Reply #15: Perhaps even more unimaginable...

[MrPrax]

Sutton might be a much bigger fish...


Emails link Johnny "House of Death" Sutton to DOJ firing scandal

The U.S. Attorney who spearheaded a cover-up of a U.S. government informant’s role in the House of Death mass murder also appears to have played a leadership role in the recent U.S. Attorney firing scandal.

That U.S. Attorney, Johnny Sutton, is the lead federal prosecutor for the Western District of Texas (based in San Antonio) and serves as chairman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC), which has major influence in developing Department of Justice (DOJ) policies.

It is in the context of that latter role that Sutton’s name shows up in some of the e-mails turned over to Congress to date by DOJ concerning the Bush administration’s controversial move to fire eight U.S. Attorneys (USAs) — allegedly, according to some critics, in retaliation for their failure to pursue prosecutorial strategies deemed to be in the administration’s political interests.

According to the emails, it is clear Sutton was in the loop on the firings. How big a role he played, if any, in initiating or orchestrating those terminations behind the scenes is not clear from the electronic missives. But given his favored status within the Bush administration, and his long-time ties to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and to President Bush, it seems that someone in Congress should be asking that question.

Narcosphere



Texas, Addressing Sexual Abuse Scandal, May Free Thousands of Its Jailed Youths

"...The announcement came as federal officials confirmed an unrelated inquiry into accusations of sexual abuse at a federal center for detained illegal-immigrant children in South Texas. The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that a staff member suspected of molesting children at that center, the Texas Sheltered Care facility in Nixon, east of San Antonio, had been fired and that the F.B.I. had turned the case over to Texas prosecutors.

Johnny Sutton, the United States attorney in San Antonio, confirmed in a statement that his office “worked with the F.B.I. investigating the allegations of improper sexual contact between a staff member of Texas Sheltered Care and minors who were housed at the facility.” But Mr. Sutton added: “We reluctantly concluded that the federal government did not have jurisdiction over any felony offenses allegedly committed. Because the most serious offense which might be brought by this office would at most be a misdemeanor, these allegations may be more effectively addressed by state authorities...."

NY Times