Former U.S. attorney says he was ordered to resign

[deminks]

SEATTLE (AP) - Former U.S. Attorney John McKay told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his resignation this month was ordered by the Bush administration, which gave him no explanation for the firing.

“I was ordered to resign as U.S. attorney on Dec. 7 by the Justice Department,” McKay, who had led the department’s Western Washington office, said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. “I was given no explanation. I certainly was told of no performance issues.”

His comments came one day after Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty acknowledged to the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Justice Department has fired seven U.S. attorneys in the West since March, for reasons he would not divulge. The dismissals have been heavily criticized by Democratic lawmakers.

http://www.theolympian.com/377/story/64410.html

[Joanne98]

1. We're going to have to FIRE everyone Bushco has inserted.

He's infected the whole structure...

[Hieronymus]

27. It will be so rewarding to see that happen..

[msongs]

2. He could have REFUSED to resign but chose to go quietly evidently nt

[tom_paine]

3. Of course he was. Did the Nazis murder Jews?

Does a bear shit in the woods?

Is Dick Cheney an evil man?

Does 1 + 1 = 2?

[Kikosexy2]

17. How can...

we stop this?....I know Diane Feinstein is inquiring...this is totally f*#ked!...

[cascadiance]

21. Rahm Emmanuel may have helped Carol Lam and what she's been investigating!

Normally I'm not a big Rahm Emmanuel fan for other things he's espoused/done, but I think he might be calling some of these jerks' bluff here for Carol Lam's ouster! Check this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2722597

Perhaps we should be challenging that other situations be handled the same way. Though we'll have to monitor what the new U.S. Attorneys that are named to succeed them do to not provide resources or get in the way of these investigations.

[Missy Vixen]

4. And there's your fifth recommendation

US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President, unfortunately. I don't believe it was a case of Mr. McKay having the ability to refuse to resign.

I'm glad he's speaking out.

Julie

[quiet.american]

5. What else do we need to know about Republicant's that not one has questioned this?n/t

[sakabatou]

6. "If you're not with us...

"You're with them" mentality is old, sick and tiring.

[MadMaddie]

7. The attorney in CA that put the Repug in jail for bribary was fired too

This is cleaning house so these attorneys can avoid any prosecution of Repug Congressman and Corporations.

Absolutely criminal...

[IWantAChange]

8. Senate Judiciary Comm. Dem's can't let go of this one...

because the Bushco crew is going to try and put as many 'friendlies' in place as they possibly can prior to getting their collective asses kicked out of power across the country in 2008.

[NashVegas]

9. "Winter Massacre"

Nixon had his Saturday Night Massacre.

Having a cool name helped publicize what was done. We need a cool name for this bloodletting, as well.

[The Doctor.]

11. Excellent meme.

I'll use it every chance I get.

You should really post a LTTE with that title.

Hell... so should I.

[Demeter]

19. Pearl Harbor Day, No Less

[The Doctor.]

10. This is a pre-emptive action.

The attorneys they canned were in positions to prosecute various or all members of the Bush Cabal.

They will fill the positions with loyalists.

Right now, I'll bet you could draw up a statute-by-state map depicting each statute the B.A. has violated and find a corresponding US Attorney.

[Divine Discontent]

12. DING DING DING!!!

we have a winner!

I totally thought, well they're clearly firing the democratic attorney or independent ones who aren't sworn in blood to the b*sh cabal, to protect themselves when it all comes down. If it comes to that, they want to be as ready as possible, and then, they'll have the people in place to protect whomever, wherever!

ick! these sleezy bastards... I hope Congress fights hard!



www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- antibush prodem stickers/shirts

[liberal N proud]

13. The coup de tat

What we once called the United States government no longer exists. Slowly, over the course of the last 6 years, they have destroyed any obstacles that could possibly stop them. The method to which they have done this goes under the radar for a majority of Americans.
They will eventually nullify Congress, creating an American monarchy

[donkeyotay]

18. This provision was "slipped in" in the middle of the night

Congress is just a big bump in the night, one big oopsie. There was some silly ditty about how a bill becomes a law, well they'll be teaching kids something like this:

"So, see Children, then the lobbyist slips the Congressman a little something, and then the congressman slips a little something in the bill..."

