Question: Can Bush actually FIRE Fitzgerald from the investigation?

[iconoclastic cat]

Someone on dKos said this, but I haven't been able to confirm it. Is that really possible? If Fitz gets too close, could Bush just fire him? What would happen after that? Would they have to appoint a new investigator? Could they just keep firing them until Bush is safe in his mountain hideaway during the first months of the Frist/Jeb regime?

:scared:

[tritsofme]

1. IIRC Gonzales could

but it would smack too much of Nixon's endtimes for their liking.

[SaveElmer]

2. He might be able to...I'm not sure there is currently a SP law in place

Nixon was able to fire Archibald Cox because there wasn;t

[tritsofme]

5. The special prosecutor law expired in 2001

and obviously was not renewed.

Fitzgerald is seen as a de-facto special prosecutor because Ashcroft recused himself.

I still believe that the AG could fire him if he was so inclined.

[unblock]

3. nixon kept firing attorneys general until the dread robert bork did this

bush can survive the hitler analogies but not the nixon comparisons.

strange, isn't it?

[Cha]

4. Yeah, come to think of it I

read somewhere recently, something about "if they don't fire him".

It didn't really sink in at the time.

But someone has to do it right? Edit~to say~But "someone" might rubberstamp it unlike Fitzgerald :(

From what I've also read is that the Dems asked ashcroft to recuse himself and someone recommended Fitzgerald and the rest is history.

[skids]

6. One possibility...

...a remote one, but a possibility if Fitz were fired is that he might have his indictment texts already prepared. The Grand Jury is allowed to pursue cases all by itself without the direction of a prosecutor. That's a duty of the GJ which is rarely excercised, and is meant to be used in cases where the GJ determines that the Attorney General's office is not pursuing a case that it should be. Fitz's firing might qualify as that.

The GJ could then call Fitz as a witness, and if he was willing to do so, he could pass on the text of his indictments to them, and the GJ could get the language of the indictments approved by the judges and then vote on the indictments. A new prosecutor would have to be assigned to those indictments. I don't know who chooses.

I think Bush would be stupid to get Fitz fired, from a PR perspective, but since the stakes are so high it might be a case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" for the Whitehouse, so anything is possible.

(Google: "Saturday Massacre" Nixon)

[hang a left]

12. I wonder what Gonzales involvement may be....

Could it be that he would also have to recuse himself because of his personal relationship with **

[longship]

7. Technically, he could.

In practice, he would instruct Gonzales to do the deed. If Alberto had any cojones he would resign immediately (pulling a Richardson). There's no doubt that if the Deputy Atty Genl also resigned or was fired that Solicitor General Ted Olson--rapture right noodle brain that he is--would pull a Bork, and fire Fitz. (Of course, that would finish him as a future SCOTUS nominee.) ;-)

Seriously, if Bush did that, it would be a very big thing, the beginning of the end for him. It would plunge the country instantly into a very serious Constitutional Crisis where it would be apparent to the world that the President of the United States has absolutely no respect for the law. If we survived that intact, he'd be burnt toast. Don't plan on that.

Very scary--tanks in the streets, martial law type scary.

[wli]

11. what, you've not heard the "get ready for martial law" hints?

I wouldn't put it past Bush.

[bearfan454]

8. He sure could fire him

or have him commit suicide.

[Bluesplayer]

9. yes

But he'll be advised to do it on a Friday night.

[Hamlette]

10. he's a US Attorney, he serves at the pleasure of the AG and the prez n/t

[Historic NY]

13. Interesting article on US Attorney's..........

http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/lcp/articles/lcp61dWinter1998p129.htm

<snip>
"U.S. Attorneys are a varied lot. They can range from a flamboyant, overt politician who litigates high profile issues in a high profile district, such as the Southern District of New York, to an eminence grise who is known only to elites within his or her own district and where much of the work is local in nature. Incidentally, such factors are not necessarily correlated. Flamboyant U.S. Attorneys are sometimes found in districts that are, relatively speaking, low-profile. Some U.S. Attorneys expect to pursue elected political office after their stint as a U.S. Attorney and campaign throughout their tenure, while others aspire to the federal bench, requiring a different sort of campaigning. Some return to private practice. All, however, are political. "