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US Attorney Steps Down on O'Keefe Case [Jim Letten]
FOX News ^ | 02/01/10

Posted on 02/01/2010 5:48:09 PM PST by freespirited

James O'Keefe, accused of trying to tamper with the phones of Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, was "framed" by the media and the U.S. attorney's office, Andrew Breitbart, publisher of BigGovernment.com, told Fox News Monday.

The same day the man who first published James O'Keefe's explosive videos exposing wrongdoing at community organizer ACORN came to his defense Monday, claiming the conservative filmmaker "sat in jail for 28 hours without access to an attorney" while the prosecutor made his case to the media, the U.S. attorney involved stepped down.

O'Keefe, accused of trying to tamper with the phones of Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, was "framed" by the media and the U.S. attorney's office, Andrew Breitbart, publisher of BigGovernment.com, told Fox News Monday.

Hours later, Jim Letten, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, recused himself from the case.

The Department of Justice announced the change in a news release Monday night, but did not say why Letten wanted off the case.

"James O'Keefe sat in jail for 28 hours without access to an attorney, while the U.S. attorney leaked the information about his arrest, helping the media frame it as 'Watergate Junior,'" Breitbart said.

"The panty bomber on Christmas was given -- you know, this guy's from Al Qaeda, and he's not even an American citizen, and he's given access to an attorney right away. I believe that this was a concerted effort, this is just my opinion, to allow for the media to frame the issue to put James O'Keefe in a very bad position."

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: abuseofpower; acorn; bhodoj; breitbart; jamesokeefe; jimletten; landrieu; louisiana; marylandrieu; misconduct; okeefe; prosecutorialabuse
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To: freespirited

Time for Breitbart, IMHO, to come out with the info he said he had. (when he challenged Holder to investigate)


21 posted on 02/01/2010 6:10:05 PM PST by machogirl (First they came for my tagline.)
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To: cripplecreek

Jim Letten was named to an ADVISORY PANEL for Eric HOLDER??? Double OMG!! Holder is DANGEROUS to AMERICAN FREEDOM!!


22 posted on 02/01/2010 6:11:05 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion,,,,,,the Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: mware

Obama knows who his real enemies are, and he respects his friends.


23 posted on 02/01/2010 6:12:02 PM PST by muawiyah ("Git Out The Way")
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To: Mach9
So he recused himself because he knew he done wrong?

I don't know why he recused himself.

24 posted on 02/01/2010 6:13:01 PM PST by SeafoodGumbo
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To: freespirited

Has he been on yet?

Can you provide a summary for the cable deprived?


25 posted on 02/01/2010 6:14:31 PM PST by Yardstick
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To: Ann Archy
Jim Letten was named to an ADVISORY PANEL for Eric HOLDER??? Double OMG!! Holder is DANGEROUS to AMERICAN FREEDOM!!

From the link I posted above (and keep in mind that David Vitter has one of the most conservative voting records):

Attorney General Eric Holder today appointed Jim Letten, the New Orleans area's top federal prosecutor, to a key advisory board -- an action that Sen. David Vitter says show Letten's job is safe and enough for him to drop his holds on some of President Barack Obama's Louisiana criminal justice nominees.

"This prestigious appointment makes it crystal clear that Jim isn't going anywhere except on regular trips to Washington to personally advise the attorney general," Vitter, R-La., said. "The attorney general and I superficially discussed this in our meeting last Thursday and I'm really excited to get it done."

Vitter said he now plans to sign the blue slips for Obama's criminal justice nominees. The slips are required from the senators in the home states of prosecutors, judges and U.S. marshals before the Senate Judiciary Committee will schedule confirmation hearings.

Letten is being appointed to the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys. The panel, consisting of selected U.S. attorneys, provides advice and counsel to the attorney general on policy, management and operational issues impacting federal prosecutors. The panel was formed in 1973.

...

Would you rather have a loony socialist in the position, or a good solid conservative?
26 posted on 02/01/2010 6:17:54 PM PST by SeafoodGumbo
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To: SeaHawkFan

Jim Letten sounds like the NIFONG!!!(in the Duke Rape case)


27 posted on 02/01/2010 6:17:59 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion,,,,,,the Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: SeafoodGumbo

VERY CONFUSING!!! Letten CANNOT be CLEAN if HOLDER has picked him to be on his Advisory Board!! Letten MUST be DIRTY...so what’s with Vitter...are they FRIENDS???


