Fired Attorneys Did Good Job, Ex-U.S. Official Says(James B Comey)

[maddezmom]

Source: Bloomberg

Fired Attorneys Did Good Job, Ex-U.S. Official Says (Update1)

By James Rowley and Robert Schmidt

May 3 (Bloomberg) -- A former deputy attorney general lavished praise on the U.S. attorneys who were dismissed last year, telling Congress only one of those fired by the Bush administration was among the prosecutors he considered weak performers.

James B. Comey, who served as the No. 2 Justice Department official from 2003 until he left office in August 2005, testified before a House Judiciary subcommittee that six of the federal prosecutors -- all of whom had appeared before the panel -- were doing good jobs and some of them were among the best.

``My experience with the U.S. attorneys just listed was very positive,'' said Comey, now general counsel of Lockheed Martin Corp. Firing them for poor performance would not be ``consistent with my experience,'' he said. ``I had very positive encounters with these folks.''

Among those he singled out for praise was Daniel Bogden, whose dismissal as U.S. attorney in Nevada angered the state's Republican senator, John Ensign. ``Bogden did a bang-up job on violent crime,'' Comey said. ``He is as straight as a Nevada highway and a fired-up guy.''



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=at9vXKhhcIeY

---

more from TPM:

More from the hearing this morning with former deputy attorney general James Comey. Comey served to provide a stark contrast with the current leadership in the department.

Here's Comey responding to Kyle Sampson's emphasis on "loyalty" in U.S. attorneys.

Here he is describing how he'd fired two U.S. attorneys while he'd been there -- what that process was and the reasons why.

And here, just for chuckles, is the ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT), claiming that the Justice Department had a "thoughtful, competent process" for firing the eight U.S. attorneys.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/013957.php

[aquart]

1. Was Chiara the poor performance?

[maddezmom]

2. he mentioned Kevin Ryan

[stellanoir]

3. Just heard a great report on this show. . .

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9976332

It should be archived in a short while.

Comey sounded like an ace.

Dahlia Lithwick did the commentary. She was a regular on Franken's show and doesn't seem to miss a trick judicially. She (paraphrasing) described Comey's palpable sadness over the current state of affairs at the DOJ.

He defended the fired attorneys and made a few jokes about Fitz's mediocre assessment and pretended to disparage his performance. He then clarified his opinion said that they were very good friends and though he's jokingly mocked Fitz about his assessment, he considered Fitz to be "the best there is."

It was a fun listen.

[rodeodance]

4. Cannon was the WH LAPDOg TODAY.

[Supersedeas]

5. in the mold of Goodling

[creeksneakers2]

6. kicked n/t

[PassingFair]

7. Comey fascinates me.

His name is constantly coming up whenever the
light is shining on the atrocious misdeeds of
this administration.

From the Wikipedia entry:

James B. Comey was Deputy Attorney General of the United States, serving in President George W. Bush's administration. As Deputy Attorney General, Comey was the second-highest ranking official in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and ran the day-to-day operations of the Department. He was appointed to the position after serving as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In December 2003, as Deputy Attorney General, Comey appointed the U.S. Attorney in Chicago, close friend and former colleague Patrick Fitzgerald, as Special Counsel to head the CIA leak grand jury investigation after Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself. In August 2005, Comey left the DOJ and he is now General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Lockheed Martin.

On Edit: And THIS from the linked article:

" Comey e-mailed Cummins on March 8 to say that the controversy ``causes me great pain.'' He promised to defend the dismissed prosecutors.

``I will not sit by and watch good people smeared,'' he wrote in the e-mail turned over to Congress. ``What's the quotation about all that's necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to remain silent?''


This little republican has a conscience.
How'd he get through the screening process?

[maddezmom]

8. snip of exchange re: Patrick Fitzgerald

He Kids Because He Loves
Friday, May 4, 2007; Page A21


Former deputy attorney general James B. Comey, who oversaw the work of the 93 U.S. attorneys from 2003 to 2005, appeared before a House Judiciary subcommittee yesterday. He praised most of the eight prosecutors whose dismissals have prompted controversy and then was asked about his friend Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the Chicago U.S. attorney whom Comey appointed to oversee the investigation that led to the prosecution of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in the CIA leak case.

