In anticipation of James Comey's testimony tomorrow, I thought I'd point out some issues of timing.
You see, the entire timeline of the USA purge is characterized by fits and starts–and I suspect that James Comey was one of those fits. And honest, I wasn't going to do this, but sometimes you just gotta start with a timeline.
November 19, 2002: Frederick Black removed as USA for Guam and Marianas Islands, thereby stopping an investigation inconvenient to Abramoff
July 9, 2003: Dan Collins proposes the idea of having the AG appoint USAs (this is the first known discussion of the AG appointment idea)
Comey Proves to be Less Pliant than Bush Might Want
December 11, 2003: Comey appointed Deputy AG
December 30, 2003: Comey appoints Patrick Fitzgerald Special Counsel on the Plame Affair
February 6, 2004: Comey reiterates Fitzgerald's authority to investigate things–like perjury–that would become relevant in the Plame investigation
March 2004: Comey refuses to reauthorize the NSA domestic spying program
Early 2004: David Ayres (Ashcroft's Chief of Staff) asks Comey for a list of weak USAs. Kevin Ryan is the only now-fired USA on the list.
December 4, 2004: DOJ releases resignation guidance … just in case someone wants to resign after the elections
February 17, 2005: Sampson recommends firing just some, not all, of the USAs
March 2, 2005: Sampson sends Harriet Miers a list grading all USAs. Patrick Fitzgerald is graded mediocre. Sampson revises this list after an AG Advisory Committee meeting; he adds two to the firing list, and adds one to the loyal Bushies list.
2005, unknown date: Comey provides Sampson his list of weak USAs. Kevin Ryan remains on his list, but none of the other fired USAs are.
August 8, 2005: Boston Globe reports on Black firing, in conjunction with Abramoff scandal
August 15, 2005: Comey's Farewell Address (If you haven't read this, do so now. Really. Otherwise Looseheadprop will be cross with you.)
BushCo Plots to Fire USAs
November 9, 2005: Moschella writes Brent Tolman, then Specter's aide, on inserting AG reauthorization into PATRIOT Act
November 11, 2005: Discussion of reasons to justify AG reauthorization, Moschella forwards to Tolman
December 14, 2005: PATRIOT Act reauthorization comes out of conference
January 9,2006: Sampson provides recommendations on USA firings, listing 7 names, including Ryan
February 7, 2006: Federal Register publishes Gonzales authorization of Sampson/Goodling personnel decisions
February 24, 2006: OLC tells Gonzales his order is unconstitutional
March 1, 2006: Gonzales signs an order putting Sampson and
DelilahGoodling in charge of hiring and firing our justice systemMarch 9, 2006: Bush signs PATRIOT Act reauthorization
April 2006: Monica Goodling becomes WH liaison
April 14, 2006: Sampson publishes a new firing list, boasting that two of the targeted USAs (Heffelfinger and Graves) have left office. Ryan has been removed from the list.
Unknown, 2006: McNulty consults with Comey on USA firings
December 2, 2006: Elston and Sampson, in the context of discussing Kevin Ryan's problems, "expand the list by one" to include him
December 7, 2006: 7 USAs fired
Comey Gets Pissed
January 26, 2007: Sampson asks Comey for thoughts on press coverage of USA scandal
January 30, 2007: Sampson discusses "Comey's potential participation at SJC hearing"
February 9, 2007: Comey writes email Charlton describing him as the "top of his class"
Week of March 1, 2007: Comey says Iglesias was "one of our finest" USAs
I wanted to make several points about this chronology (besides offering a teaser to show that Comey's testimony should be very damning for BushCo). First, the Administration was plotting this USA firing for quite some time–as long ago as 2003, after presumably having great success with the Black firing in 2002. They made initial steps to fire USAs in early 2004, even before Bush won re-election. And then they tried again, in 2005, apparently using the election as an excuse to consider the firings. But they didn't implement the plan–at least not yet.
That timing suggests two things. First, the continuity of the plan–through two Attorney Generals and several Deputy Attorney Generals–shows that the plan itself is the Administration's plan, not Gonzales' (though of course, Gonzales may well have been involved as White House Counsel). Second, they wouldn't or couldn't implement the plan while Comey was DAG. I'm not saying they held off because of Comey. But he had certainly proved himself to be troublesome enough by February 2005, when Sampson first developed his list of USAs to fire, that they couldn't rely on him to go along. And I'm just guessing the very short and squirrely-looking Sampson didn't have the guts to show the very very large Comey that list grading Comey's buddy, Patrick Fitzgerald, as "undistinguished."
And look how deliberately they moved, after Comey resigned, to pull off their USA firing (and general politicization of DOJ). They used the PATRIOT Act reauthorization to minimize the power of the Senate to prevent political USA firings (and also to make it easier to have dual appoint USAs). And then they restructured the personnel authority within DOJ to make sure the AG–and the White House–were insulated from what they were about to do. Gonzales' order giving Sampson and Delilah Goodling personnel authority coincides remarkably well with Bush's signing of the PATRIOT Act. But I'm sure there's no connection.
From what we know of the lists, it appears Sampson may have considered Comey's counsel on the USA firings, insofar as he put loyal Bushie Kevin Ryan on his own list in early 2006. But fairly quickly, Ryan was removed from the list, only to be put back on it on December 2, after bad press, complaints from judges, and a disastrous review forces the issue.
And finally, there's this. What the hell was Sampson thinking when he contacted Comey in January? Was that just an attempt to dissuade Comey from testifying, or did Sampson really ask for his help!?!?!? Regardless of what Sampson was thinking, I think Comey's subsequent comments–such as the email reassuring Charlton just 10 days later–were designed to really undermine Gonzales and Sampson's lies about why they fired the USAs.
All of which is my long-winded way of saying that tomorrow's testimony might be fairly interesting.
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emptywheel!
ME!
and now off to work.
“The Incomparable Emptywheel” — true dat!
ya’ bet me, Biodun!
Hello Jane:
Hope this meets you well.
