NYT-(Hillman)Prosecutor Will Step Down From Lobbyist Case

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 — The investigation of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a surprising new turn on Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush.

The prosecutor, Noel L. Hillman, is chief of the department's public integrity division, and the move ends his involvement in an inquiry that has reached into the administration as well as the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.

The administration said that the appointment was routine and that it would not affect the investigation, but Democrats swiftly questioned the timing of the move and called for a special prosecutor.

The announcement came as Mr. Bush faced a barrage of questions about why he would not make public "grip-and-grin" photographs of him with Mr. Abramoff. The photographs apparently show Mr. Bush and Mr. Abramoff smiling at White House Hanukkah parties and Republican fund-raising receptions.

more:http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/politics/27judge.html?_r=1

[annabanana]

1. We will have to watch his replacement VERY carefully..

(Do you think B*sh's boys expected him to NOT step down?)

[ClintonTyree]

2. It'll just be another bush appointed crony...........

he's purged the judicial of anyone not on "the team". Or maybe the White House will investigate itself, again. They're very good at that. Strange, they never seem to find any evidence of wrong-doing either! Imagine that!

[BR_Parkway]

3. Same thing happened when they were investigating him in Marianas too

[hang a left]

6. Except that prosecutor was transferred out.

This one is getting a federal judgeship. He must have deep sixed something and is being rewarded.

[MGKrebs]

8. Yes, but this isn't about Hillman.

It's about his replacement.
(My opinion.)

[bklyncowgirl]

4. Just a coincidence--nothing to see here--move along.

Yeah right.

Who'll he replace this guy with? Harriet Miers?

[sattahipdeep]

5. Just one of many "interchangeable characters"

Bush Says Photos With Disgraced Lobbyist Are 'Not Relevant'

[AzDar]

7. Truly alarming that they aren't even worried about the transparency

of their f*&king corruption anymore....

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Good job Dems. Keep the process honest, because you know

the Republicans plan to taint any investigation to achieve their ends, just like they did with the Ken Starr investigation.

How can that man sleep at night?

[Rose Siding]

10. There was nothing else they could do, but losing Hillman is bad for Dems

He was recommended by dems from his state for judgeship last year. Bush moved now, I suspect, because he knew the guy was decent and would step down- he is, after all, elbow deep in this productive investigation.

Bush purposefully tainted Hillman, imo, so he could replace him with his own Starr-like hack.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. Curses. I hadn't realized it was a chess move.

[Rose Siding]

56. This is interesting; Hillman got the NH phone jamming case moving-

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007549.php

Noel L. Hillman is the Chief of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Division. Both on paper and in reality he's been the one heading up the Abramoff investigation for the last two years.

He's stepping down next week because President Bush just nominated him for a federal judgeship.

So we have the obvious question. Is he being escorted aside to put a damper on the investigation?

You can draw your inferences as well as I can. But there is one bit of hard information that gives me real cause for concern.

Go back to that New Hampshire phone-jamming case we're always talking about. Until the middle of 2004, the Justice Department seemed to be doing everything it could to drag its heels on the case. There were even some fairly tangible and specific signs of political interference in the case.

Then the case was reassigned to the Public Integrity Division, under Hillman, and things changed on a dime. The prosecution become much more serious and aggressive.

Once an investigation is this far-flung, with so many career prosecutors and FBI agents involved, it's not easy to shut it down. But warning it away from the big players is by no means impossible. And I'd be much more confident in the integrity of the investigation with Hillman still at the helm than without him.

So is there reason for concern? I'd say, yes.

[Blue_In_AK]

52. Exactly...

There is no other reason in the world why ** would advance this nomination by Democrats a year after the recommendation was made unless he felt the guy was getting too close. I can't think of another time when he's taken any democrat's recommendation about anything. This is really bullshit and amazingly transparent.

[LearnedHand]

12. NYT: Prosecutor Will Step Down From Lobbyist Case

Of COURSE, this nomination has NOTHING to do with the Abramoff/Delay/Congress connections... :sarcasm:


================== ARTICLE BELOW =================

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 — The investigation of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a surprising new turn on Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush.

The prosecutor, Noel L. Hillman, is chief of the department's public integrity division, and the move ends his involvement in an inquiry that has reached into the administration as well as the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.

The administration said that the appointment was routine and that it would not affect the investigation, but Democrats swiftly questioned the timing of the move and called for a special prosecutor.

