Firing U.S. Attorneys "Good Management"

[LaWood]

Goodling: Congress misled about Griffin

Aaron Sadler
Stephens Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - A former Justice Department official testified Wednesday that the No. 2 man at the department misled a Senate panel about his knowledge of Tim Griffin's hiring as a federal prosecutor, as new correspondence made public showed that Griffin boasted to former colleagues about a published "swipe" at Sen. Mark Pryor.

Monica Goodling told the House Judiciary Committee that Paul McNulty, the former deputy attorney general, was aware of White House involvement to appoint Griffin as interim U.S. attorney in Little Rock.
http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/200 ... 42141.html

ALSO Greg Palast weighs in on Goodling's testimony

Special to BRADBLOG
by Greg Palast

This Monica revealed something hotter — much hotter — than a stained blue dress. In her opening testimony yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee, Monica Goodling, the blonde-ling underling to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Department of Justice Liaison to the White House, dropped The Big One….And the Committee members didn’t even know it.

Goodling testified that Gonzales’ Chief of Staff, Kyle Sampson, perjured himself, lying to the committee in earlier testimony. The lie: Sampson denied Monica had told him about Tim Griffin’s “involvement in ‘caging’ voters” in 2004.

Huh?? Tim Griffin? “Caging”???

http://www.bradblog.com/

[Lawood]

Griffin To Resign As U.S. Attorney For Eastern Arkansas.

Finally, under all sorts of allegations which have been made under oath regarding Griffin's "caging" activities on behalf of Rove and the Republicans he senses the end of his Federal career as a USA.

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/ ... edpros.txt

I should make a listing of how many have "resigned" over this little matter
that GW says is nothing. Griffin called it a "circus."

Several blogs have speculated that Griffin will sign on to Fred Thompson's presidential campaign.

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

Since caging is illegal - a federal offense in fact - will Griffin be aiding Thompson's campaign from prison? In this "law and order administration"? I thought not.

[Lawood]

I think Thompson is too damn smart to take on damaged goods which may put his ship of state in peril.

[Lawood]

House Judiciary not through with Timothy Griffin

""Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee investigating the firing of US Attorneys, met Thursday evening in New York with Palast. After reviewing key documents, Conyers stated that, despite Griffin's resignation, "We're not through with him by any means."
Greg Palast Newsletter
6/1/07

[Lawood]

More on the workings of Karl Rove's Justice Dept

Following up on my post of Thu Apr 19, 2007 12:06 am consider this:

Rove Linked to Prosecution of Ex-Alabama Governor
In the rough and tumble of Alabama politics, the scramble for power is often a blood sport. At the moment, the state's former Democratic governor, Don Siegelman, stands convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges and faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Siegelman has long claimed that his prosecution was driven by politically motivated, Republican-appointed U.S. attorneys.

Now Karl Rove, the President's top political strategist, has been implicated in the controversy. A longtime Republican lawyer in Alabama swears she heard a top G.O.P. operative in the state say that Rove "had spoken with the Department of Justice" about "pursuing" Siegelman, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. attorneys.

The allegation was made by Dana Jill Simpson, a lifelong Republican and lawyer who practices in Alabama. She made the charges in a May 21 affidavit, obtained by TIME, in which she describes a conference call on November 18, 2002, which involved a group of senior aides to Bob Riley, who had just narrowly defeated Siegelman in a bitterly contested election for governor. ..............

..William Canary, a senior G.O.P. political operative and Riley adviser reassured others on the conference call — who also included Riley's son, Rob, and Terry Butts, another Riley lawyer and former justice of the Alabama supreme court — that he had the help of a powerful pal in Washington. Canary said "not to worry — that he had already gotten it worked out with Karl and Karl had spoken with the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice was already pursuing Don Siegelman," the Simpson affidavit says..

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article ... 27,00.html

(Plot thickens)

[Doug]

Now Karl Rove, the President's top political strategist, has been implicated in the controversy.

DOUG
Wow. The woman who overheard the phone conversation had phone records to prove her claim.

When are we going to see that bastard Rove in jail?

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

Rove & Co learned from their experience trying to take down Bill Clinton. Don't waste time looking for something legit - make something up and provide "evidence" to "prove" it.

If there were a god even vaguely interested in America, this group would have been shut down in 1994. If there were even a god who checked in once in a while (say every decade or so) this entire administration would be in jail - either here for infractions of domestic laws or in some international prison after World Court trials for infractions of international laws regarding starting wars (and torturing people). Iraq is as much genocide as Darfur. Maybe genocide is the mechanism through which "rapture" occurs - to get people off the planet before global warming induced "tribulations" begin.

[Lawood]

Former Ark Interim U.S. Attorney, Tim Griffin, cannot find a job according to a post over at Think Progress:
"Rove-protege Tim Griffin can’t find a job.

