Report: (Senator) Bond opposition led to (Former U.S. Attorney Todd) Graves' departure

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Source: Examiner

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves of Missouri likely was forced out of his post two years ago because of opposition from Missouri Sen. Kit Bond's office, a Justice Department investigation concluded Monday.

The report by the department's internal watchdog found that the Republican senator's legal counsel, Jack Bartling, asked the White House at least twice in 2005 to remove Graves because of political friction between Bond's staff and that of Graves' brother, Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo.

Bartling told investigators that he wanted Graves out because Sam Graves' operation "did not run business" the way Bond's office wanted, the report stated. According to Bartling, Bond's staff had asked Todd Graves "to try to rein in his brother," but Todd Graves declined to do so.

Questions about why Graves was asked to leave his post lead to his becoming part of the broader inquiry into whether partisan political reasons fueled the controversial firings of at least nine U.S. attorneys in 2006.

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