OldCoastie: apologies….
emptywheel, you’re a treasure. thanks.
you can be as “long-winded” as you want.
Morning EW and fellow pups! OT I am following Chimps speech right now, and will keep you posted. Chimp is once again saying we are in Iraq because of 9/11. Contractors are applauding. Gee, do you think that the audience has a reason to support the war in Iraq?
James Comey may have been all that stood between us and total full-blown fascism.
Thanks for this post, Emptywheel!
Hey Marcy!
Paging John Dean….
John Dean? John Dean?
Morning Marcy and all.
Great post.
Sorry if this is ‘old news’, but I’ve been out-of-touch & missed a lot of details lately.
…fer some reason, TX newsrags don’t cover a lotta this stuff…
Does anyone know if & where the hearings will be televised?
What’s Christy’s trip about?
thanks. tryin’ to catch up with the pack….
*puff puff, pant pant*
That’s a bit of an understatement.
Thanks for another great analysis. It straightened some things out in my head that had me a bit confused.
Adie @ 12
The HJC will webcast the hearing, at the very least, though I suspect CSPAN will also show it.
And Christy is going to NYC to be famous and represent the more civilized side of the blogosphere on teevee.
Fitz and starts . . .
OT
Paging NZExPat, are you about?
NZExPat, to the FiredogLake Beach House phone please.
PLEASE tell me that Comey’s testimony will be on CSPAN 1 or 2..I can’t sit at computer all day to watch it.
On a side note – I’m glad the DC Madam thingie isn’t until Friday night, will at least provide some coverage before the really IMPORTANT news comes out.
BTW, is that blonde woman still dead?
OT, but I noticed that Feinstein’s apparently doing something useful for once: she’s introduced a bill in the Senate to close down Guantanamo.
Abu’s testimony to Congress almost solidified my perception of him as a bumbling fool-ready to do and say anything to protect his patron in the White House. I’m now convinced he is anything but a bumbling fool. He knew exactly what Rove wanted to do and was central to strategizing and implementing the plan.
Ashcroft, as nutzoid as he was, would have no part of this subversion of the DOJ, and so he left.
Comey, well, he will make a fine AG in the next Democratic administration.
OT Chimp gets wild applause from contractors after he says “I vetoed the bill.” Do you think that the contractors have an economic stake in the war?
mc @ 19
Hell, why wait that long? Let’s make him AGAG’s replacement. He is, after all, a good Republican, already proved acceptable to Bush once…
There are, in a very real sense, two groups of government higher-ups here in Washington.
The first are the career government workers–regulators and staff attorneys and office administrators, etc. etc.–who are in place by tradition and esteem, and who have a professional life that is immune, mostly, to politics and elections.
Then there are the political appointees who wear the cloak of political appointment like a fur rain slicker. It’s nice, it’s luxurious, but they don’t plan on holding onto it. They are here for a short time, either by choice, by election, or by depointment as a result of rubbing a rhubarb the wrong way. Some are haughty and reek of entitlement.
But many are honored and come to their posts with a humbled understanding that what they do here in their time here will affect, could affect, millions of people. And so they take their jobs seriously, and they take the mantle of public service seriously, and they try to do their best in the role bestowed upon them, and they are a credit to their nation.
Comey is the latter. He’s a credit to the idea of government.
Fortunately, there are many like him. Unfortunately, fewer than there once were.
Gee, just posted over at TNH so I will redo it here.
Thank you once again EW. Scarecrow has informed folks at the Lake that this post is up.
This whole USA/Indian/Abramoff/Unitary Executive/Voter suppression/etc., almost needs to be diagramed so people can see the interconnectedness of the whole. It can be daunting to visualize the whole mess.
Thanks Marcy.
More details @ Christy pleeze?!
e.g., venue? program? date?
Wahooooooo!
p.s., Marcy, !i’m so proud a you guys! – been braggin’ all over, heh. Turns out the live-blogging brava performance during Fitzmas was noticed & appreciated by a whole lotta folks who’d previously been skating along mostly oblivious to “real” news.
you’re famous, gal, even among some who don’t yet know yer name ;->
OT ~ KO on ‘progress’ and MA Day……I call it: A Look Back in Disgust!
I think this is so important. I am begging for Pre-emptive reporting about the MSM’s complicity in allowing unsubstantiated claims about Iran to be repeated
I have been asking people to contact Bill Moyers and ask him to do a present time investigative report about the “cakewalk in Iraq” zealots endlessly repeated and unsubstantiated claims having to do with Iran’s “alleged” nuclear weapons program. These endlessly repeated and unsubstantiated claims have gone basically unchallenged by the MSM for the last 4 years. (I know folks do not like to hear this, but Chris Matthews has been asking the most hard driving questions when these claims are repeated on his program). I did hear NPR’s Alex Chadwick challenge Bolton during an interview on “Day to Day”
Now I am begging people to call or contact Bill Moyers and ask him to investigate the MSM and what they have been allowing these wingnuts to repeat about Iran for the last four years.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/jour…..dback.html
The latest example of the MSM not challenging the “Bomb Bomb Iran” crazies was NPR’s Neil Conans complicit interview of John Bolton Tuesday May 1. Please Please listen!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?
storyId=9942906
If you agree that Neil Conan allowed John Bolton to repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran. If you agree that Neil Conan did not challenge these claims and was complicit. Please contact NPR’s Talk of the Nation
http://www.npr.org/contact/
Please contact NPR’s ombudsperson and let them know that Neil Conan allowed John Bolton to repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran over and over and over again during this interview. That Neil Conan did not challenge him once not once!
http://www.npr.org/templates/c…..Id=2781901
If someone with some journalistic integrity such as Moyers does not do a report about why 70% of Americans now believe that Iran posesses nuclear weapons. Moyers will be doing another report in two years about the run-up to pre-emptive strikes on Iran.
HINDSIGHT CAN BE DEADLY!
