[nopardons]

Who holds the purse strings of government?

Come on, answer me, it's a really simple question, that any 10 year old should be able to answer. :-)

No, he can't fire the prosecutor.

He can pardon the border guards AFTER he reviews the case.

Fifth grade history is really not all that difficult and should be known by all adults. You are an adult, aren't you?

[Iwo Jima]

No, he can't fire the prosecutor.

Well, yes and no. In his capacity as president, Bush can certainly fire the prosecutor. His justice department just fired the Randy Cunningham prosecutor (among others).

But in his capacity as the recipient of orders from Vicente Fox, you are right, he can't fire Johnny Sutton. If he did, there would be hell to pay.

Read "Compromised" by Terry Reed.

[org.whodat]

No, he can't fire the prosecutor.

Your HERO Bill Clintoon fired 97 of them at one time.

[texastoo]

No, he can't fire the prosecutor.

He can pardon the border guards AFTER he reviews the case.

Fifth grade history is really not all that difficult and should be known by all adults. You are an adult, aren't you?

The Patriot Act changed quite a few laws.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002348.php

WH Moved Swiftly to Replace US Attorneys By Paul Kiel - January 16, 2007, 3:22 PM The administration is replacing U.S. Attorneys throughout the country. How'd they get that power?

It was an obscure provision in the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, and it didn't take them very long to use it. The president signed it into law in March of last year -- by June, they were already moving to replace unwanted prosecutors.

Former Arkansas USA Bud Cummins told the Wall Street Journal that "a top Justice official asked for his resignation in June, saying the White House wanted to give another person the opportunity to serve." Cummins was finally forced out in December, replaced with Timothy Griffin, formerly the research director of the Republican National Committee.

Section 502 of the PATRIOT Act reauthorization, which was first drafted in July of 2005 and finally signed in March of 2006, changed the law regarding the appointment of U.S. Attorneys. Whereas before the relevant federal district court would have appointed a replacement within 120 days after the Attorney General picked one, now that pick stood without challenge.

How did this (brief, legalistically worded, but powerful) section get in to the bill? It's not clear. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has consistently referred to the provision as "little noticed." What is clear is that Feinstein and her colleagues did not expect the provision to be used in this way. We'll have more on this as we learn more.