Are these going to be filed before November?'" Iglesias
recalled.

"I said I didn't think so... to which he replied, 'I'm very sorry to
hear that.' And then the line went dead.

"I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach," Iglesias testified.

"Six weeks later I got the call that I had to move on."

The ousted prosecutor also said that Heather Wilson, a Republican
House member from New Mexico, had called him about the same issue.

Both Domenici and Wilson confirmed that they had gotten in touch with
Iglesias, but denied pressuring him in any way.

The Justice Department also acknowledged that Domenici had called
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his top deputy four times to
complain about Iglesias' behavior, inquiring whether he was "up to the
job."

Another fired U.S. attorney, H. E. "Bud" Cummins of Arkansas,
testified that he had e-mailed fellow ousted prosecutors last month,
warning them of a threatening message conveyed by a senior Justice
Department official.

Cummins' e-mail, which was released publicly, quoted the Justice
official as warning that if fired U.S. attorneys continued to talk to
the media or volunteered to testify before Congress, the department
"would feel forced to somehow pull their gloves off" and fight back.

The DOJ denied the allegation.

Yet another sacked U.S. attorney, John McKay of Seattle, declared that
a top aide to Rep. Doc Hastings, the former Republican chairman of the
House Ethics Committee, had called him to ask detailed questions about
a politically charged investigation McKay was conducting into the
disputed 2004 election of Washington state's Democratic Gov. Christine
Gregoire.

Hastings and his aide have denied the allegation.

The day before the Congressional hearings, Michael Battle, the Justice
Department official who had made the telephone calls to dismiss six of
the eight prosecutors, announced he was leaving his job.

The Department described the sudden departure as long planned, having
nothing to do with the controversial terminations he had been required
to carry out.

But Democrats immediately questioned that version of events.

Said Linda Sanchez, a California Democrat:

"The wheels are coming off the Bush Administration's increasingly
hollow defense of its decision."

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Harry