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October 6, 2008 11:52:11 AM CDT

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Started by C Miller; Last updated Feb 27, 08 11:03 AM CST by K Schwartz | View history

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US Attorney Firings

Scandal hits the nation's highest law-enforcement body. Will justice be served?

The Justice Department’s decision to replace eight US Attorneys at the end of 2006 could have slipped quietly into the bureaucratic annals. Instead, it exploded into scandal when critics—including several of the fired attorneys themselves—charged that the firings had been politically motivated. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales dismissed the affair as little more than “an overblown personnel matter,” but the Democratic Congress seized on Attorneygate, subpoenaing Justice and administration players and forcing a messy confrontation on the issue of executive privilege. Meanwhile, calls for the AG to resign continue to trickle in from both sides of the aisle—leaving the Bush loyalist's future decidedly uncertain.

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  • August 2007

    • Bush Lashes Out at Gonzales Critics

      CNN  |  Aug 27, 07 1:41 PM CDT

      Bush Lashes Out at Gonzales Critics

      (Newser) - Remaining loyal to his old Texas pal, President Bush fiercely defended Alberto Gonzales today despite grudgingly accepting his resignation. Bush said the AG suffered "unfair treatment" and that his "good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons." Some Republican lawmakers echoed Bush's statements while others joined Democrats in saying "good riddance." More »

    • Chertoff Eyed as AG Nominee

      CNN  |  Aug 27, 07 10:00 AM CDT

      Chertoff Eyed as AG Nominee

      (Newser) - Michael Chertoff is the top candidate to replace resigning AG Alberto Gonzales, White House sources tell CNN. The Department of Homeland Security chief served as an assistant AG early in the Bush years. Speculation about Chertoff's promotion began as early as Friday, as a US News & World Report blog said there was "buzz" that Gonzales was out. More »

    • Alberto Gonzales Resigns

      CNN  |  Aug 27, 07 7:42 AM CDT

      Alberto Gonzales Resigns

      (Newser) - Alberto Gonzales has resigned, the White House told CNN today, after months of calls for his replacement—and even impeachment—from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle worried that the Justice Department was becoming overly politicized. The AG told President Bush of his intention to step down Friday, following strategist Karl Rove out by just a few weeks. More »

    • Bush Aide Stonewalls Senators

      Associated Press  |  Aug 2, 07 3:29 PM CDT

      Bush Aide Stonewalls Senators

      (Newser) - Karl Rove didn't show up, but the White House sent a 29-year-old aide to field Senate Judiciary Committee questions about the US attorney firings today. Scott Jennings, the first administration figure to testify while still in office, followed the path laid out by ex-boss Sara Taylor in refusing to answer substantive questions, reports the AP. More »

    • Rove Won't Testify, Citing Privilege

      Washington Post  |  Aug 2, 07 6:24 AM CDT

      Rove Won't Testify, Citing Privilege

      (Newser) - The White House has ordered Karl Rove to keep quiet—despite a subpoena by congressional Dems probing the US Attorney firings. In a political fait accompli, counsel Fred Fielding told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the adviser is "immune from compelled congressional testimony" about White House machinations. More »

    • US Attorney Targeted After DoJ Brushoff

      Washington Post  |  Aug 1, 07 7:00 PM CDT

      US Attorney Targeted After DoJ Brushoff

      (Newser) - A US attorney testified yesterday that he found himself on a firings list after rebuffing DoJ pressure to slow a case—on the eve of a guilty plea. The Post reports a Justice higher-up urged John Brownlee to stall proceedings against the manufacturer of an addictive painkiller hours before it entered a $635 million plea agreement. More »

  • July 2007

    • Justice Faces Blank Slate in Gonzo Probe

      USA Today  |  Jul 30, 07 9:14 AM CDT

      Justice Faces Blank Slate in Gonzo Probe

      (Newser) - Solicitor General Paul Clement has a tough decision to make: whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate his boss Alberto Gonzales' testimony to Congress. Four Senate Democrats have written to Clement requesting a special counsel to determine if Gonzales concealed the truth in his testimony in the US Attorney firings, but Clement has little precedent to follow. More »

    • NY Times: Impeach Gonzales

      New York Times  |  Jul 29, 07 9:45 AM CDT

      NY Times: Impeach Gonzales

      (Newser) - A scathing editorial in today's New York Times calls for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Alberto Gonzales' "words and deeds" and concludes with an unequivocal recommendation: "If that does not happen, Congress should impeach Mr. Gonzales." The call comes as the White House attempts to resolve apparent contradictions in the AG's recent Senate testimony. More »

    • FBI Chief's Testimony Contradicts Gonzales

      Washington Post  |  Jul 27, 07 5:14 AM CDT

      FBI Chief's Testimony Contradicts Gonzales

      (Newser) - Pressure mounted on Alberto Gonzales yesterday as FBI director Robert Mueller directly contradicted the attorney general in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. Mueller and Gonzales gave dramatically different accounts about  whether the Justice department's secret eavesdropping program was the subject of the now-legendary nighttime confrontation at the hospital bedside of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. More »

    • Senate Sends Rove Subpoena

      Associated Press  |  Jul 26, 07 2:24 PM CDT

      Senate Sends Rove Subpoena

      (Newser) - The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed presidential strategist Karl Rove today, over his role in the 2006 US attorney firings. Chairman Patrick Leahy said he’d “exhausted every avenue seeking the voluntary cooperation" of Bush's Brain, and was left no option but to force him to appear. More »