Here's the latest:
Rove was asked to fire U.S. attorney
By Margaret Talev and Marisa Taylor
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Presidential advisor Karl Rove and at least one other member of the White House political team were urged by the New Mexico Republican party chairman to fire the state's U.S. attorney because of dissatisfaction in part with his failure to indict Democrats in a voter fraud investigation in the battleground election state.
In an interview Saturday with McClatchy Newspapers, Allen Weh, the party chairman, said he complained in 2005 about then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to a White House liaison who worked for Rove and asked that he be removed. Weh said he followed up with Rove personally in late 2006 during a visit to the White House.
"Is anything ever going to happen to that guy?" Weh said he asked Rove at a White House holiday event that month.
"He's gone," Rove said, according to Weh.
"I probably said something close to 'Hallelujah,'" said Weh.
Weh's account calls into question the Justice Department's stance that the recent decision to fire Iglesias and seven U.S. attorneys in other states was a personnel matter - made without White House intervention. Justice Department officials have said the White House's involvement was limited to approving a list of the U.S. attorneys after the Justice Department made the decision to fire them.
Abu Gonzales called this an "overblown personnel matter" last week in an editorial in USA Today. Nothing to see here folks. Move along now. But, when your own Republicans are mad at you Gonzales, you'd better start paying attention. You don't get to wave this one off.
As for Rove, he's just playing dirty backroom politics as usual. One of these days that will catch up to him. Let's hope it's sooner rather than later.
Here's the crux of this story:
The firings, most of which happened Dec. 7, became a flashpoint for Democrats in part because they were accompanied by a little-noticed change in federal law in 2006 that allowed Gonzales to appoint interim federal prosecutors to indefinite terms. Under the previous system, the local federal district court would appoint a temporary replacement after 120 days until a permanent candidate was named and confirmed by the Senate.
Democrats and some Republicans said they were concerned the Justice Department was attempting to use the new provision to appoint political cronies without Senate oversight and that the firings were a means to that end. Gonzales and other Justice officials have argued that the old replacement system was inefficient and unconstitutional.
Democrats have attempted to attach to several pieces of legislation language to remove the provision, but they have been blocked repeatedly by Kyl. Senate aides cautioned that Gonzales's assertion that the administration will stand down did not guarantee passage, as Senate Republicans could still block the measure.
But after their meeting, Leahy said Gonzales assured him Bush will sign the bill if it reaches his desk. "My understanding is the president would," Leahy said.
The Bush administration has grasped for every possible ounce of power it could while it thought no one was paying attention. And frankly, some of the Dems weren't - obviously. Who reads all of those silly little bills anyway?
They have to spend so much time trying to play catch up with everything that's gone wrong that they'll be in hearings constantly from now until the next election - if not beyond that time. Meanwhile, who knows what else Bushco will try to slip past them? (War: Iran) The Dems need to start playing offense instead of always being stuck in defensive mode. They need to get on top of things quickly - now - before they're left behind again. Surely, they can walk and chew gum at the same time, can't they?
Bonus update: The NYT's editorial board has had enough of Gonzales:
On Thursday, Senator Arlen Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, hinted very obliquely that perhaps Mr. Gonzales’s time was up. We’re not going to be oblique. Mr. Bush should dismiss Mr. Gonzales and finally appoint an attorney general who will use the job to enforce the law and defend the Constitution.
Amen and read the whole thing.
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