The announcement came as Mr. Bush faced a barrage of questions about why he would not make public "grip-and-grin" photographs of him with Mr. Abramoff. The photographs apparently show Mr. Bush and Mr. Abramoff smiling at White House Hanukkah parties and Republican fund-raising receptions.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/politics/27judge.html?ei=5065&en=c43d49ebb56ff6c5&ex=1139029200&adxnnl=1&partner=MYWAY&adxnnlx=1138377932-+VosC3tOIR+1Em3f0KS8Wg

[truthisfreedom]

13. bah! grip-and-grin is the perfect description.

"here, hold this."

[berni_mccoy]

14. INDEPENDENT/SPECIAL PROSECUTOR

That's what is called for here.

[progressivebydesign]

15. This illustrates why the Abramoff thing is a joke.

Please.. .the prosecutor in this is NOW nominated to be a Federal Judge? By BUSH? That tells me two things... 1) Bush wants him out of the investigation to muddy up things and throw the investigation into disarray. 2) He's a partisan hack anyway, otherwise Bush would never have selected him for a judgeship.

First Bush gives NORQUIST'S brother a cushy appointment the other day (Norquist, Abramoff's bestest pal), and now this.

[LearnedHand]

16. EXACTLY! But, but, but...

...the White House insists the nomination is NOT related. Now I realize there's a very common logical fallacy where we assume, because something occurs close on the heels of something else, the two are related. But after this administration's* record, I no longer believe it's a logical fallacy.

[hughee99]

17. If he's really a partisan hack...

why wouldn't * leave him on the investigation to whitewash things? Is it possible that he wasn't willing to play ball so they offered him a judgeship to get him out of the way?

[Blue_In_AK]

53. That's what I think.

This neuters the prosecutor.

[Bonhomme Richard]

18. It's all about his career.

Either he stays with the case, prosecutes aggressively and make a name/career for himself after being attacked ruthlessly or...............he gets offered a once in a lifetime job opportunity. It's a no brainer, and at the same time he gets an ethical pass.

[trof]

Prosecutor Will Step Down from (Abramoff) Lobbyist Case

By Philip Shenon and Elisabeth Bumiller
The New York Times

Friday 27 January 2006

Washington - The investigation of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a surprising new turn on Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush.

The prosecutor, Noel L. Hillman, is chief of the department's public integrity division, and the move ends his involvement in an inquiry that has reached into the administration as well as the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.

The administration said that the appointment was routine and that it would not affect the investigation, but Democrats swiftly questioned the timing of the move and called for a special prosecutor.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012706J.shtml

HOLY SHIT!

[AverageJoe]

19. Holy Crap

Could these bastards be any more transparent with their corruption?

[DrZeeLit]

20. Nothing.... NOTHING....NOTH-ING surprises me any more, if it ever did...

with these people... I use the term "people" loosely.

Kinda reminds me of NIxon and the Friday Night Massacre.... who was that judge.
Wait a minute... it will come to me.

Let's just hope this goes the way of Watergate, huh?

I wonder what they offered Fitgerald that he turned down?

[stop the bleeding]

21. I am numb n/t

[stepnw1f]

22. Obstruction of Justice

You fascist motherfuckers!

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

23. Chief Of Public Integrity Division?

I almost lost it when I read this. Integrity of what exactly? LOL. We're All Fucking Doomed.

[AtomicKitten]

24. My head is exploding. NT

[BrotherBuzz]

25. Got to stall this thing until after midterms

Timing is everything. You know what I mean, Vern?

[Beaverhausen]

26. Just when you think they've gone as far as they dare go

...the criminals in Bushworld go one step farther. :grr:

[Javaman]

27. Abramoff doesn't release photos and prosecutor gets promoted...

Hmmm, funny how that works, huh?

How does that saying go? quid pro quo.

scumbags.

[seafan]

28. Bush also removed prosecutor from Abramoff investigation in Guam in 2002:

Bush removal ended Guam investigation
US attorney's demotion halted probe of lobbyist

By Walter F. Roche Jr., Los Angeles Times | August 8, 2005

WASHINGTON -- A US grand jury in Guam opened an investigation of controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff more than two years ago, but President Bush removed the supervising federal prosecutor, and the probe ended soon after.

The previously undisclosed Guam inquiry is separate from a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia that is investigating allegations that Abramoff bilked Indian tribes out of millions of dollars.

