Silencing the Deeper Attorney Firing Plot

The establishment media would have you think the US attorney firings are a "scandal" highlighted by whether or not Justice Department officials misled Congress or broke laws, whether they replaced attorneys who would more closely implement Bush policies, or at worst, whether the White House was involved. This is the superficial story.

The real story, reported by this blog, is that a much deeper plot is beginning to unravel. That plot has two complimentary elements: 1) To suppress Democratic voters, and 2) A long-range plan to elevate political operatives, "loyal Bushies," to federal judge positions by first appointing them to be US Attorneys, thereby giving them credentials in the future (as if the US Supreme Court isn't already tainted by political operatives).

One small aspect of the story is that, after firing the "eight US Attorneys," the Justice Department tried to silence them. This part of the story IS coming out in the establishment press.

According to the Associated Press, "Mike Elston, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty [who recently resigned], is the fifth Justice official to leave after being linked to the dismissals of the prosecutors."

Among other things, Elston is becoming known as the hatchet man who tried to silence the fired US prosecutors. As AP puts it, "Elston was accused of threatening at least four of the eight fired U.S. attorneys to keep quiet about their ousters."

According to statements from the fired US attorneys, released by the House Judiciary Committee, Elston was involved in a silencing operation.

Paul Charlton, the former U.S. attorney in Nevada, was given the impression that Attorney General Gonzalez threatened to make public statements about Charlton's poor performance. According to Charlton:

I believe that Elston was offering me a quid pro quo agreement: my silence in exchange for the attorney general's.

AP reports that, "John McKay, former top prosecutor in Seattle, said he perceived a threat from Elston during his call."

And Carol Lam, U.S. attorney in San Diego, said that:

during one phone call, Michael Elston erroneously accused me of 'leaking' my dismissal to the press, and criticized me for talking to other dismissed U.S. attorneys.

Lam's office indicted Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, a senior CIA official and contractor Brent Wilkes who were involved in the Congressman "Duke" Cunningham Scandal. According to AP, "The New York Times has reported that Lam was actively investigating Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis at the time of her dismissal."

A fourth former U.S. attorney, Bud Cummins in Little Rock, Ark., had made a similar accusation in an e-mail released in March, 2007.

Murray Wass reports, "In the e-mail, which he sent to five of his fellow prosecutors, Cummins said that the "essence of [Elston's] message" was that if any of the fired U.S. attorneys had pressed their case in the media or before Congress, senior aides to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales might "feel forced to somehow pull their gloves off" and accuse the prosecutors of ineptitude or poor management."

According to Murray Waas, confidential Congressional testimony reveals that "Elston said that his boss, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, directed him to place calls to fired U.S. attorneys Paul Charlton of Arizona, Bud Cummins of Arkansas, and John McKay of Seattle, all of whom said they felt pressured to keep quiet."