“i”Hell, why wait that long? Let’s make [Comey] AGAG’s replacement. He is, after all, a good Republican, already proved acceptable to Bush once…”
Yes!! Along with the promise to appoint a special prosecutor that could get to the bottom of this. It would be similar to Elliott Richardson’s appointment as AG during Watergate.
OT Chimp really rambling this morning. Bringing up what he has repeated a million times: My Dad fought the Dad of Koizumi, now Koizumi is my friend.
As I said in last thread, no slurring/hangover behavior this morning, but this speech is poorly written, and Chimp’s added rambling is making it much worse.
He is now going to take some questions
A side note on the timeline. TPM is reporting that Bill Mercer inserted lanauage into the Patriot Act Legislation that would allow USA’s to not reside in the jurisdiction they are representing. TPM has the info here.
I wonder if the Abramoff-Conrad Burns investigation had anything to do with making sure Mercer could stay on as USA in Montana?
Well I wouldn’t want LHP to be cross, so I read it.
And I’m glad I did, thank you!
emptywheel,
Is it possible that Sampson and his friend could be set up by the secret authorization? In other words, that they did not really have that power, just pretend, so they would be caught in the meat grinder they’re in?
Could this secret authorization be on secret record just in case the WH fascists’ secrets leaked out?
Could the two of them be finding this out after the fact?
Does there actually have to be a smoking gun for people to go to jail? There’s a lot of smoke, there’s a gun and there is gun powder on some people’s hands…
I want to pick up on some comments from the earlier thread and a nolo comment from yesterday about how if the shoe were on the other foot, the wingers would have focused on one issue and driven the point home so hard results would have occurred.
The malfeasance here is wide AND deep. There is no question we were, and maybe are still, a step away from full blown Republican/Neocon control of our entire government and judicial system.
But, Gonzales is still AG, Monica is where?, Sampson sets up a consulting firm, Rove is untouchable, the local AAGs continue in their jobs. Hurray for oversight?
Posters indicate that the case(s) is/are building, more hearings are scheduled, etc.
But, Gonzales is still AG, Monica is where?, Sampson sets up a consulting firm, Rove is untouchable, the local AAGs continue in their jobs.
I cannot believe the Dems are playing political footsie with this topic, since they have Iraq as topic one to do that with. So what gives? The longer this takes, the more this gang bores into the heart of the system. All it takes is one “code red” and this stuff totally disappears under the nanny state police process that brought us the Patriot Act.
So let’s stop oohing and aahing over the buffet of corruption that is in front of us and fantasizing about dessert in the form of Rove being frog marched. We need to blast OUR side in to taking some hard action that gets some results now. Some think the process is gaining momentum, I fear it’s losing it.
Frustrated. But, Gonzales is still AG, Monica is where?, Sampson sets up a consulting firm, Rove is untouchable, the local AAGs continue in their jobs.
Emptywheel @ top:
Po’ Kevin Ryan. I mean, here you are, fired in a political purge, but there it is in the press, from the White House, in the Senate, in the House, even in the Department of Justice, even the one DoJ administrator everyone agrees still retains some credibility, everyone, and I mean everyone, agrees — you’re the one guy who got fired for lousy performance.
Fired in a political purge, and you *still* can’t say it was just politics.
No matter where you turn, the press reports that the entire federal government agrees: You sucked.
It’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for Kevin Ryan.
Almost.
(P.S. Ten bucks says Rachel Paulose is next.)
Sampson: “Fee fer chust followink ordursss. I know nothingk. Nothingk.”
IrishJim @ 29
That WaPo story is also linked above (it’s something the blogosphere was actually onto a while ago). And yes, I’ve got a post half written speculating that the reason Mercer has remained USA for Montana through two DC appointments may have everything to do with Burns’ legal risk. Probably has to do wiht something related to Native Americans, too (Mercer is also on NAIS, which has been politicized something awful). Bit Mercer sure doesn’t seem to be rushing to indict Burns.
A really fascinating timeline, Marcy. Very useful. Maybe you should add to it the date that the email was produced mentioning that McNulty was to be “kept out of the loop”, since all these activites add up to a considered plan by a small group of people to politically control Justice. My question is, what are all these hearings going to lead to? When does blatantly unethical trump illegal? Can we have a Hatch Act for Justice?
emptywheel @ 21
Oh, EW, you’re such a kidder. Really, a true professional in this administration…?
Scarecrow – I left you a comment at 7:38 on the preceding thread.
Wilson@33
I agree that the pace is frustratingly slow, but the coming results are inevitable.
They are toast, and they know it.
Keep an eye out for the release of the recovered e-mails and/or Monica Goodling’s testimony.
After that, the resignations will pick up steam onward and upward to the Big 3.
Wilson @ 33
Debates about the speed of this investigation aside, one thing that is happening is that stuff that is more criminal is being revealed. Other Republicans are being implicated. IMO that is a very important step, bc we not only want AGAG to resign, but we want the REpublicans in the Senate to agree with the Democrats that we need a real AG to replace AGAG, not the Ted Olson or Laurence Silberman types of hack who were floated as replacements early in this process.
In other words, we really need to demonstrate the extent of the problem here, otherwise we’re not going to be able to clear up DOJ.
For this post, I too thank you emptywheel.
One small question: if anyone at the time of the firings sensed a need for future rationalizations other than Karl Rove’s political purposes, could Ryan have been added to give a fig leaf of credibility to the firings as performance related? Clarity and consistency of thinking is not a hallmark of the Bushies. So, there doesn’t need to be one and only one reason to add Ryan. But there don’t seem to be any other Bush administration loyal Bushies who have been treated as Ryan has solely for their incompetence.
emptywheel @ 14
allow me to offer a guaranteed-
to-work bookmark for the real-media
web-streaming video, here. just be
sure you’ve installed realplayer; i
WILL be certain these links are working
early tomorrow a.m. NOTE ALSO that
the hearing starts an hour EARLIER than
has been the norm, of late: it starts
at 9:30 a.m. EASTERN time. . .
buckle-up!
and, great post, as evah, emptywheel!