In Guam, a US territory in the Pacific, investigators were looking into Abramoff's secret arrangement with Superior Court officials to lobby against a court reform bill then pending in Congress. The legislation, since approved, gave the Guam Supreme Court authority over the Superior Court.

snip

Abramoff spokesman Andrew Blum said the lobbyist ''has no recollection of his being investigated in Guam in 2002. If he had been aware of an investigation, he would have cooperated fully." Blum declined to respond to detailed questions.

The transactions were the target of a grand jury subpoena issued Nov. 18, 2002, according to the subpoena. It demanded that Anthony Sanchez, administrative director of the Guam Superior Court, turn over all records involving the lobbying contract, including bills and payments.

A day later, the chief prosecutor, US Attorney Frederick A. Black, who had launched the investigation, was demoted. A White House news release announced that Bush was replacing Black.

The timing caught some by surprise. Despite his officially temporary status as the acting US attorney, Black had held the assignment for more than a decade.

snip

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/08/08/bush_removal_ended_guam_investigation/?p1=email_to_a_friend

[lonestarnot]

29. HEH HEH HEH bushitler you creep! Even this stoop is

is not gona help you. HEH HEH HEH

[dmr]

30. How CON-veeeeenient !!!!!! n/t

[Spazito]

31. There was an OP shortly after the Abramoff scandal broke that

talked about this! DU was way ahead of the ball yet again! Unfortunately I can't search for it due to being at Level 1 but will try when the search feature is available again.

I am not surprised, disgusted but not surprised.

[WePurrsevere]

38. By any chance is this the one you're thinking of?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2065278

[Spazito]

43. Yes, that could have been it! I thought the issue came up earlier

than that date but with so much happening so quickly it may have just seemed that way. Thanks for the link!

[ClayZ]

32. I guess they think nobody is watching,

and there is not a ton of bricks. (figuratively speaking)

[democraticinsurgent]

33. Replacement: Scott McLellan's Brother!

According to Joe Conason on the Al Franken Show about an hour ago.

What a coincidence.

And the corruption just gets bolder by the day...

[drm604]

34. Are you sh*ttin' me?

McLellan's brother? For real?

[democraticinsurgent]

35. need confirmation on this

I just heard Conason say it. I went to Salon to read his column, which was about Abramoff, but no mention of the McLellan nomination.

So it needs to be checked. I HOPE it's not true. Or maybe I hope it is true. One more embarassment for the regime.

[drm604]

40. Maybe he was making a joke,

just like Bush nominated his personal lawyer for SCOTUS.

[0007]

49. Andrew Lourie will be handling the case

http://www.pbcgov.com/cjc/CJC%20Members/Pictures/Andrew%20Lourie%20se.bmp

[onenote]

50. A guy named Andrew Lourie. No dirt on him that I see.

Despite all the caterwauling, I don't see any basis for concluding that Hillman's replacement, Andrew Lourie, will be a step down from Hillman in any way or will have any adverse impact on the investigation. Andrew Lourie is the Managing Assistant United States Attorney in the West Palm Beach Office of the United States Attorney's Office. He is responsible for supervising the West Palm Beach branch office. Lourie is a career guy who started out as an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, New York, New York in the late 1980s. He began working for the United States Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey Assistant U.S. Attorney in July 1991. And in 1994 he entered the Economic Crimes Section, to become the Deputy Chief in 1998. In June 2000, Mr. Lourie became the Chief of Major Crimes Section. Prior to coming to the West Palm Beach office in 2002, Andrew Lourie was the Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division in Washington, D.C.

onenote

[democrank]

36. Sweet Jesus....

My head just blew up.

[HootieMcBoob]

37. Not a peep about this in the liberal media

Why isn't Leslie Blitzer covering this? I don't understand....

[WePurrsevere]

41. So far it's in the NY Times, the San Francisco Chronicle...

NYTs
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/politics/27judge.html

San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/01/27/MNGCNGU1J01.DTL

[Blue_In_AK]

55. It was the lead-in on Hardball

with the guest's head exploding.

[WePurrsevere]

57. Great! I would have loved to seen that. Who was the guest? nt

[Blue_In_AK]

58. I'm sorry, I didn't catch his name

but he was some justice guy, and he was flabbergasted that ** would do something so over-the-top, especially with the alleged Abramoff/White House links. He said the appearance of impropriety would be hard to explain away.

