Posted on 08/06/2002 4:56:19 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are looking into allegations that the assistant U.S. attorney who successfully prosecuted James A. Traficant Jr. engaged in misconduct, as Traficant and others have alleged.
The U.S. Department of Justice launched its probe after the House ethics committee recently sent the White House the transcript of testimony in which Richard E. Detore — a businessman indicted on allegations of bribing Traficant — contended that prosecutors threatened him and pressured him to lie.
Craig S. Morford, the assistant U.S. attorney whom Traficant and Detore have accused, is one of three candidates the White House is considering as a nominee to become the next U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Detore's testimony
Testifying under oath before the House ethics committee this month, Detore said that when federal agents questioned him about his involvement with Traficant, Morford shouted and threw papers and pencils at him.
Morford was so out of control, Detore said, that an FBI agent present during the session had to tell him to calm down.
"They absolutely wanted me to lie," said Detore, the former chief operating officer of U.S. Aerospace Group. He equated the experience to "a Nazi interrogation."
While the ethics committee did not think Detore's testimony undermined the case against Traficant, several panelists apparently were moved by Detore's plight.
The committee forwarded a copy of his testimony to Alberto R. Gonzales, the White House counsel who is helping select a nominee for the U.S. attorney position.
"I just didn't want people at the White House making decisions and then finding out later that there was other information," said Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Madison, who sits on the ethics committee and is a close friend of Traficant's.
LaTourette said he didn't believe that Detore's testimony affects Morford at all. "They might want to ask him about it and see what he has to say about it. ... It isn't designed to torpedo or sink his nomination."
Unimpressed with allegations
Neither the White House nor the Justice Department would officially talk about its investigations into Detore's claims or about the status of Morford's U.S. attorney candidacy.
But a Justice Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said officials have looked into Detore's allegations and were "not too impressed" with them.
Speaking on the House floor before last week's expulsion vote, several ethics committee members shared the department's skepticism.
Rep. Howard L. Berman, D-California, suggested "that this was [Detore's] Hail Mary pass to discredit the assistant U.S. attorney before his case goes to trial."
Even LaTourette acknowledged that Detore's testimony might not be reliable.
"This kind of thing happens a lot," LaTourette said. "I was a prosecutor for six years, and people were always claiming that I engaged in some sort of prosecutorial misconduct. The fact that it's said isn't disturbing. We're not in a position to judge its accuracy other than the guy made the statements under oath. It's a matter of concern."
'A very good witness'
Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colorado, who chairs the ethics committee, called Detore "a very good witness to make the case for government misconduct in his eyes."
Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville, sent a transcript of Detore's testimony for review to H. Marshall Jarrett, the chief counsel in the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, which handles accusations of misconduct by department officials.
Republican Ohio Sens. Mike DeWine and George V. Voinovich asked President Bush last month to consider three individuals — Morford, Roger Synenberg and Gregory A. White — when nominating a new Cleveland-based U.S. attorney.
A Clinton administration appointee occupies the post. The Senate must confirm all U.S. attorney nominees.
Spokesmen for DeWine and Voinovich said the senators would not retract their endorsement of Morford based on the accusations, which Traficant has been making for months but Detore publicly stated for the first time two weeks ago.
Morford isn't worried
Morford was asked Tuesday, after Traficant received an eight-year prison term, if the accusations would hurt his chances.
"I honestly don't worry about things like that. I honestly do what I feel in my heart I'm supposed to do," Morford said. "Whatever happens will happen."
Traficant addressed Morford in court, saying: "I want to tell you, I believe you would make a great U.S. attorney, but I believe in my heart you suborned perjury and you pressured those people, and you're the one who should be ashamed of yourself, not me. And I lost faith in you, because quite frankly, I was the only Ohioan that supported you for U.S. attorney before you started coming after me."
Perhaps one of you knows of an enterprising journalist who will investigate this matter. Just from a scan of the info available on the Web, it is obvous that there has been an abuse of judicial power in the Traficant case.
"I honestly don't worry about things like that. I honestly do what I feel in my heart I'm supposed to do," Morford said. "Whatever happens will happen."
I notice that when people keep repeating "honestly," they aren't honest.
If you slip the word "conveniently" in front of follow, you have the sentence correct. You see, it's all about advancing the Communist-Liberal agenda. The Communists have know for eons that if they got control of the judges and the judiciary system it would be a cake walk to turn the U.S. over to the U.N. and eventually control the world.
You use the Constitution to defend yourself against your enemies, in the name of free speech, etc.
And, when you need to "desecrate" of the good document you just remind people that this antiquiated piece of paper isn't with the times and was written for a world that no longer exists.
And the sheep continue grazing........
Pretty ingenious people, these Communists. Unfortunately for us, they've created such a massive pool of American Idiots to champion their ideals, that we're constantly fighting ourselves instead of them.
Liberalism: The cancer that's killing Western Civilization as we know it.
Methinks the tables will be turned in a few days. What the prosecutors are counting on is that the general public won't pay much attention as to how they railroaded Traficant. However, I predict that there will soon be a humor article online that folks will pay attention to because it will be FUNNY and also point the finger at the prosecutors in this case. Craig Morford (Prosecutor) might himself escape going to prison for judicial abuse of power but he will DEFINITELY become a national laughingstock whose chances of being appointed U.S. Attorney from Cleveland by Bush will be severly diminished.
Stay tuned! :-)
i agree, but part of the problem is terminology. historically liberalism means change. liberalizing the monarchy meant giving some power to a representative governing body. even today, in the eu, liberalizing a utility means 'privatizing' it and taking it off government jurisdiction.
communism is too harsh: while i agree that democrats ARE communists because there is no middle ground between capitalism and communism, the phrase provokes sympathy for the democrats.
i would rather the sentence start with the word "socialism."
After all, who is going to stop them?
Hello Karl Rove! I KNOW you're lurking here so please take note.
Dubya is just an errand boy for his father's buddies.
Methinks this will continue to be interesting...remember that the "investigator of Traficant" (Morford, et. al.) was Clinton/Reno justice (I know...oxymoron!) and the "investigator of Morford" is Bush/Ashcroft justice...
Also, from the article:
Craig S. Morford, the assistant U.S. attorney whom Traficant and Detore have accused, is one of three candidates the White House is considering as a nominee to become the next U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio."
Bet they're not considering him very much any more!! Although the article also mentions that whoever is nominated has to be confirmed by "that august body, the Senate" (another "oxymoron", under present circ.'s!!)...
"Stay tuned", indeed...! ;)
Don't know, but someone will...we could also write to/call the House Committee folks who are following up on this (unlike the Senate "Ethics" Committee...gotta write George about that!!)
Check out C-Span site and etc. maybe?
FReegards.
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