I, too, am struck by why Sampson started talking to Comey in 2007. The first thought I had was that McNulty’s conversation (unknown date in 2006) was between Dec 7 and 31, and something there prompted Sampson to call Comey up. The WaPo story puts the McNulty/Comey conversation prior to Dec 7, however — indeed, prior to Aug 15 (WaPo: McNulty on the job “less than a year”).
I’m guessing that Comey’s influence in the DOJ was still quite strong, even with his departure, and McNulty was trying to get something done (perhaps even something to slow down the Sampson/Goodling employment authority?), and he thought Comey could help him out.
In Comey’s farewell, he spoke glowingly about the field personnel, whom he called “my troops.” He did his utmost, I think, to remind them of why they came to work at DOJ, and what they came to do — very different from AGAG’s point of view.
And then there’s this from that farewell speech:
No one is more cynical about Washington than BushCo. The fact that Comey speaks about a loyalty greater than that of presidential appointees to the president makes him a very dangerous person, and that danger didn’t go away with his departure.
I don’t know if Sampson was sounding Comey out about his potential testimony, or what. I do know, however, that Comey must scare the pants off the political folks at DOJ right now, for two reasons.
He knows too much about the political shenanegans.
He cares too much about the rule of law.
A sidebar, point of personal privilege, I’m saddened to see the use of “White House” and “WH” when we’re really talking about the Bushistas. I’ve done it myself, so let me be the first to say I won’t use White House anymore when I’m commenting. And I hope you’ll join me.
That venerable old building–the nation’s First Home–deserves better than to be tarred with the stench o’Bush.
It is
peoplepolitical cronies who are mocking our democracy and trying to undermine it at every turn for political gain. Place the onus on Bush-Cheney-Rove and the minion of the moment…and keep the faith that the White House will be cleansed of their presence by Jan 20, 2009, if not before.Now back to your regularly scheduled comments…
Marcy, you have a real gift for understatement.
emptywheel,
I stand, well sit really, in awe.
Thank-you for the timeline.
Do you think it’s possible to clean up the DOJ while Bush is still president?
she may have company :)
waving wildly to Emptywheel! thank you for this – I happen to like timelines when fit hitting the shan reaches it’s current critical mass
but for the inherent corruption, one could almost make the case someone that is doing their job. one problem.
comey thought bush was a great fellow once. this shows a surprising and complete lack of judgement and common sense.
thankfully, he stood by why one prosecutor that he appointed did something about the all but total corruption. too bad he didn’t appear to care about anything else enough to actually prosecute the criminals that appointed him?
if we celebrate such mediocrity, we have no standards worth keeping
Peterr @ 44
Actually, McNulty was only sworn in on March 17, 2006, so we’re only just outside of that year now (McCallum was acting DAG in the interim, and tehy tried to get Flanigan in as DAG before McNulty). There’s an email in the dump (I’m looking for it) that includes a line that says something like, “Paul talked to —– who said that ———– shouldn’t be on list” which may well have been a McNulty-Comey conversation about one of the people on the list.
hey Wilson !
are you *ilson46201???
nolo 43
THANKS MUCH!
In fact, Thanks All!
The Lake. It’s the place to be. ;->
(((((Jane)))))
Did someone try to ring me? Balrog?
Forgot to thank emptywheel as well for another excellent (and resourceful) post.
All your legal cipherin’ is indispensable!
“We not only want AGAG to resign, but we want the REpublicans in the Senate to agree with the Democrats that we need a real AG to replace AGAG, not the Ted Olson or Laurence Silberman types of hack who were floated as replacements early in this process.”
EW: Though I agree, I also agree with Wilson that the Dems must be more forceful. Dems now have compelling evidence that certain firings were purely political. Did that process violate laws or not?? I keep hearing how “dangerous” this is, but I never hear about specificy statutes violated. If statutes were violated the Dems should start impeachment proceedings against Abu NOW! That provides a laser-like focus and automatically bypasses any “executive privilege” claims.
Solai @ 48
Not with Cheney and Rove still pulling his strings.
Great post EW!
Thanks for the timeline. But I bet Comey got pissed more than once…can’t wait for tomorrow’s showdown.
EW, again great insight and clarity. Overlay your Native American timeline and resource concerns. It gets more interesting. Then add Cheney’s Energy Task Force. Even more interesting…
Boston1775 @ 31
Well, I’m not EW, but given that Goodling signed the secret order, it would be pretty hard for her to make the case that she is only discovering its import after the fact.
Maybe he was not present for Comey’s fairwell… where he would have heard:
“nearly everything we accomplish as an organization is done by the army in the field, which headquarters exists to support”
That should have been a heads up, I think.
Seriously, did I read somewhere that there were almost no Bushies at the ceremony… only long term career folks to hear Comey’s words?
Comey didn’t impress me with his grandstanding regarding Martha Stewart’s indictment. But then Martha’s just a self-made, female millionaire, and a Democrat to boot.
A question. Since the law on US attorneys specifically states that the “president” can remove them, Bush had to “sign off” on Abu’s memo. Otherwise the firings were unlawful and the fired attorneys could resume their jobs. Abu has authority under the law only to appoint/fire assistant US attorneys. So where’s the document that Bush signed giving approval for this?
Mae @ 8
I did not hear the speech, but when Bush says we are in Iraq because of 9/11 he is absolutely correct: even though Saddam had nothing to do with it, 9/11 gave Bush/Cheney the pretext he needed to attack Iraq which had been on the planning boards from the minute he got inaugurated.
So yes, we are in Iraq because of 9/11. There is a causal relationship between the two. Doesn’t everybody already know this?
I was reading my alumni magazine about a month or so ago and there was a brief “life events” note about a friend from college saying that he had just been appointed to a position as (I forget the actual title) something like Associate US Attorney.
