Who fired the US attorneys?
Attorney General Gonzales cites a 'consensus' of top Justice officials, but few have acknowledged listing any names.
By Peter Grier | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the May 17, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 2
WASHINGTON - On Dec. 7, 2006, Daniel Bogden started working the phones. He'd just been fired as US Attorney in Las Vegas, and he wanted to know why. Throughout the day he talked to a series of top Justice Department officials, who all said the decision had been made by higher-ups, and that they knew little.
Eventually he called Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, who was pressed for time, as he had to attend an event that evening with one of his children.
"It seemed to me from his comments that the ultimate decision did not come from him," wrote Mr. Bogden in a response to questions from the House Judiciary Committee. "He stated words to the effect that . . . he only had 'limited input' in the final decision process."
The furor over the firing of US attorneys now has swirled for months, and as yet there seems no clear answer to a simple question: Who drew up the list?
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at a May 15 appearance at the National Press Club said that his understanding was the firings reflected the particular view of Deputy Attorney General McNulty, as well as other senior Justice officials. Yet there's evidence that McNulty played no such role. Nor have any other officials yet admitted picking many attorneys for dismissal.
Given this vacuum, say many Congressional Democrats and some Republicans, the logical deduction is that the firings were directed from the White House for political reasons.
"As I view the situation, we really don't know yet what has happened, whether it is politicization, whether it is an ideological [purge], or what," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R) of Pennsylvania, ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, at a May 15 hearing.
The president has the authority to replace all 93 US attorneys, Senator Specter noted. The question now is why last year's sudden dismissals occurred.
Those dismissals, in the ledgers of critics, now number at least nine. They include both the eight fired in late 2006, and Todd Graves, former US attorney for the Western District of Missouri, who was forced to resign in March 2006.
The House Judiciary Committee has requested that the Justice Department now hand over documents related to Mr. Graves's dismissal.
RSS feed
