5 Ousted US Attorneys Received Positive Job Evaluations

[marmar]

Welcome to the United Stalinist States of America :scared:


From McClatchy Newspapers, via CommonDreams:

Published on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 by McClatchy Newspapers
5 Ousted US Attorneys Received Positive Job Evaluations
by Marisa Taylor

Although the Bush administration has said that six U.S. attorneys were fired recently in part because of "performance related" issues, at least five of them received positive job evaluations before they were ordered to step down.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, using authority he gained in March from a little-noticed provision of the Patriot Act, has appointed interim U.S. attorneys from the Bush administration's inner circle. The firings and appointments have raised concerns that Gonzales is politicizing the process.

Supporters of the U.S. attorneys and Justice Department officials familiar with the job evaluations suggested in interviews that top Justice Department officials may have exaggerated the role job performance played in the firings.

A Justice Department official who spoke on behalf of the administration said the dispute might simply be a matter of "semantics."

"Performance-related can mean many things," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous because the Privacy Act bars officials from discussing personnel decisions. "Policy is set at a national level. Individual U.S. attorneys around the country can't just make up their policy agenda." ....(more)

The rest of the article is at: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0213-07.htm

[saltpoint]

1. You know, the Bush administration has serious standards of corruption

and ineptitude to uphold, not to mention a stark betrayal of the public trust.

Competent, ethical, effective people stand in the way of those goals, so these 5 had to be let go.

____

Howdy, marmar. Happy Tuesday to ya.

[marmar]

2. Exactly....

And happy Tuesday to you too, Old Crusoe! :hi:

[Tanuki]

6. How horrible, but absolutely typical, to try to damage their reputations by saying they performed

poorly just to cover up the fact that the firings were politically motivated. That could certainly damage their future prospects, and I hope someone will sue over thia.

[saltpoint]

8. I'd like to see our Democratic president's Attorney General select

them for Special Prosecutors in investigations of Bush administration corruption.

That would keep some serious groceries on their table.

[salin]

3. the slow reveal (to the public) of Bushco's "Midnight Massacre".

[atreides1]

4. "Performance-related can mean many things,"

These attorneys didn't perform like puppets or trained seals, that's what the Justice Department means by "Performance-related can mean many things.

[Old and In the Way]

5. If they can't put Bush Republicans in these slots, who'll cover for the crimes?

It's pretty obvious why this is happening now....the Syndicate needs to get its lawyers in damage control mode.

[KansDem]

7. "They don't want to govern; they want to rule"

A statement by Molly Ivins regarding the complaint the right-wing has about "activist judges." She reminds us that the neo-conservatives really don't mind "activist judges," as long as they agree with neo-conservatives.

Apparently, these "activist judges" didn't subscribe to neo-con principles.

[marmar]

9. "these "activist judges" didn't subscribe to neo-con principles."

Exactly. Activism is in the eye of the beholder. :think:

[donkeyotay]

10. So, it was a bush-bot that prosecuted the border patrol guards

the incident that Dobbs and the GOPers are pushing. They say that some of the records were sealed, and that the DHS admitted that they lied about the guards. Sooooo, Gonzales thinks this guy is doing a great job. Let's see, he's prosecuted border patrol and protected a drug smuggler. I wonder what kind of message that was sending. Was it like, don't mess with this crime syndicate, what was it BFEE Drug Smuggling, Inc.? Wouldn't surprise me.

[Jack Rabbit]

11. "Preformance related" grounds for firing

That was an excellent job Ms. Lam did of prosecuting a crooked Republican congressman. But she wasn't supposed to prosecute a crooked Republican congressman. She performed too well.

If Congress can't impeach Bush and Cheney, they should at least impeach Gonzo Torquemada.

[Felinity]

12. I want an investigation. K&R

I believe these actions are being questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

I hope they drag that worthless POS Gonzales up to Capitol Hill every day, put him under oath, and make a list of all the times he perjures himself.