The magazine had done a full page article on him about 2 years ago. This guy graduated one year before me (not Regent U). He was valedictorian of his class, graduated with 2 Bachelors degrees (Engineering of some sort, and Political Science), student body president, fairly active in our fraternity, got his MS in Environmental Engineering at MIT, Rhodes scholar – 2 years at Oxford, JD at Harvard. He got a job at a lawfirm in DC (can’t remember the name).
He was very political, but not partisan (Democrat, although you wouldn’t know it from most conversations). Very diplomatic. Always wanted all sides of the story.
This guy would be very qualified under any other administration. This whole scandal makes me wonder how he slipped through into this DOJ, or if he turned to the dark side.
I just don’t see how it’s possible to truly clean it up while Bush is pres. We can impeach AGAG, we can require that USAs be approved by Senate, we can try to reinstate some of the USAs….but Bush must nominate the new AG and there is no way that it will be a person of honor. I’m not hopeful
Prairie Sunshine @ 45
“Bush came in here and he trashed the place,” says us, “and it’s not his place.”
Hi Marcy! It was an honor to finally meet you a couple weeks ago here in Lansing, and I thought that you and Julielyn did an outstanding job on the local Off The Record blogger panel interview. (Do watch for an extra treat everyone, the ladies kicked ass)
I need to catch up on your series you have going on the Indian Affairs and NAIS. I’m not sure how much access my Tribal card will give me for our sister Saginaw Chippewa tribe that was a direct victim in the Abramobb mess but anything that I can find out I will surely send to you.
These timelines are excellent, looking forward to watching Comey define what an adult is. I’m still chuckling over someone calling Sampson: Evil Radar.
Englischlehrer @ 32
This got asked in the last thread, too. I didn’t see it answered there either, so I’ll give it a shot.
No. There does not have to be a smoking gun. There has to be a majority in the House and a 2/3 agreement in the Senate that something *wrong* was done, or that the person impeached should no longer serve in office.
That said, with a bare Democratic majority in the Senate, you’re going to need at least a smoking gun to get an impeachment conviction. Probably a picture of the explosion too. And a photograph of the accused getting a handjob from Deborah Jeanne Palfrey.
KLynn @ 59
I’m working on it, I’m working on it!
Solai @ 66
Cleaning up the DOJ is only part of the equation. The other part is how you are going to attract qualified people with integrity to want to work there.
my computer wont let me load pdf’s this morning – but am willing to bet Sampson’s letter to Comey was a fishing expediton – they are full of themselves enough to think they could actually get over on a guy like Comey – and why not, they bamboozled the US Senate
Comey “ain’t no bandleader”
Shez @ 68
Shez
I’ve been thinking about emailing you and asking you to accompany me on a visit to the Gun Lake Tribe–that may well be the reason why Chiara was ousted. Want to meet at Bells and then go find out if folks in the tribe know anything?
and where in the hell is Alice Fisher ?!?!?
Adie @ 53
my pleasure — and i’ll
triple those hugs, for jane. . .
NZ Expat, now in KS @
54
Yes. I was wondering if I could hit you up off line for some questions about Middle Earth -er- New Zealand? I’d be much obliged.
cbl @ 74
Alice doesn’t live here anymore.
OT – Chimpy’s definition of success in Iraq from his speech earlier today: “success is sectarian violence down… success is not no violence…”
Just a HEAD’S UP…(if a little bit OT)
drational and a handful of motley, Kos irregulars have been databasing and analysing the e-mails, both dumped and withheld, in the USAgate thang. I highly recommend all students of this scandal to check out his diaries and discussion.
I don’t ordinarily pimp diaries on other sites but this is extraordinary work that has been taking place. Here’s a link to the most recent diary:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/2/85031/81603
Balrog,
actually I should have asked why Steno Sue isn’t all over Alice – she copped a Pulitzer over Abramoff after all :)
emptywheel @
70
If you want help overlaying the timeline on the Native Energy policies and the subsequent US policies and contracts to violate, I can send news your way as I get it? You’re doing an amazing job. I figured you were piecing the timelines together.
twolf1 @ 79
kudos to you folks who actually watch the F**kerer……you’ve got stronger stomachs than I do.
Thanks, Emptywheel. Don’t say it nearly enough…just, thanks. The overwhelming illegality and brazen corruption, especially in DOJ, has brought us to the brink of totalitarian fascism. Sometimes, I just can’t breathe for the stench of it. And the shock of so much complicity and complacency from within the establishment power structures.
Thank God for the Lake and the mighty intrepid investigative bloggers. We’d all be suffocating otherwise.
EW–Will you liveblog Comey tomorrow? I can’t wait.
sonate @ 56
If the US Attorney termination and appointment was made to head off an investigation or indictment of of a Republican, or to instigate an investigation or indictment of a Democrat, it is unquestionably illegal. This could be descibed as a “partisan” motivated US Attorney. Of course it is illegal, and every American would rightfully find it abhorent (except for Bush, Rove, Meirs and Gonzalez.)
Anytime Marcy, I’m always free to travel, I’ll email you my home phone. This is something that burns me to my core and I want to dig deep into this. Do you have a day picked out? I should also call up home and see if they know anyone who happens to live around there that might be helpful on some inside scoop or could direct us to people we should question. Long shot but won’t hurt to ask.
Just saw this, put it alongside Odom’s statement:
May 1, 2007
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Today, in your veto message regarding the bipartisan legislation just passed on Operation Iraqi Freedom, you asserted that you so decided because you listen to your commanders on the ground.
Respectfully, as your former commander on the ground, your administration did not listen to our best advice. In fact, a number of my fellow Generals were forced out of their jobs, because they did not tell you what you wanted to hear — most notably General Eric Shinseki, whose foresight regarding troop levels was advice you rejected, at our troops’ peril.
[…]
As someone who served this nation for decades, I have the utmost respect for the office you hold. However, as a man of conscience, I could not sit idly by as you told the American people today that your veto was based on the recommendations of military men. Your administration ignored the advice of our military’s finest minds before, and I see no evidence that you are listening to them now.
