Gonzales Faces The House, Plans Another Mea Culpa
It doesn't look like Congress is ready to move on. Should it?
Speaking at a symposium in Seattle on Wednesday, fired USA John McKay said he hoped Gonzales would tell "the truth." David Iglesias added: "I just hope I don't hear 'I don't recall' coming from his mouth very often."
Revelations since Gonzales testified before the Senate in April ("I don't recall") suggest a pattern of politicization that appears deeper and wider than previously thought.
For example, the National Journal reported on 30 April that Gonzales signed a secret order that granted "extraordinary authority" to Goodling and former Gonzales chief of staff Kyle Sampson.
The two were given "the authority, with the approval of the Attorney General, to take final action in matters pertaining to the appointment, employment, pay, separation, and general administration" for almost all political appointees in the Justice Department. The National Journal reports that the initial draft of the order granted the two this power without the need for AG approval.
But, Jim Comey, the deputy attorney general from 2003-2005, told Congress that he had only "one 15-minute conversation" about US Attorneys "who were considered weak managers" during his time at Justice. Only one of the eight fired USAs "fit that description," he said, and he was "unaware of plans to fire" the eight. He was the number two guy at Justice, but out of the loop.
In Missouri, former US Attorney Todd Graves reports he was asked to step down in January 2006 -- no explanation given other than to "give another person a chance." He was unsuccessful appealing to Missouri Senators for support.
In Wisconsin, the US Attorney, Steven Biskupic, prosecuted Georgia Thompson on corruption charges, on a timeline convenient for opponents of Gov. Jim Doyle (D). The US Court of Appeals not only overturned the conviction last month, Judge Diane Wood told Biskupic, "Your evidence is beyond thin. I'm not sure what your actual theory in this case is."
Oh. And the case was in Madison (the capitol), the home of the state's other US Attorney; Biskupic is based in Milwaukee. No explanation of how Biskupic got the case.
Thompson's case illustrates research conducted by Donald C. Shields and John F. Cragan. Their analysis shows that USAs are investigating seven times as many Democratic officials as Republicans, even though the parties are represented almost at a one-to-one ratio. The study period: Jan 2001 - Dec 2006. The authors write:
Political profiling makes Democratic officials look like they are more corrupt than Republicans, just as racial minorities are made to look more corrupt than whites by the practice of racial profiling by law enforcement agencies. However, the data on state-wide, U.S. Congress, and U.S. Senate elected officials do not support this claim.
I'll ask again: It doesn't look like Congress is ready to move on. Should it?