Fired U.S. attorney says he felt 'leaned on' in Democratic corruption case

ap on San Diego Union - Tribune ^ | 3/6/07 | Jennifer Talhelm - ap

[Doctor Raoul]

Ira Einhorn.

[NormsRevenge]

Curt Weldon? Ouch.

A complete and total hatchet job..

and are there still loyal Clintonoids in the FBI and such?

you have to ask? ;-)

[Obadiah]

Yep, I remember the case.

[zarf]

Kudos to the Democrats for playing the game the way it should be played.

Democrats: doing the job Republicans wont do.

[untrained skeptic]

He felt "leaned on" by a member of Congress. Well, since Congress has oversight authority over the executive branch that would appear to be appropriate to the extent in which it was done.

Congress is not his direct supervisor. They can't tell him what to do. If he feels "pressured" to do something wrong just because a member of Congress asks him why things are taking so long, then he doesn't have any business being a prosecutor and should have been fired.

[Kuksool]

Ping!

I think should be an investigation on why Patricia Madrid isn't doing her job as NM Attorney General in ferreting out corruption.

[MEGoody]

“If they (DOJ) feel like any of us intend to continue to offer quotes to the press, or organize behind the scenes congressional pressure, then they feel forced to somehow pull their gloves off and offer public criticisms to defend their actions more fully,” Cummins said in the e-mail to five other fired prosecutors.

Nothing wrong with that.

[MEGoody]

What, specifically, do you believe the Republicans did wrong in this instance?

[Rodney King]

What, specifically, do you believe the Republicans did wrong in this instance?

It is wrong for politicians to pressue US attorney's to speed up the pace of the investigation of a political opponent. Now, I am not saying that is illegal, I am just saying it is immoral. Perhaps I am in the minority on that, but if so, then you have nothing to fear because the country won't care about this.

[Rodney King]

or organize behind the scenes congressional pressure,

So if right now the Democrats were organizing behind the scenes congressional pressure on a US attorney to indict Cheney over the plame thing (not saying he is guilty, just citing an example) you would say: "Nothing wrong with that?" If so, then we just have a different view of the world.

[MEGoody]

Uh, you might want to read the article again. It isn't the White House or Republican Senators that are 'organizing congressional pressure.' It's the fired prosecutors to which that is refering.

So, do you have any examples of what, specifically, you think the Republicans are doing wrong in this instance?

[Rodney King]

Uh, you might want to read the article again. It isn't the White House or Republican Senators that are 'organizing congressional pressure.' It's the fired prosecutors to which that is refering.

Yes sorry.

So, do you have any examples of what, specifically, you think the Republicans are doing wrong in this instance?

I did in my first email response to you.

[Chi-townChief]

Now he can be sickened at home.

[gracesdad]

"Didn't Billy Bob Clinton force resignations from every federal prosecuter shortly after he took office? That's a little tougher than a freaking phone call from a Republican Senator, isn't it?"

It's extremely common for a new president to replace numerous federal prosecutors, particularly the heads of offices. Bush replaced the appointed Democrat in my area with what virtually everybody here agrees is a pretty mediocre prosecutor. Frankly, the Democrat was much better. But he was a Democrat and that's the way the game goes.

It's pretty rare -- almost unheard of -- for a sitting president to replace prosecutors in mid-term (so to speak), absent any evidence of serious wrongdoing. It's most definitely not illegal, however. Federal prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the president and can be fired for no reason at all.

A phone call from a Republican senator to check on the possible indictment of a Democrat right before an election also might not be illegal (I don't know), but it sure as heck isn't ethical, IMO. Senators and representatives simply do NOT call prosecutors about the status of cases. Bad, bad form.

[Rogle]

Folks there is a lot more to this story than what you are getting, which is very one sided. Go to this blog and read last Friday's post so tha you might begin to understand what is going on here in NM and why David Inglasis was fired and why a Senator and Congresswoman would call him.

http://www.wednesdaymorningqb.com/

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks!

[enots]

Here's an old FR post on Clinton's:
How The Rule Of Law Was Subverted - The D.A. Massacre
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a381945094192.htm

NY Times article on DiBiagio,former U.S. Attorney for Maryland

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/06/washington/06prosecutor.html?_r=1&hp&oref=
slogin

And excerpts about DiBiagio from the book, The Midnight Ride of Jonathan Luna,(about the murder of a MD. Assistant U.S. Attorney under DiBiagio)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1360653/posts?page=2

[Bommer]

It is improper for elected officials to put pressue on a US attorney to hurry up and charge a political opponenet.

Oh Freaken Please! Wanna talk Mark Foley for IM'ing perverted talk to a male intern? Every stinkin Democrap was demanding immediate investigations and got them! Gosh when did the Democraps pull that one off.......hmmmm.... I think it was in October, just before the election.

The firing was due to corrupt liberal lawyers protecting the organized crime syndicate know as the DNC in power.

[MEGoody]

I did in my first email response to you.

Yes, you did. I missed that post. Sorry.

[Rodney King]

Oh Freaken Please! Wanna talk Mark Foley for IM'ing perverted talk to a male intern? Every stinkin Democrap was demanding immediate investigations and got them!

1st, I don't recall it happening that way at all. I recall they wanted investigations run properly by the house, not that they were putting private pressue on a US attorney.

And, even if they did, it is still improper.