I urge you to reconsider your position, and work with Congress to pass a bill that achieves the goals laid out above.
Respectfully,
Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA, Retired
God bless General Eaton!
Interesting post at TPM today.
The same folks who explained that Iglesias needed to be fired for being an absentee USA (one month a year reserve duty) inserted a provision along with the others in the PATRIOT Act so that Bill Mercer could live in D.C. while also being the USA in Montana.
Balrog,
OT
Contact me at erkroeker at yahoo dot com.
Wilson @
33
I agree. All this oversight and fooling around will vanish in a moment with the next major “terraist” attack. And it will come, make no mistake about that. Just because George is using the talking point about fighting them there so they don’t come here doesn’t mean that particular straw man is so. It’s a slogan – a Repub talking point, and has no relationship to reality.
It is way past time to haul these people in front of a court, and prosecute to the fullest.
Thanks for the timeline, Marcy!
Bush’s rigid devotion to loyalty over competence at the top of the DOJ gives the phrase “serves at the pleasure of the president,” a Nero-like meaning.
How is Bush different than Castro, besides the beard?
emptywheel @
51
From the WaPo piece, it sounds as if the McNulty-Comey conversation was shortly before McNulty signed off on the firings. When was that?
OT
The bill for funding the war in Iraq was vetoed yesterday. What would happen if he didn’t get another bill? I mean, he blew it off, didn’t he? He didn’t want the money bad enough. He hurt the troops by his veto. Why send him another bill? It’s like a kid asking for their allowance, throwing the money in the river and asking for it again.
The last two months waisted, for what?
I am excited to hear Mike Gravel will finally be able to attend the upcoming debates hosted by CNN, but only because bloggers had to step in.
rat bastahd – Can you give me a source or link for the Eaton quote? My husband, former Naval officer, is still trying to get through to a few relatives. This one might carry the weight needed to tip the balance.
ccmask @ 94
Castro’s spanish is way better than Chimpy’s.
There’s so much more to the Abramoff story and the demotion of Frederick Black as US Atty, including glaring breaches in the Northern Marianas Homeland Security perimeter that Abramoff was quick to use to his own profit-and that showed just how long his reach really was in this Administration-and an attempt to take over a line of Gambling-allowed Cruise Ships
And, it’s with the last mentioned item above that Abramoff’s endeavors-the takeover of the gambling-friendly cruise line-had a tie-in with a mob murder, but until now, no one’s offered a reason why Abramoff would want to take over a line of gambling cruiser ships
I did, and it ties into all the other above points as well
ifthethunderdontgetya @ 89
And thy name is: Hypocrisy. Truly, these people have no shame.
Oh, and Marcy? Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. You have no idea how big the debt owed to you and your fine mind, your relentless pursuit of intelligence, your sense of decency. If ever you have a need, just ask. We all owe you.
Just a thought: aren’t all the good folks on the Supreme Court also lawyers by trade? I wonder what they think about the DOJ scandal. I mean, even the conservative ones. Could all this be A-OK with them? Is it all fair game, just politics, or would they think there is a problem here.
Of course, they would not go public with their thoughts unless the case comes before them, but one has to wonder.
ccmask @ 94
Don’t Cubans get free health care?
ccmask @ 94
Castro threw out the gluttonous, tiny ruling class, the gluttonous American corporations and the Mob, instituted universal health care and education…George Bush, not so much.
great post marcy!
does anyone know why comey resigned? and where he works now?
and for new yorkers–christie posted this yesterday
that’s today, folks, if i were in ny, i’d want to be there today, so thought i would post it here and there so everyone knows……..
OT, but I ask again;
What was the last thing this country did that made you proud to be an American?
Anything.
Are US soldiers in Iraq dying more or less frequently under the escalation plan? If I’m not mistaken, April was the deadliest month in this war for Americans. Sectarian violence indeed.
For a war premised upon lies about WMDs, state sponsored terrorists, and an Iraq/Al Qaeda operational alliance, it’s not clear what, if anything, justifies our ongoing war-making. My friend died in Tikrit in November 2003. She was 40 and two months from retirement. She leaves behind a husband and a young son.
For what?
dmac @
105
Neil @
107
FOR THE GLORY OF THIS MAN.
wrc @ 93
Bush Loyalty>Competence= Tin Pot Dictatorship
How will we remove the stain on the DoJ after all this? How attract top flight, competent personnel? Some days the news out of the DoJ scandals make me more sad than angry. But not today…
I sent an email to Murray Waas concerning his April 30th article. I let him know that people at FDL were insulted that he used “White House” twenty five times in the article.
I can only imagine how appreciative he will be of my help. I also decided to ask him if it is possible that Alberto Gonzales and other officials at the place that must not be named cooked up this secret order together. You know, just in case what is happening happens.
dmac, 105
Probably only Comey knows why he quit and so far he ain’t talking, but prepare to be a bit shocked…he is now general counsel for Lockheed Martin, one of the biggest defense contractors in the nation.
Well, he has a family to feed.
NZ Expat, now in KS @ 101
Amen
dmac @
105
Please come to New Orleans soon. The coffee is better and you can get a first hand look at the consequences of having a incompetent and/or criminal executive branch.
Forgive me if I’m incorrect, but in Al Franken’s (well referenced) last book I think it was DeLay who was also involved in the marianas islands..(2004- it seems so long ago I read it)
It’s great to read your post- lot’s to ponder and re-read.
Thanks.
sorry for the accidental double post.
Marcy, do you know of an friction between Newsome, mayor of SF and Ryan? I can’t imagine Newsome taking crap from him, but I’ll bet there was some powerful political play between them two.
AS always, thanks for the reporting.
“…Now the rule of law has two defects, each of which suggests the need for one-man rule. The first is that law is always imperfect by being universal, thus an average solution even in the best case, that is inferior to the living intelligence of a wise man on the spot, who can judge particular circumstances. This defect is discussed by Aristotle in the well-known passage in his “Politics” where he considers “whether it is more advantageous to be ruled by the best man or the best laws.”
