Posted by Andrew Zajac at 9:30 am CDT
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who told reporters on March 13 that he "was not involved in any discussions about what was going on'' in the firings of federal prosecutors last year, approved of the plans at an hourlong meeting Nov. 27, less than two weeks before the dismissal of seven, newly released records show.
And now Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is calling on President Bush to withdraw the nomination of Phillip Green as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois because he went along with an illegal sentence reduction in a drug case and failed to notify the Justice Department, according to an internal department investigation.
See the story in the Tribune:
New files: Gonzales approved firings
Durbin seeks to stop U.S. attorney nominee
By Andrew Zajac
Washington Bureau
March 24, 2007
WASHINGTON -- New documents sent by the Justice Department to Congress on Friday night cast doubt on earlier assertions by Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales that he was not deeply involved in plans to fire U.S. attorneys.
The records show that Gonzales approved plans to fire the prosecutors at an hourlong meeting Nov. 27, less than two weeks before the dismissal of seven of the prosecutors.
Gonzales told reporters on March 13 that "what I knew about the process was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on."
Justice Department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos on Friday night told The Washington Post that the department does not see Gonzales' remarks as inconsistent with the Nov. 27 meeting.
Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has asked President Bush to withdraw the nomination of Phillip Green to be the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois because he went along with an illegal sentence reduction in a drug case and then failed to notify the Justice Department about it, according to an internal department investigation.
Green's current boss, Margaret Chiara, who had been U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan, was among those fired by the Justice Department.
Although the inquiry into Green had no apparent connection to her dismissal, Chiara brought it up in a March 7 e-mail to a senior Justice Department official, saying the investigation had put a cloud over her office.
The inquiry cleared Green of professional misconduct but determined that he "exercised poor judgment by acceding to the . . . judge's intention to improperly compromise a mandatory minimum sentence" and subsequently violated a department regulation by not reporting the sentence reduction, thereby denying the government a chance to appeal the decision.
Chiara's e-mail and the investigation's results "are cause for concern, and I hope you will nominate someone other than Mr. Green for this position," Durbin wrote in a letter Friday to Bush. Durbin was notified of the investigation's results on Thursday.
Durbin noted that the state's senior congressional Republican, Rep. Dennis Hastert, the former speaker of the House, submitted multiple names as possible candidates for the job, so there already is a pool of finalists. Hastert could not be reached for comment.
A White House spokesman did not respond to questions about Durbin's letter.
The U.S. attorney in southern Illinois is headquartered in Fairview Heights near St. Louis and covers 38 counties.
The district has had seven U.S. attorneys since 2001, one of the highest rates of turnover among the nation's 93 federal prosecutors' offices. Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker said the district needs stable leadership quickly but there are too many questions about Green for him to win swift confirmation.
The 50-year-old Green graduated from Southern Illinois University and the St. Louis University School of Law and has been a prosecutor in the Western District of Michigan since 1998.
Green was nominated by Bush last June, but shortly afterward was the subject of three anonymous letters alleging professional misconduct, which Durbin asked the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate.
Chiara also was aware of the letters, and according to Friday's New York Times, she sought the department's assistance in identifying who in her office may have written them. At least one of the letters was written by someone who claimed to have worked for a federal law-enforcement agency.
Chiara's e-mail comment about the Green inquiry's effect on her office came in a note to Deputy Atty. Gen. Paul McNulty in which she protested the Justice Department's assertion that she was fired for performance-related issues and asked for help getting another job.
She described herself as "the personification of ethics and productivity," but added, "And as you surely realize, the unresolved Phil Green situation has definitely complicated the perception of DOJ in (the Western District of Michigan.)"
Chiara could not be reached for comment.
One of the anonymous letters alleged that in 2001, while serving as the interim U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Green "approved a sweetheart deal" in which Sara Lee Corp. was allowed to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor in connection with the sale of tainted meat that led to the deaths of 15 people. A second letter alleged that Green targeted female career prosecutors for unfair treatment.
Investigators found that Green acted appropriately in the Sara Lee case and found no professional misconduct in the allegations in either letter.
A third letter alleged that in 2001 Green "obstructed justice and likely accepted a bribe" in connection with his handling of a re-sentencing of Anthony Lamson, who had pleaded guilty to possessing a sawed-off shotgun in connection with drug trafficking.
The judge in the case, Richard Enslen, felt that the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years was too harsh, so he re-sentenced Lamson to time served, which cut about five years from the prison term, according to a summary of the inquiry's results sent to Durbin.
The Justice Department found that Green didn't advocate for a shorter prison term or encourage the court to ignore the mandatory minimum sentence, but that he "participated in Chief Judge Enslen's grant of an unlawful sentence in the case by informing the court in advance of the sentencing hearing that the government would not appeal whatever sentence the court imposed."
