Posted on 05/04/2007 12:26:51 AM PDT by CutePuppy
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department's former No. 2 official testified Thursday he was unaware of plans to fire underperforming U.S. attorneys and praised all but one of the eight who were purged last year.
Jim Comey, who served as deputy attorney general from 2003 to 2005, said he had one 15-minute conversation during his tenure about prosecutors who were considered weak managers. Only one of the eight who were ultimately fired -- Kevin Ryan, the former U.S. attorney in San Francisco -- fit that description, Mr. Comey said.
The others were doing their jobs well, Mr. Comey told a House Judiciary subcommittee investigating the firings
His testimony starkly contrasted with the Justice Department's insistence that the eight were ordered to resign in a midterm purge because they were considered underperformers in some of the Bush administration's priority crime-fighting areas.
David Iglesias of New Mexico, for example, was "a very effective U.S. attorney," Mr. Comey said. He called Daniel Bogden of Nevada "as straight as a Nevada highway and a fired-up guy" and Paul Charlton of Arizona "one of the best."
Of John McKay, former prosecutor in Seattle: "One of my favorites," Mr. Comey said. Carol Lam of San Diego was "a fine U.S. attorney."
Mr. Comey said he did not have much interaction with Bud Cummins of Little Rock, Ark., and neither he nor lawmakers spoke about Margaret Chiara, who was prosecutor in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The former deputy attorney general called Mr. Ryan "a fine guy -- he just had management problems in that office."
Mr. Comey, now counsel at defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp., said he did not know his Feb. 28, 2005, brief talk with Kyle Sampson, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's former chief of staff, was part of a larger process to weed out underperformers. The discussion occurred less than a month after Mr. Gonzales was confirmed.
"I was not aware there was any sort of process going on .. or my brief conversation with Mr. Sampson was part of a process," Mr. Comey said.
Mr. Comey also said he was unaware of any discussions about dismissing prosecutors for political reasons, as Democrats believe happened. He said he never spoke with Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, and that his discussions with former White House counsel Harriet Miers were limited to topics like presidential pardons.
Justice Department documents show both Mr. Rove and Ms. Miers had floated the idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys shortly after the 2004 elections. Mr. Comey told lawmakers that proposal "would be very disruptive" if it had been carried out.
Mr. Comey also said he was aware of internal discussions at the Justice Department over whether Monica Goodling, formerly counsel and White House liaison for Mr. Gonzales, had illegally considered applicants' political affiliations when hiring career trial prosecutors in some U.S. attorneys' offices. The Justice Department is investigating the allegation.
"If that was going on, that strikes at the core of what the Department of Justice is," Mr. Comey said. "You just cannot do that. It deprives the department of its lifeblood."
Rep. Melvin Watt said the investigation suggests the Justice Department itself now fears that part of the firing process was illegal. "We have an obligation to get to the bottom of this and to reassure the public that there is no wrongdoing, if in fact that is the case," Mr. Watt said. "If it is not the case, it is our responsibility to expose that."
Rep. Chris Cannon of Utah, top Republican on the panel, praised Mr. Comey's candor but chastised Democrats controlling the hearing of unfairly seeking to link the White House's political operation to the firings. "So far this seems to be a fishing expedition that's come up dry," Mr. Cannon said.
"So far this seems to be a fishing expedition that's come up dry," Mr. Cannon said.
More Fitzgeralding going on...
So much for his credibility.
If the roles were reversed and he were a favorite of the Republicans with two prominent issues like those, the RATS would have spent the entire day beating him up over them and never allow him to speak about the matter at hand. Of course, we know the Stupid Party would never think of doing that which is how the AP can sing such a nice song today.
President Bush should have requested every prosecutors resignation the day he took office.
Along with every other Clinton appointee.
right this Comey creep is a Dim fav...what was up with Ashcroft turning over anything to this guy?
Bush actually appointed Comey to DoJ, knowing he was a Dem... after media sung praises for him for his "toughness" as US Attorney in Southern District of NY and willingness to go after white collar criminals, a'la Giuliani. Comey was a lead prosecutor in Martha Stewart case.
Comey was confirmed on December 9, 2003 and became Deputy AG on December 11, 2003. On December 30, 2003 he appointed his good friend and godfather to his son, Patrick Fitzgerald to be a Special Prosecutor, after he went to Ashcroft and insisted that he recuse himself from Plame case. In 3 weeks on the job he orchestrated what evolved into a Fitzgate.
Comey also refused in 2004 to sign off on reauthorization / extension of NSA Surveillance Program, which required Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card to rush to hospital where Ashcroft was in intensive care to get him to sign off on it.
Statement of Fact:
The attempted theft of the 2000 presidential election by Al Gore, and it’s subsequent turmoil, is the root of most of the Bush Administration’s problems.
1. Bush was prevented from having an orderly transition. The lawsuits delayed many vital screening processes.
2. The caterwauling by the Democrats rose to such a fierce crescendo, Bush caved and let a lot of Clinton holdovers stay in office. UNBELIEVABLY major misake.
3. President Bush’s ability to gut the stench of the Clinton Presidency was seveverly undercut by the Media and the Dems in the aftermat of the 2000 debacle.
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