[Tin Man]

13. )))))) BushCo is testing the waters... Gonna replace *Fitz* next. Follow my logic... ((((((

The real news from the testimony at the Libby trial is that the PlameGate conspiracy is far more extensive than Libby alone. Even the Corporate Media is finally beginning to call into question the actions of (shadow president) Dick Cheney in PlameGate. And Cheney, recognizing the legal jeopardy now facing him, has begun to take mitigating action.

If it comes down to it, you can bet your bottom dollar that BushCo is gonna do whatever is necessary to ensure that Fitz doesn't indict 'ol DeadEyeDick, because then, the house will come down. So that means, if necessary, dismissing Fitz and replacing him with a lacky. A modern day version of the Watergate "Saturday night massacre" - only more craftily executed.

And that process has already started. The unwarrented dismissal of these 6 US Attorneys was only to establish the precedent - opening the door through which they will ditch Fitz. So in the event they need to dump Fitz, Tony Snow can say, "Oh, but we've done this kind of thing before - nothing to see here"

Sound crazy? Consider the newest meme from the RW Noise Machine, represented in the words of Sen. Fred Thompson today, as he spoke about DA Fitzgerald to ABC news: "When you put too much power in the hands of unelected, unaccountable people who have every incentive to focus massive resources onto one particular person - who gets the plaudits in the media for doing so - it's a bad thing."

They're building the case for dumping Fitz right this moment - "he's outta control" - so that they can justify dumping him should Fitz continue to pursue the PlameGate investigation in the wake of the Libby conviction.

Somebody tell me I'm just imagining things...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=200509&mesg_id=200509

[lutefisk]

14. This purge is disturbing, to say the least

Krugman:

"There’s something happening here, and what it is seems completely clear: the Bush administration is trying to protect itself by purging independent-minded prosecutors.

Last month, Bud Cummins, the U.S . attorney (federal prosecutor) for the Eastern District of Arkansas, received a call on his cellphone while hiking in the woods with his son. He was informed that he had just been replaced by :puke:J. Timothy Griffin, a Republican political operative who has spent the last few years working as an opposition researcher for Karl Rove."

http://polwaves.planetwaves.net/2007/01/25/



Here's more on Griffin. He is so over the top it would be humorous if it was fiction:

"According to this Arkansas Times report, for the last ten years -- with the exception of two one year stint -- he has always worked as a Republican party opposition researcher digging up dirt on Democrats. Deputy Research Director for the RNC from 1999-2000. Research Director for the RNC from 2002-2005. Oppo Research Director for Karl Rove 2005-2006. Prior to 1999? Well, he was associate independent counsel investigating Henry Cisneros from 1995-96. After that he went to work for Dan Burton on the Hill to investigate Asian money contributions to the DNC.

Back in 2000, when he was in charge of digging up dirt on Al Gore, he apparently had a poster hanging on the wall behind his desk which read: "On my command - unleash hell on Al."

So clearly, Griffin's a pretty apolitical guy."

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/011958.php

[yardwork]

15. This can't be allowed to stand

Bushco is continuing their silent coup - a takeover of the entire nation. Congress needs to stop this.

[Doctor_J]

19. Yeah, like there's anything Congress or the people can do about it

:eyes:

[yardwork]

21. Congress can revise the Patriot Act that contains allowance for this

[Doondoo]

16. K&R

[IWantAChange]

17. Fascism anyone??? Laurence Britt's outline of Fascist 'basics' reads like a Bushco playbook..

the article is illuminating and quite disturbing at the same time ....

<http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/britt_23_2.htm>

:puke: ..Republicons

[Doctor_J]

18. I guess they could file a class action suit

which would eventually be adjudicated by Fat Tony and Slappy :-(.

[Eugene]

20. "Performance-related can mean many things,"... like they're not RoveBots

like some of their replacements.

K & R

[dardango]

22. Qualifications, Smalifications...

Just as long as they're loyal.



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