People died in WWII for this? Is this the noble freedom that annoints us to run the world?

I've got an idea. Let's save some money by getting rid of congress. Let's just let the GOP and the corporates run it straight up and do away with the pretense. Why, it's just a figleaf left anyway - supposed to keep us paying our taxes I suppose.

[glitch]

22. "People died in WWII for this?"

People did die in WWII for this but they weren't Americans.

[leQ]

20. donald kaul just had an editorial on the consolidation factor of bushco

a good read

http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2007/02/08/opinion/doc45ca9cfa7f258894159567.txt

[Nabia2004]

23. thank you, excellent article - nt

[rodeodance]

25. It’s the War on Terror, don’t you know.......

The genius of Bush, however, is that while Nixon had to resign his presidency and nearly went to jail for his crimes, Bush commits them openly and no one lays a glove on him.

It’s the War on Terror, don’t you know. Everything he does is legal because he’s a war president and he says it’s legal.

It’s a terrific hustle and you have to give him credit for pulling it off. So he’s down in the polls a little; so what? The people he’s taking care of now will take care of him down the road.

I do worry about our vice president, however. He seems to have gone a little … I don’t know … soft in the head, I guess you’d call it.

[Cass]

14. "...for reasons he would not divulge."

McNulty won't divulge the reasons for the firings to the Judiciary Committee - why is this hubris tolerated? This firing spree has got to be looked into by the Senate because it certainly looks like there is a nefarious plot behind it all. Like the posters above, I suspect it has something to do with the Bush Administration attempting to stack the judicial deck in their favor if the shit hits the fan.

[redqueen]

16. You're so generous...

"looks like", "suspect"

[ThoughtCriminal]

15. Why McKay was fired

Too good at his job it seems.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/302863_mckay08.html

<snip>
Sources say McKay alienated some high-level members of the Justice Department during his vigorous advocacy for an innovative, interagency information-sharing system in Washington state that later became a national model -- the kind of program advocated by the 9/11 commission.

One former Justice Department source said McKay might be too politically moderate for the Bush administration. His brand of Republicanism is more reminiscent of President Bush's father than the current inhabitant of the White House.

McKay has managed to boost his office's caseload in recent years even as federal resources for fighting traditional crimes such as fraud, identity theft and drug trafficking are plummeting.

The conviction rate for cases referred to McKay's office by the FBI has jumped from 81 percent in 2000 to 87 percent in 2005. That's the best performance in the last 10 years with the exception of 2004, when McKay's prosecutors won convictions on 89 percent of FBI referrals.
</snip>

---

The pattern is - aggressive prosecution of either GOP corruption and/or GOP contributors. If you are a U.S. Attorney and you go after white collar crime, your job is in danger.

[cascadiance]

24. Looks like the judiciary committee just changed the rules today!

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=36098&dcn=todaysnews

Senate judiciary panel revises rule for U.S. attorneys

By Michael Posner, CongressDaily
Reacting to Democratic allegations the Bush administration fired several U.S. attorneys possibly for politically connected replacements, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday revised rules for filling U.S. attorney vacancies.

On a 13-6 vote, the committee adopted a compromise measure from Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, ranking member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Their plan restricts the authority of the U.S. attorney general from filling prosecutor vacancies for an unlimited time without Senate confirmation.

The committee held a hearing Tuesday on the firings of at least seven U.S. attorneys. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said six of the U.S. attorneys were dismissed for "performance related" matters. A seventh, former U.S. Attorney Ed Cummins of Little Rock, Ark., was let go last year to be replaced by J. Timothy Griffin, a former aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove, McNulty acknowledged.

But McNulty denied Democratic charges that the dismissals were politicized to reward Republicans and avoid the Senate confirmation process.

...

[lonestarnot]

26. That was some fast action! Woodamnwhoo!

[Hawkowl]

29. Three cheers!

Damn! You have to love the return of oversight!

[mnhtnbb]

28. Fired for not drinking the Kool-Aid