28 posted on 02/01/2010 6:20:06 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion,,,,,,the Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Ann Archy
VERY CONFUSING!!! Letten CANNOT be CLEAN if HOLDER has picked him to be on his Advisory Board!! Letten MUST be DIRTY...so what’s with Vitter...are they FRIENDS???

As the article said, Vitter forced Holder's hand by keeping "holds" on some of Obama's criminal justice appointees in order to make sure that Letten would be retained. I encourage you to go read for a while about what a phenomenal prosecutor Letten has been - easily the best this area has ever had since I've been alive.

29 posted on 02/01/2010 6:24:27 PM PST by SeafoodGumbo
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To: cripplecreek

That sounds like a promotion to me.


30 posted on 02/01/2010 6:24:42 PM PST by TigersEye (It's the Marxism, stupid! ... And they call themselves Progressives.)
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To: SeafoodGumbo

Sorry...maybe “clean” for Louisiana, but Holder is as DIRTY as can be and would NEVER PICK SOMEONE CLEAN to be on his Advisory Board...NEVER! DIRTY only deals with DIRTY.


31 posted on 02/01/2010 6:26:15 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion,,,,,,the Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: freespirited

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/12/jim_lettens_renomination_as_us.html


32 posted on 02/01/2010 6:51:41 PM PST by cajuncow
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To: SeafoodGumbo

Here! Here! Stand up man. The only law and order we have here sometimes.


33 posted on 02/01/2010 6:58:56 PM PST by nola61
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To: freespirited

Letten’s office is now prosecuting four young men who are accused of entering Landrieu’s New Orleans office last Monday for the purpose of committing a felony. One is the son of the acting U.S. attorney in Shreveport.


34 posted on 02/01/2010 7:08:51 PM PST by radar101
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To: radar101

I just read an article that quotes from Letten’s request. He refers to the “potential prosecution” of the four.

Interesting choice of words. I am not sure this is going anywhere, although no shortage of taxpayer $$ will be spent on the “investigation.”


35 posted on 02/01/2010 7:23:54 PM PST by freespirited (Congratulations Senator Brown. One down, 59 to go.)
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To: freespirited
"US Atty's office" may mean someone who works for Letten, and not Letten himself. Could be this was Letten's unlucky week.

There really would not have been any reason to keep O'K away from a lawyer for 28 hours unless the media, Landrieu and the LE ( FBI, USatty and Holder) were massaging the story. Then all media hell breaks loose.

This absolutely stinks. If Letten is the good guy here, he's going to get thrown under the bus, and he ought to take a few crooks with him. If he's the bad guy, he'll also get thrown under the bus.

36 posted on 02/01/2010 7:27:47 PM PST by Mamzelle (Who is Kenneth Gladney? (Don't forget to bring your cameras))
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To: Ann Archy; All

> OMG!! We ARE living in a BANANA REPUBLIC!!!

The fact that Letten recused himself from the case shows that
he and the Feds do not want to be associated with how people
are jailed in Louisiana. If Letten persisted, I’d agree with
the banana republic assessment.

Going 28 hours without an access to an attorney & leaking facts
of the case will not only get O’Keefe off scott free (not that it
appears he was doing anything illegal per se), but will also
give him ammo to sue the govt because his civil rights were
violated, as he was treated as a political enemy of the Obama
Administration.


37 posted on 02/01/2010 7:33:46 PM PST by BP2 (I think, therefore I'm a conservative)
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To: TigersEye
> That sounds like a promotion to me.

BAM, you’re right.

A promotion to shut Letten up, so he doesn’t tell who was really
behind the decision to hold O’Keefe for 28 hrs without access
to counsel.



38 posted on 02/01/2010 7:40:45 PM PST by BP2 (I think, therefore I'm a conservative)
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To: freespirited
"James O'Keefe sat in jail for 28 hours without access to an attorney, while the U.S. attorney leaked the information about his arrest, helping the media frame it as 'Watergate Junior,'" Breitbart said.

"The panty bomber on Christmas was given -- you know, this guy's from Al Qaeda, and he's not even an American citizen, and he's given access to an attorney right away.

Liberal thugs giving more care to terrorists? Not surprised... not anymore.

39 posted on 02/01/2010 7:45:07 PM PST by GOPJ (Once the field is level, a global Marxist state is just a few hundred million dead malcontents away.)
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To: BP2

Perhaps. Holder certainly isn’t deserving of trust.


40 posted on 02/01/2010 8:35:23 PM PST by TigersEye (It's the Marxism, stupid! ... And they call themselves Progressives.)
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