[Infowarrior] - Resignations of U.S. attorneys raise suspicion of politically motivated DOJ purge

[Richard Forno]

 Jan. 24, 2007, 9:08PM
Dropping like flies
Resignations of U.S. attorneys raise suspicion of politically motivated
Justice Department purge.

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/4497086.html

In the past year 11 U.S. attorneys have resigned their positions, some under
pressure from their Justice Department superiors and the White House, even
through they had commendable performance records.

Democratic senators are concerned that the high turnover is linked to an
obscure, recently passed provision of the Patriot Act. The provision allows
the Bush administration to fill vacancies with interim prosecutors for the
remainder of the president's term without submitting them to the Senate for
confirmation. Previously, interim appointments were made by a vote of
federal judges in the districts served by the outgoing U.S. attorneys.

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., contends that in his state U.S. Attorney Bud
Cummins was improperly ousted in favor of a protege of Bush political
adviser Karl Rove. Likewise in California, U.S. Attorneys Carol Lam of San
Diego and Kevin Ryan of San Francisco were forced from their positions. Sen.
Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., alleged that Lam fell out of favor with her
Washington bosses for spearheading the bribery prosecution and conviction of
Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham last year. Lam reportedly had
other politicians in her sights.

"I am particularly concerned because of the inference ... that is drawn to
manipulation in the lineup of cases to be prosecuted by a U.S. attorney,"
Feinstein stated. "In the San Diego case, at the very least, we have people
from the FBI indicating that Carol Lam has not only been a straight shooter
but a very good prosecutor."

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales denied political motives figured in
the multiple resignations of top prosecutors, and pledged that all interim
appointments would be submitted to the Senate for confirmation. He
reiterated that U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president and
can be removed for a number of reasons, including job performance and their
standing in their districts. That isn't good enough for Feinstein and her
Democratic colleagues, who have introduced legislation to reinstate the
appointment of interim prosecutors by federal judges.

Gonzales is correct that the president is vested with the power to appoint
U.S. attorneys. Unfortunately, the Patriot Act change eliminated the ability
of the Senate to exercise its constitutional oversight of those nominations
to make sure they are qualified and not simply political plums handed out to
supporters in the waning years of the administration.

The attorney general's pledge to bring the wave of interim appointees before
the Senate for confirmation is welcome, providing it is done in a speedy
fashion. Still, the Patriot Act needs to be amended to restore judicial
appointment of interims.

No president should be able to fire top government prosecutors from their
positions for political reasons and then install successors without a
thorough vetting by the constitutionally charged legislative body.