Green declined to comment.
Robert Holmes Bell, the current chief judge for the Western District of Michigan, told the Grand Rapids Press last July, when the letter alleging misconduct in the Lamson case surfaced, that "I've never heard a single bit of criticism of him [Green] by anyone. He is Mr. Integrity."
The author of that letter claimed that Green went along with Enslen in the Lamson case because he wanted the jurist, who was chief judge in the district at the time, to reappoint him as interim U.S. attorney. Under the law at the time, a federal judge could name an interim U.S. attorney if the president did not nominate one within 120 days.
The law subsequently was amended to give the attorney general the power to name interim U.S. attorneys and allow them to serve indefinitely without getting Senate approval.
Critics claim that the change in law figures in the scandal over the fired U.S. attorneys because it creates an opportunity for the Bush administration to appoint politically favored candidates without worrying about whether they can pass Senate muster.
The documents released Friday were part of nearly 300 pages of new records. That followed the announcement earlier Friday that Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to Gonzales, had agreed to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Comments
Who would have believed a member of the Bush administration, the Attorney General no less, would have lied to us about his involvement in this? They all appear to be so honest and trustworthy, don't they? Before this revelation some people might even have argued that honorable men like Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove should not be requred to testify under oath. It'll be pretty hard to sell that now.
Posted by: Tom O | March 24, 2007 9:57 AM
Dems should not be concerned about subpoenas or removing Gonzales. Just keep dropping little bombs from the available info like this every day or two. This Chinese water treatment will in the end have Bush crazy. Gonzales is his problem. Let him solve it.
Posted by: c.perry | March 24, 2007 10:12 AM
This is another part of the parsing of words that the Bush administration has been engaged from day one. And before Bushies start jumping on Clinton's contortion act on the word "is," let us remember that this administration cast itself as "straight shooters" that would bring responsibility back to the White House.
In this latest case of "I said..., I didn't say..." note that Gonzalez told the press he wasn't involved in any of the "discussions." That doesn't mean he didn't "approve" of the actual firings recommended to him.
This clearly gives Gonzalez cover. But it also raises the question: What the heck is Gonzalez job at Justice anyway? Without being involved in the discussions, how did he ultimately decide who should and who shouldn't be fired?
Posted by: Bud McFarlin | March 24, 2007 11:17 AM
The country's chief law enforcement officer is a liar.
This is now documented.
Gonzo must go.
Posted by: bb | March 24, 2007 11:45 AM
If Little Dick "Ediie Haskle" Durbin is against Mr. Green, then I am for him. I hope Mr. Green digs into the corruption in Springfield.
Posted by: Terry | March 24, 2007 12:16 PM
This is why the testimony to Congress must be under oath and in public.
Posted by: Tony | March 24, 2007 1:22 PM
Less than two weeks ago, Albert Gonzales said:
"Like every CEO,I am ultimately accountable and responsible for what happens within the dept.But that is in essence what I knew about the process.
I was not involved in seeing any memos,and I was not involved in any discussions about what was going on.
That's basically what I knew as the Attorney General.
What I knew was that there was an ongoing effort that was led by Mr.Sampson, vetted through the Dept. of Justice, to ascertain where we could make improvements in US attorney performances around the country."
And yesterday we learn:
Attorney General Gonzales approved plans to fire several US attorneys in a November meeting, according to documents released Friday that contradict earlier claims that he was not closely involved in the dismissals.
Gonzales signed off on the plan, which was crafted by his chief of staff, Kyle Sampson.
Sampson resigned last week amid a political firestorm surrounding the firings.
I'm not surprised that the Whitehouse doesn't want this two-bit Texas lawyer and his pal slimey KKKarl Rove to testify under oath.
They'd end up sitting next to Scooter in the Federal lockup.
Posted by: John E. | March 24, 2007 1:49 PM
How dare Dick Turbin allow politics to interfere with the hiring and firing of US Attorneys! Wasn't he just against that last week? I'm still trying to figure out how firing all the US attorneys, for the sin of not having appointed them yourself, is anything BUT firing for reasons of politics.
Posted by: Jeff | March 24, 2007 3:21 PM
Re-read the article Jeff. Green was accused of unethical behavior while working as a prosecutor in Michigan. I know we shouldn't expect any better from a Bush appointee, but don't blame Durbin for trying to raise the bar a little.
Posted by: Tom O | March 24, 2007 11:56 PM
Unethical behavior according to who? Famed nazi hunter Dick Turbin? Like he knows anything about ethics. Accused of unethical behavior, eh? Well, I'm glad accusations can keep someone from getting a job they're otherwise qualified for. After all, this is Democrat-control now. We shouldn't expect innocent until proven guilty or such other concepts to apply when political points can be scored. But, of course, politics should never play a role... when the other side tries to use them.