[WePurrsevere]

60. Thanks anyway :-) I often miss names on these shows. It sounds like a...

really interesting and hopefully enlightening show though.

Hardball is one show that many seem to watch (I used to when we could get it) so hopefully Americans will hear and understand the truth and recognize the spin for what it is... lies and bullpuckey to cover BushCo's constant assault on America and her Constitution.

[HuffleClaw]

39. "...it would not affect the investigation"

suuuuuuuuure it won't. bush has no shame. this needs to be investigated or at the very least, made an issue by the democrats and the media. the phrase 'judicial interference' comes to mind.

[Miss Chybil]

42. I'm speechless. nt

[WePurrsevere]

44. Unflippin' believable... and just in time for the weekend news dump too.

:grr: :puke:

Obstruction of justice is a crime.. add it to the ever growing list... THIS is why Dems NEED to take a firm stand and filibuster... THIS is why Dem Reps MUST stop playing "nice" and go after BushCo and all of his cronies. Hit them hard with FACTS and keep hitting hard... meanwhile we "grassroots" folks need to keep getting the word out to whomever will listen.

Kick the CROOKS and TRAITORS out of OUR White House!

[yellowcanine]

45. Seems like this is grounds for a special prosecutor if there weren't

enough before. It is clear that the Bush Justice Department can't be trusted to investigate this. "If it quacks like a duck......"

[rainbow4321]

46. The Abramoff investigator's nomination was done in **June 2005**

Googling brings up these articles....he was nominated back in June 2005. Given **everything** that has been exposed between then and now, the nomination doesn't seem to have influenced the team of investigators a whole lot.

http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/008751.asp

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

The Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section is leading the criminal probe into disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, The Hill newspaper reports.

The Public Integrity Section is part of the Criminal Division at DOJ. It consists of 26 attorneys at DOJ headquarters and 94 U.S. attorneys who investigate and prosecute corruption among public officials and election and conflict of interest crimes.

Heading the Abramoff probe is Mary K. Butler, a former attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida who was part of the independent counsel’s office into former Interior secretary Bruce Babbitt. Babbitt was cleared of allegations that he rejected an off-reservation casino after wealthy gaming tribes contributed to Democratic interests.

The Public Integrity Section chief is Noel Hillman, a former assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey. President Bush has just nominated Hillman for federal judgeship in New Jersey.


http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/061505/abramoff.html


June 15, 2005

A little-known but well-respected Justice Department trial lawyer is leading the government’s high-profile criminal investigation into disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

She is Mary K. Butler, one of 26 attorneys in the Public Integrity section and 94 U.S. attorneys around the country who investigate and prosecute cases of extortion, bribery, election crimes and criminal conflicts of interest.

Although there has been intense scrutiny of Abramoff and his associates, little is known about the career government attorneys investigating him. A Department of Justice spokesman declined to comment, but lawyers who represent a witness in the Abramoff investigation or who have dealt with Justice helped flesh out how the section operates.


Butler reports to Noel Hillman, section chief, whom President Bush nominated to a federal judgeship last week. Hillman, an avid surfer and Bruce Springsteen fan, was an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey before coming to Washington.

[Independent_Liberal]

47. This sounds a lot like Saturday Night Massacre.

:)

[onenote]

51. Not.

This guy was up for a judgship for a while, with the backing of Corzine and Lautenberg. He's being replaced by a career DOJ prosecutor. If you think that sounds like the Saturday Night Massacre, you need to read up on your history.

onenote

[DoYouEverWonder]

48. We need a special prosecutor

this is beyond ridiculous.

[IndianaGreen]

54. We need a special prosecutor for this and for the NSA spying

Bush is on the verge of declaring himself supreme leader, a dictator for short, and unless he is stopped now we will lose this country.

[Octafish]

59. The illegal torture and fake Iraq intel, too.

I fear the only way the little turd from Crawford sees getting out of it is through another terror act.

May the good people in government -- and out -- see it as well.

[Auntie Bush]

61. Four things that concern me:

1. This information comes out just in time for the weekend news dump.

2. Was hill given a judgeship in exchange for information about the Abran-Off case. Can Hill now tell bush* people just where the trial was headed etc.or is that against the law?

3. This stunt was pure evil/political/unethical conniving and I can't see how it can be legal. Oh. I forgot...bush can do anything he wants.

4. All this information needs to be sent to all corp/media and discussed throughly and more people need to see what this resident-in-Chief is doing.