Former U.S. attorney in Arkansas and Karl Rove-protege Tim Griffin “is using a legal search firm and sources say Griffin is touting his political connections as leverage into a white collar or government relations practice.” But he’s having some trouble:

“His timing is just bad,” says a Washington recruiter at a national search firm. “He’s a politico, not a litigator, which people just don’t care about. If you’re a U.S. attorney with no experience someone is not going to bring you on board to create or enhance a practice.”

One chairman of a national firm says his firm was contacted regarding Griffin but declined. “We got a phone call from a recruiter on his behalf but wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole,” says the chairman. “Colleagues who I trust and respect said to take a pass.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/05/rov ... ind-a-job/

[Dardedar]

Tim Griffin, cannot find a job according to...

DAR
I heard a news blurb that said he was a hot commodity because of his Rove connections. Probably BS. Probably a news blurb ordered up by Rove. These guys have to be near the end.

D.

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

The only people who would want to hire Griffin because of his Rove connections wouldn't want to be CAUGHT hiring Griffin because of his Rove connections.

[Dardedar]

Officials Rebuked for Disclosing Rove's Connection to Firing of US
Attorney

46 pages of documents turned over by the Justice Department to Congress
as part of the investigation into the firings of at least nine US
attorneys provide further evidence that White House officials were deeply
involved in the mass firings of well-performing prosecutors.

LINK

[Dardedar]

Novak: Rove-Protege Tim Griffin Joins Thompson Campaign

Robert Novak reports tonight that controversial former U.S. attorney in Arkansas Tim Griffin, who resigned last week, will join Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign as rumored:

"Even before the official announcement of candidacy by former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), an all-star team of GOP operatives is gathering around him — Lawrence Lindsey, Ken Khachigian, Tim Griffin, Dave Bossie and Victoria Toensing, with more to follow."

LINK

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

Thompson wants the Rove connections. It's his only real shot at the White House. We will just have to hope that enough people are aware of the machinations of the nasty litte weasel behind the throne so Rove-tactics won't work this time. They will again - those tactics weren't invented by Rove any more than they were invented by Himmler - but maybe we can get enough people to see through them THIS time to actually get people in office who will move our country back towards "the Great Experiment".

[Lawood]

NOTE: NO Mainstream Media reporting WHATSOEVER! Inoticed a brief mention on BBC NEWS last nite.

He signed it. Returned us to Constitutional government, without a signing statement.

Bush Finally Signs U.S. Attorney Bill After Installing One Last ‘Loyal Bushie’

"That bill, the Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007, has been on the president’s desk since June 4th. Do you know it seems he just can’t bring himself to sign it? Instead, we were informed yesterday through the Justice Department that the attorney general has used the power that we voted to repeal again.

It’s almost like they live in an alternate world, as though they’re not realizing the reaction of Democrats and Republicans about this misuse of this power. That’s wrong.

On June 14, 2007, the President signed into law:

S. 214, the “Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/15/bush-law/

[Lawood]

"Thompson wants the Rove connections. It's his only real shot at the White House."

Insiders I visited with say Griffith was sent to Little Rock for one of two purposes, perhaps both:
1. Dig up dirt on Hillary in Arkansas
2. Scandalize Mark Pryor's senatorial re election campaign. They have other Rovian USAs in other key areas ready to do the same to other senatorial races so that Rs can regain the U.S. Senate.

However, Rep John Conyers, D-House Judiciary Comm, plans to have Griffith before him, likely in sworn testimony. If that happens it will be a turning point in R politics. I plan to watch it.

[Savonarola]

LaWood has proposed sending the posts related to Tim Griffin only to this thread. I think that his idea is a good one. Please post appropriately.

Thank you for your cooperation.
--Savonarola, Politics moderator

[LaWood]

House Judiciary: We "Insist" Miers Comply With Subpoena
By Laura McGann - July 13, 2007, 5:00 PM

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee John Conyers (D-MI) warned Harriet Miers' attorney today that the former White House counsel will risk contempt proceedings unless she complies with a committee-issued subpoena for testimony.

Miers was supposed to testify before a Judiciary subcommittee yesterday on the US attorney firings, but she did not appear after a White House attorney instructed her to stay home. The White House claims that executive privilege cloaks Miers from testifying.

Chair of the sub-committee, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) disagreed with that assertion, and ruled yesterday that the executive privilege claim wasn't properly asserted anyway.
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003683.php

Sanchez wrote:


In previous cases, when a private party such as Ms. Miers has been subpoenaed and the Executive Branch has objected on privilege grounds, the private party has respected the subpoena and the Executive Branch has obliged to go to court to seed to prevent compliance with the subpoena.

We have not even received a statement form the President himself asserting privilege, even though Chairman Conyers has asked for one. The Courts have stated that a personal assertion of executive privilege by the President is legally required for the privilege claim to be valid."