The exchange:



James B. Comey (Alex Wong - Getty Images)

Which President signed the bill establishing the Smithsonian Institution?
A. James K. Polk
B. Zachary Taylor
C. Franklin Pierce
D. James Buchanan



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Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-Calif.): It's been reported that Patrick Fitzgerald of Illinois was listed . . . in the middle category as someone who had not distinguished himself positively or negatively. What is your reaction to that rating?

Comey: I've never thought much of him.

(LAUGHTER)

No, I'm just kidding.

He's a very close -- he's a very close friend of mine.

Sanchez: I think he'll be shocked to hear that.

Comey: He's a very close friend of mine. I think he is one of the finest federal prosecutors that there is and maybe has ever been.

Sanchez: So you would disagree with the assessment on that list that he hasn't distinguished himself either positively or negatively?

Comey: Although I've enjoyed teasing him about it, it would not be where I would put him on the list.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR2007050302046.html

[Hissyspit]

9. Former Supervisor Extols Fired Prosectutors

Source: Washington Post

Former Supervisor Extols Fired Prosecutors
Praise Undermines Case for Dismissals

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 4, 2007; Page A01

A former deputy attorney general lavished praise yesterday on most of the eight U.S. attorneys who were fired after he left the job, testifying that only one of them had serious performance problems.

James B. Comey, the Justice Department's second in command from 2003 until August 2005, also told a House Judiciary subcommittee that although he was the "direct supervisor" of all U.S attorneys, he was never informed about an effort by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and his aides to remove a large group of prosecutors that began in early 2005.

"My experience with the U.S. attorneys just listed was very positive," Comey said, referring to six of the former prosecutors who testified in Congress in March. He added that the reasons given for their firings "have not been consistent with my experience" and that "I had very positive encounters with these folks."

The testimony from Comey, a highly regarded former prosecutor who is now general counsel for Lockheed Martin, further undermines claims by Gonzales and his aides that dissatisfaction with the prosecutors' work led to their dismissals. It also underscores the extent to which the firings, which originated in the White House, were handled outside the normal chain of command at Justice.

MORE

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR2007050301137.html?hpid=topnews

[maddezmom]

10. Comey and McNulty's accounts undercut Gonzo testimony

Comey's successor, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, told congressional investigators last week that he, too, was kept in the dark about the White House's role in the firings.

Comey's and McNulty's accounts further undermine claims by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other department officials the prosecutors were fired for professional, not political, reasons. It also raises questions about the accuracy of statements made by other top Justice officials who've claimed that career lawyers helped decide who should be fired.

According to a congressional aide, McNulty said he attended a White House meeting with Karl Rove, President Bush's top political adviser, and other officials on March 5, the day before McNulty's deputy William Moschella was to testify to Congress about the firings.

White House officials told the Justice Department group that they needed to agree on clear reasons why each prosecutor was fired and explain them to Congress, McNulty said, according to the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the transcript of McNulty's interview hasn't been made public.

McNulty said that White House officials never revealed during the meeting that they'd been discussing plans to replace some prosecutors with Gonzales aides, the congressional aide said.

more:http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/17174983.htm

[maddezmom]

11. DOJ vs. DOJ: Two Views on the U.S. Attorney Firings

DOJ vs. DOJ: Two Views on the U.S. Attorney Firings
Almost exactly two months apart, two different Justice Department officials (one current, one former) appeared before the same House subcommittee in the same room in the Rayburn office building to talk about the same topic -- the performance of U.S. attorneys.

On March 6, William E. Moschella, the principal associate deputy attorney general, laid out the official reasons for the firings of six of the eight U.S. attorneys who were dismissed last year.

Yesterday, former deputy attorney general James B. Comey, whose job for more than two years included overseeing the U.S. attorneys, also appeared before the Judiciary subcommittee conducting the investigation into the firings and painted a dramatically different picture of those U.S. attorneys.

The federal prosecutors in question were the half dozen who testified before the House Judiciary's commercial and administrative law subcommittee the same day in March that Moschella appeared, becoming the fulcrum for the controversy. For junkies of this scandal, Capitol Briefing has laid out what Moschella and Comey said about those six prosecutors in their separate appearances.

Here are Moschella's explanations for the firings, followed by Comey's impressions of the prosecutors:

more:http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2007/05/doj_vs_doj_two_views_on_fired.html#more