The other defect is that the law does not know how to make itself obeyed. Law assumes obedience, and as such seems oblivious to resistance to the law by the “governed,” as if it were enough to require criminals to turn themselves in. No, the law must be “enforced,” as we say. There must be police, and the rulers over the police must use energy (Alexander Hamilton’s term) in addition to reason. It is a delusion to believe that governments can have energy without ever resorting to the use of force.
The best source of energy turns out to be the same as the best source of reason–one man. One man, or, to use Machiavelli’s expression, uno solo, will be the greatest source of energy if he regards it as necessary to maintaining his own rule. Such a person will have the greatest incentive to be watchful, and to be both cruel and merciful in correct contrast and proportion. We are talking about Machiavelli’s prince, the man whom in apparently unguarded moments he called a tyrant…”
- His Manliness Harvey C. Mansfield
If your comment gets stuck in moderation, try refreshing your browser, not just refreshing comments, to see it.
Submitting multiple versions of the same comment does not help to free the first one any faster.
Emptywheel:
“April 2006: Monica Goodling becomes WH liaison
April 14, 2006: Sampson publishes a new firing list, boasting that two of the targeted USAs (Heffelfinger and Graves) have left office. Ryan has been removed from the list.”
and from WH website:
“Joshua Bolten was sworn in as White House Chief of Staff on April 14, 2006.
Mr. Bolten first joined President George W. Bush’s Cabinet on June 30, 2003, when he was sworn in as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.”
Emptywheel:
“December 4, 2004: DOJ releases resignation guidance … just in case someone wants to resign after the elections”
Josh Bolton did the same thing when he became WH Chief of Staff.
KLynn @ 81
I’d love it if you did. emptywheel at gmail dot com
STTP in Ohio @ 106
I was very proud of Americans on 9/11/01. The firefighters, policemen, ordinary citizens all showed such courage and compassion. One scene especially memorable (to me) was of a gathering of people looking at the photos of the missing. There were flowers and gifts strewn about. Amongst the crowd looking at the photos was an Arab man and woman. A white man looked at the photos then started to walk away. He noticed the Arab couple, turned around and shook their hands. And I cried.
Josh Bolten joins WH OMB June 30, 2003.
Nine days later:
“July 9, 2003: Dan Collins proposes the idea of having the AG appoint USAs (this is the first known discussion of the AG appointment idea)”
Jane S. @ 84
Yes–I’ll be doing it here, since Christy will be in NYC.
Mommybrain @ 117
I don’t know about friction with Newsome or not, but Ryan has ticked off just about everyone else in Northern California, including a lot of generally non-partisan judges. TPM Muckraker has a good piece, linking to the LA Times for more on this. TPMM starts with this:
That USA under discussion is Kevin Ryan.
Mommybrain @ 117
I don’t know of any–why do you think they would have clashed? (Meaning, why would Ryan have interacted with him, rather than why, culturally, woudl they not get along)
OT – After State Department Attacked Pelosi, Rice To Meet With Syrian Leader
sumpl @
115
MS Magazine has done two reports on the Marianas sweatshops. The women are indentured servants whose lives have been characterized by DeLay as (paraphrase) a testament to capitalism. He spent many days, with his family and friends, at luxury hotels there. Abramoff footed the bill.
Emptywheel for Attorney General!
sonate @ 27
Yes!! Along with the promise to appoint a special prosecutor that could get to the bottom of this. It would be similar to Elliott Richardson’s appointment as AG during Watergate.
Can’t be done, unless Congress is willing to reinstate the special prosecutor law.
I believe it was allowed to expire during the Idiot-In-Chief’s first term.
Two things about Comey’s farewell speech:
1.) I get the feeling from it that here is a person I would *love* to work for. If his speech is any indication, he acts based on principle and among his principles are that the system is a precious thing that must be protected, that it’s mission is to protect the citizenry and treat all people fairly under the law and that you should have fun in your job because if you aren’t enjoying it and getting support from your loved ones, you won’t be protecting and serving as you should. It follows, it’s rational, it is knowledgeable about what motivates and inspires people. It is regrettable that we don’t have someone like Comey as AG today.
2.) He was warned that there was trouble in paradise from others who spoke to him personally. These people are those he would trust with his life. Now, why would he say something like that? Did he feel that he would need their protection someday? It’s intersting and puzzling and disturbing.
Karnak12 @91
Don’t agree. With a close Senate you need to drip, drip, drip till you get proof of the real evil(remember the original ‘gate).
Gradually, folks who have been struggling with their consciences, and there will be many in government, lose their grip on the sides of the widening crevasse and have to take sides.
Any reading of the future suggests not too far away that future’s not Bush, so they become good guys. Perhaps some already are. Publicly furious generals is a very good start. A few angry GOP Senators helps.
Yes there’s a risk,a big risk, of some fanatics/freedom fighters/terrorists (take your pick) spoiling it but I think it must be taken.
Keep up the good work Marcy. The World, not just the USA, rather depends on folks like you.
You are the timeline queen, EW! Thanks for the great summary.
Shez @ 68
Shez thanks so much for the video. Marcy, as always an excellent job.
lolo
portia.vz @ 131
And he was called at night by someone warning him he was making a mistake. Wouldn’t you love to know?
NZ Expat, now in KS @
97
Have you seen this on Raw Story?
Former British defense secretary claims Cheney called shots in Iraq
dreamcatcher 112
Well, he has a family to feed.
thanks
Stephen Parrish, CPA @
136
Go back to guardian link in Late Night post for full Hoon intervies
Public service announcement via MSNBC:
FDA issues new warnings on antidepressants
More Manliness -
Yeah, Harv, it’s clear to see all the benefits this strong-man shit has gotten us.
Man, Bush probably spanks the monkey over this cat’s writings.
Thanks for the link, Chetnolian.