Posted by: Jeff | March 25, 2007 7:17 AM
We should remove Gonzalas, Rice, Bush and Chaney from office, they have proven themselves unworthy of serving our Country by being dishonest and untruthful to us all. The world now hates us and we are just finding out why...
Posted by: Art | March 25, 2007 10:14 AM
Jeff,
If the Wingnuts don't like Durbin so much why can't you find anyone who can beat him?
What does that say about the Republican Party?
Fitzgerald isn't going to run for you Wingnuts especially since he's seen the underbelly of the corrupt Republican Party first hand and he's also been slimed by it personally.
I don't like you,why don't you bring that Bill guy back?
GONE-ZALES MUST GO !!!
Posted by: John E. | March 25, 2007 1:33 PM
Art,
I'm glad the world loved us before Bush,Cheney and Rice were in office....
1993- W.T.C. bombing in New York
1995-Bombings in Saudi Arabia
1996-Khobar Tower bombings
1998-Bombing of U.S Embassies in Africa
2000-Bombing of U.S.S. Cole
Hey???- All these bombings happened under The Clinton Administration,when the world loved us!
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | March 25, 2007 2:07 PM
1993- W.T.C. bombing in New York
1995-Bombings in Saudi Arabia
1996-Khobar Tower bombings
1998-Bombing of U.S Embassies in Africa
2000-Bombing of U.S.S. Cole
Hey???- All these bombings happened under The Clinton Administration,when the world loved us!
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | Mar 25, 2007 2:07:54 PM
Paulo...You forgot Timothy McVeigh.
So a relatively small number of terrorist commit violent acts upon US interest and that proves what, regarding world opinion of the U.S.?
Al qaeda and other terrorist groups hated us then, and they hate us now (only more of them).
But Europe, Asia, India, S. America and most of the world didn't hate and distrust us then. After Bush's warmongering and blundering foreign policy, we're pretty much despised the world over. Sorry Paulo, can't blame that one on Clinton either.
Posted by: dt | March 25, 2007 11:49 PM
Someone'll beat Turbin, you watch. Fitz may run, yet, but first he has to clean up the rest of the corruption in this state.
Posted by: Jeff | March 26, 2007 8:29 AM
Quoting Paulo's Mar 25, 2007 2:07:54 PM post:
"1993- W.T.C. bombing in New York"
-- As has been pointed out to you REPEATEDLY in The Swamp, Clinton's Justice Dept. arrested, tried and convicted the people involved. All of them are sitting in federal prison.
"1995-Bombings in Saudi Arabia"
-- What do you want the United States to do when terrorists bomb ANOTHER COUNTRY? Don't forget, 16 of the 21 9/11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, a "friendly ally", who is such a good friend that they have refused on numerous occasions to allow American FBI agents to interrogate terrorist suspects held in Saudi Arabian jails.
"1996-Khobar Tower bombings"
-- Again, not in our country. What do you expect the US to do?
"1998-Bombing of U.S Embassies in Africa"
-- And President Clinton launched cruise missle attacks against terrorist camps in retaliation.
"2000-Bombing of U.S.S. Cole"
-- And to date incoming pResident George W. Bush has done NOTHING to apprehend the perpetrators of that attack. What the heck, he's only had FIVE YEARS; did you EVER give President Clinton that much leeway?
Posted by: BC | March 26, 2007 10:19 AM
Federal prison, eh BC? And you think this is where terrorists belong and that they're no threat to anyone there?
Well these cases would beg to differ:
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=861
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A17F83F550C728DDDA00894DA404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fA%2fAssaults
These people are more dangerous than any common criminal and should be kept in places like Gitmo, not where they can ferry information back to Bin Laden and other terrorists through treasonous go-betweens like Lynn Stewart.
The fact that Clinton never authorized a military response is what made the terrorists ambitious enough to attempt something like 9/11 in the first place.
Posted by: Jeff Y. | March 26, 2007 2:17 PM
Someone'll beat Turbin, you watch. Fitz may run, yet, but first he has to clean up the rest of the corruption in this state.
Posted by: Jeff | Mar 26, 2007 8:29:37 AM
Nah, Fitz is just a mediocre prosecutor, remember?
Nice of the Republican Party to pre-torpedo a potential candidate like that.
Posted by: Tony | March 26, 2007 3:58 PM
Someone'll beat Turbin, you watch. Fitz may run, yet, but first he has to clean up the rest of the corruption in this state.
Posted by: Jeff | Mar 26, 2007 8:29:37 AM
Hey, I'll bet they could persuade Alan Keyes to run against Durbin if the Republican party offered him enough money. Wouldn't that be fun?
Posted by: Tom O | March 26, 2007 5:21 PM