REID Told By Former Prosecutor That ADMIN Intended To Use Patriot Act Loopholes To Purge Attorneys

[kpete]

Did the administration intend to replace the fired U.S. attorneys wtih handpicked party loyalists and then avoid Senate confirmation?

Well, that's what Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) said one of the former prosecutors told him.

Reid: DoJ Was Set to Use Loophole
By Paul Kiel - March 9, 2007, 1:53 PM

One of the central issues of prosecutor purge scandal is whether the adminstration was planning to install party loyalists in place of the fired United States attorneys -- a scheme made possible by a law change slipped into the PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill last year.

There is a host of evidence that that's in fact what the administration had intended to do, and though it seems to have gone largely unnoticed, the plainest proof of this was offered yesterday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Speaking to The Las Vegas Review-Journal, Reid "said he understood the (Justice Department) planned to take advantage of a loophole and fill its new vacancy in Nevada without submitting its choice for customary Senate review and confirmation." He then is quoted saying: "That's what they told (former USA for Nevada Daniel) Bogden."

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002721.php

.........................


JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Ensign voices ire at agency
Explanations for dismissal of U.S. attorney differ
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Meanwhile, Sen. Harry Reid said he understood the department planned to take advantage of a loophole and fill its new vacancy in Nevada without submitting its choice for customary Senate review and confirmation.
"That's what they told Bogden," said Reid, D-Nev.

A day after Democrat-led committees in the House and Senate held investigative hearings, the Nevada senators' comments reflected the continuing controversy swirling around the dismissal of at least eight chief prosecutors, the circumstances of the firings and what course might lie ahead

..............

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Mar-08-Thu-2007/news/13036084.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. This is the kind of judicial abuse

that got Nixon

Boys here is a back hoe, do it fast will yah?

[Skidmore]

11. Lotsa old Nixon acolytes in *'s government.

We have so many retreads from so many bad Republic administrations. These people just don't seem to go away.

[LisaM]

2. Can the law be repealed?

Or amended?

[Kagemusha]

4. If you can get it past Sen. Kyl, yes.

So far Kyl's managed to easily torpedo all such efforts on the White House's behalf, saying that it's a separation of powers issue. (The Constitution vests in Congress the power to determine how "lesser officials" such as US Attorneys are appointed, though they're executive branch officials once appointed. But don't go telling Kyl to read the Constitution. He won't appreciate it.)

[robinlynne]

15. no. Gonzalez already agreed yesterday to abide by a repeal of that clause.

But that would only take care of the future. There is at least one thread on Du from yesterday with the details of that conversation between gonzalez and the senate committee yesterday.

[Kagemusha]

22. I wanna see if Gonzales speaks for Senate Republicans.

I regard that hypothesis as unproven at the present time.

[peacetalksforall]

3. Someone on the Specter team slipped it in. We MUST disclose

the person or persons - photos, bios - if Specter doesn't know who it was - it means someone or a team took orders from someone else - higher up?

We need an investigation. Rally. Cry. Demand.

[Kagemusha]

5. Uh, I thought it was no secret

it's some former Scalia law clerk I think? Specter appointed him to his team as chief of staff when his conservative credentials were in question and he was getting grief over it?

It's been reported on. Though, no, no one's really cleared up who the guy was really working for when he put that in. Though it's been said Gonzales requested it.

[peacetalksforall]

8. So in soap opera scene writing - we have someone who was kicked

off the Scalia team for not being conservative enough or suspected of it who then gets picked up by Specter. Someone asks him to secretivly slip these legally written words into an important document that affects the entire country - and there are no checks and balances to catch it - so did they promise the guy that it would get him back in the good graces of Scalia and the Party - or did they plant the part about getting kicked off the Scalia team so that he could get in to position to do what he did?

Name one honest thing about PNACing neo-con right wing baron scum crawling empty conscience un-Americans?

[Kagemusha]

10. Well in a sense it doesn't matter. It needs fixing.

And it's wrong for Kyl to block fixing it and for Gonzales to fight it (though he says he won't anymore) and for Bush to veto it (which might still happen, who knows)..

[ellenfl]

12. i think it was specter's credentials being questioned,

not the law clerk's, and the law clerk was probably a plant to keep an eye on specter. remember the bug man threatened to take away specter's judiciary chairmanship if he did not toe the rw line. that's why i think there is hope yet for specter, now that the dems are in charge. specter has always been moderate but was beaten down by the rw repugs. we need more senate seats in 2008 to help the moderates come over.

ellen fl

[tblue37]

18. No, I think the point was that *Specter* was not considered

conservative enough, because he was criticizing Bush and threatening to exercise oversight as chair of the Judiciary COmmittee. He was then threatened with losing that plum position, and the RW noise machine went after him big time, so he appointed the Scalia staffer in order to prove his own conservative bona fides.

[spanone]

19. Well, then we can secretly sneak it out!!!

[bullimiami]

the question to ask now is 'who slipped the provision in'?

the WH Ill betcha, sent it to their cronies in congress.

[bullimiami]

6. dup.

darn double click....

[malaise]

7. The only way to get to the bottom of all this corruption

is to start a new 9/11 Comission and make sure every man has to swear in.
Delete word.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

9. Specter deserves a medal...

or maybe just a heavy chain with a large pendant

[formercia]

13. Back in the 30's

In a country called Germany, hand selected members of the judiciary were installed, who then ruled on the implementation of laws put forward by the Nazi Party. We all know what happened there.

[napi21]

14. I read on several news sites and on CNN that the DOJ has backed off

of pushing for these appointments. In fact,I responded to a thread on DU this AM, saying that there must be something VERY DIRTY involved in this or this I NEVER CHANGE MY MIND ADMINISTRATION would never have backed down so easily!

[halobeam]

16. Right. So they back down and no one digs further to find truth anyway?

I hope that doesn't happen. Oh lookie here, they backed down, so now everything is alright, and no need to look back, we need to move forward... blah blah blah.

They've done this so many times, I think the reasoning you stated is fitting.

[napi21]

17. It doesn't look like anyone is backing down! n/t

[HCE SuiGeneris]

20. This is where we are headed...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=375588&mesg_id=375588

[halobeam]

23. sorry, I wasn't clear...

I meant the DOJ... and if I'm mis understanding and they aren't backing down, what am I missing here?

[Atman]

21. Is it time to pass a law REQUIRING these fuckers read DU?

Is this really news to ANYONE here? How long have we been posting about these abuses in the PA? Since day one. What the fuck do our congress critters do with their time? What the bloody hell?

:banghead:

.