Marcy at 126 – don’t know specifically of any clashes. Just, Newsome is so Left and Ryan so Right, SF has always been a code phrase for the Right anyway and Newsome a giant target since the gay marriage thing. Just wondering, is all…
Solai @ 66
Any new AG Bush chooses MUST be confirmed by the Senate. I’m willing to bet that the Senators will only confirm a candidate THEY trust. Rove’s SOL on this one.
Stephen Parrish, CPA @
139
I don’t understand how they can be “anti-depressants” if they make you want to kill yourself.
Boston@135
>And he was called at night by someone warning him he was making a mistake. Wouldn’t you love to know?
Maybe I read that differently but I got the impression that someone was warning him that he was being manipulated into doing something unwise, something he would normally not do. I thought that people were passing on information to him and promising him protection should he ever need it. Or telling him that the were completely trustworthy.
It’s just very ominous.
grayslady @
37
“after presumably having great success with the Black firing in 2002.”
They also had succes in 2003:
“The Department of Justice initially opposed awarding a sole-source contract to Bajagua. But when the DOJ attorney originally assigned to handle the case, Randall Humm, was replaced in 2003 by DOJ attorney and liaison to the Office of the
Vice President, Mary Neumayr, the Justice Department reversed its position abruptly.”
-rawstory
Mommybrain @ 144
Depression tends to make the patient lethargic, to tired to commit suicide. When the patient takes the medication, one of the first things to depart is lethargy. Unfortunately, the depression is still swaying the patient’s judgement and now they have the energy to commit suicide…
Also, there are some antidepressants that seem to encourage thoughts of suicide. Problem is, you can’t predict which patients are going to experience this side-effect.
sumpl @
115
There was also a post on Dkos that implicated McNulty in the Black firing. I’ve never quite understood why anyone thinks he may be the leaker of the document that Waas mentions. He is definitely one of the “loyal” Bushies. If he seems a bit less adamant than some, it is probably out of a sense of self preservation.
empytwheel,
Do you already have this article? I haven’t read them all yet. This is Sampson explaining the seletion process of AG.
Report of Investigation into Allegations Relating to the Selection of the U.S. Attorney
for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
Special Report
June 2006
Office of the Inspector General
…
Selection Process for United States Attorneys
After President George W. Bush was inaugurated in January 2001, his administration sought to nominate new candidates to fill the U.S. Attorneys’ positions. Kyle Sampson, who was President Bush’s Associate Director for Presidential Personnel until late September 2001 and is now the Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, described the selection process to the OIG.
Sampson said the White House asked for recommendations from political leaders in the various districts for candidates to fill the U.S. Attorney positions. The recommendations generally were submitted by U.S. Senators of the President’s party to Sampson or to staff in the White House Office of Political Affairs (OPA). If no Republican Senator represented a particular judicial district, Sampson or OPA staff contacted whoever OPA designated as the “political lead” for that district. Sampson said the White House generally sought three names for each U.S. Attorney vacancy, although it did not always receive three.
Sampson said the White House forwarded potential U.S. Attorney candidates to the Executive Office for United States Attorney (EOUSA) in the DOJ, with a request that each person be sent an online application form and be scheduled for a panel interview. According to Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis, who participated in the U.S. Attorney selection process, Sampson’s request to EOUSA to send the application to an individual meant that the person had been “named as a candidate” by the White House. The candidates identified in this fashion would be interviewed by a panel that normally consisted of Sampson; Margolis; David Higbee, Deputy Associate Attorney General and the DOJ liaison to the White House; the Director of EOUSA; and Christopher Bartolomucci of the White House Counsel’s office. Sampson described the interview as similar to a regular job interview, with part of the interview focused on whether the candidate had any issues that might arise during the background investigation. After the interviews, the panelists would rank the candidates in order of preference. According to Sampson, if there was only a single candidate, the panel would determine whether the person “me[t] the bar,” meaning that the candidate met the minimum level of qualifications for the position of U.S. Attorney…
link
Oh what fun! I’m going to head up there. Why is Christy in NYC hanging out on Columbus Circle anyway?
[sorry ’bout the zig–hope I fixed it!]
Comment 31 said “Could this secret authorization be on secret record just in case the WH fascists’ secrets leaked out? Could the two of them be finding this out after the fact?”
Yes, Murray Waas wrote:
John Dowd, an attorney for Goodling, said in an interview that it was “absolutely untrue” that his client was ever delegated the authority outlined in the confidential March 1, 2006 order signed by the attorney general. “She had no authority,” Dowd said, “My God, she was an assistant to the chief of staff to the attorney general. She was an assistant to the assistant.” An attorney for Sampson, Brad Berenson, said that his client was not available for comment for this story.
NZ Expat, now in KS @ 97
I found a link to the Eaton letter, here ya go:
Eaton’s Letter
mo2, I saw that. I was asking Marcy what she thinks.
Marcy, that is an amazing piece of work, and it’s invaluable to folks like me who’ve had trouble keeping the threads of this affair untangled.
So thank you. Really.
gonna copy that letter and carry it around with me to share generously. Thanks for printing it.
STTP in Ohio @
106
We voted the Republicans out of the Congress.
Sorry, I didn’t realize. Also, the March 1, 2006 memo had directions to exclude it from Paul McNulty. (I can’t find a source now.) My question is, was he really out of the loop, or was this meant to shield him in the event of Senate inquiry? It appears that the memo was a pre-planned cover-up. But did Goodling know about the memo and why it was written?
I think she did because she drank the koolaid wholeheartedly.
Key question: Who would be in a position to write the DRAFT authority and did not know bypassing Gonzalez was unconstitutional ?
Who would dare without being told to do it, thereby enabling DENIABILITY by the actual source?
The actual source understood the protocols and so proceeded by having a naive junior do the foolish act.
What was Goodling’s job before she was made WH liaison?
Because she appears to have been granted the ability to hire and fire (along w/Sampson) before she actually had the job that would permit it.
mo2 and chuteh,
If you have more thoughts on this, would you mind writing about them?
STTP in Ohio @
106
Sen. George Mitchel’s efforts Northern Ireland – Good Friday Agreement