Three Way News

Your Source. For everything. Really.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

I can't believe we lose to these guys

How do we lose to a team that can't even get a decent cover-up organized? Here's (soon to be former) attorney general Alberto Gonzales approving the plan to fire U.S. attorneys he told Congress he had nothing to do with:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales approved plans to fire several U.S. attorneys in a November meeting, according to documents released Friday that contradict earlier claims that he was not closely involved in the dismissals.

Tellingly, the emails showing Gonzales's involvement come from the two week gap in the original document dump.

It's always worth noting why this story is important. Bush certainly had the legal authority to dismiss any U.S. attorneys for any reason or no reason whatsoever. It's just that no sitting President had ever fired 10% of the U.S. attorney staff for partisan reasons. Rather than cop to the naked power grab -- made all the easier by the Patriot Act provision some legislative ninja slipped into the final act that allowed the President to appoint replacements without Senate confirmation -- the Justice Department tried to whistle past the unemployment office. That didn't work. Lacking any good reasons, the administration started contriving justifications. Administration officials went to Congress and presented the contrivances as if they were the actual reasons.

This is an unprecedented, shameful power grab that the administration lied to Congress and America about. It's important.

Labels: lying, U.S. attorneys