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."

Profiles of the Eight Fired US Attorneys

Who were the eight fired US Attorneys? Well, make that nine.

* Daniel Bogden, District of Nevada

Bogden's firing is notable for the role it played in giving voice to bi-partisan loss of trust in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. After Bogden's firing, Nevada Republican Senator, John Ensign was vocal in his anger directed toward Gonzales. Following Congressional hearings Ensign said, ""What the Justice Department testified yesterday is inconsistent with what they told me. I can't even tell you how upset I am at the Justice Department." [1]

* Paul K. Charlton, District of Arizona

Charlton's case is noteworthy because of the Wall Street Journal's coverage of Charlton's investigation of Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz. Although Charlton was initially on the "retain" list, his fortunes changed after initiating the Renzi investigation. Gonzalez's Chief of Staff, Kyle Sampson, wrote to 'we now should consider pushing out.' Charlton's case is also noteworthy because Sampson's correspondence was to then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers, best know for her failed nomination to the Supreme Court. Gives you the creeps to realize someone like her, involved in this slime, had been considered as a Supreme Court Justice.

* Margaret Chiara, Western District of Michigan

Michigan’s first female U.S. attorney, Chiara was removed to make room for a younger, more loyal attorney to be groomed. Her case gives more evidence that the Bush administration was attempting to plant moles in our justice system. One has to wonder about the other 83 attorneys who were not fired.


* Bud Cummins, Eastern District of Arkansas

Cummins looks like a guy you don't want to mess with, but Karl Rove has messed with him. Rove had Cummins removed to make room for Timothy Griffin, a Rove loyalist. It is speculated that Rove wanted to give Griffin experience so that he could later be advanced into a federal judge position. Griffin is currently being exposed as having played a key role in suppressing votes via development of caging lists in the 2004 election. I predict will go to jail.


* Todd Graves, Western District of Missouri

First, Graves is number nine, even though he was fired before the others. He might become known for being at the center of "the story behind the story." The firings are related to Bush administration efforts to suppress minority (read Democratic) votes. Karl Rove sought to create a National hysteria by trumping up bogus "voter fraud" cases. This would create a climate in which state voter ID laws could be passed, knowing it's difficult for inner city voters to obtain such ID, because, statistically, many don't have drivers licenses or other forms of ID. No ID, no vote. Democratic votes are suppressed. Graves' successor brought the charges that Graves refused to bring, but they were later thrown out by a federal judge.

When all is said and done, if this Country is what it claims to be, this will be the story of the attorney firings. David Iglesias was also asked to bring voter fraud charges and he refused.

* David Iglesias, District of New Mexico

David Iglesias is a United States Navy Reserve Captain who was the basis for the character played by Tom Cruise in the movie A Few Good Men. His case is notable because he received a phone call from Republican Senator Pete Domenici pressuring him to file criminal charges against a Democrat before the November 2006 election. Iglesias testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee in March 2007 that Domenici hung up on him after he told the Senator that he would not be bringing charges before the elections. Asked how he felt after the call, Igesias said he "felt sick."

* Carol Lam, Southern District of California

Lam oversaw the Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham military contracting corruption case. Given the connections of Cunningham, this case was a thread to be pulled on. She was active in securing indictments against Central Intelligence Agency official Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and contractor Brent Wilkes, both of whom were involved in the Cunningham Scandal. Lam was actively investigating Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis when fired. It is argued that her trail was leading back to people like Karl Rove and Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. This suggests that the firing could lead to obstruction of justice charges.

* John McKay, Western District of Washington

A loyal Republican, supporter of the USA PATRIOT Act. So why the can? The Seattle Times noted in February 2007 that, "Some believe McKay's dismissal was retribution for his failure to convene a federal grand jury to investigate allegations of voter fraud."[2] Anyone see a pattern here? Resist fascism, loose your job and career.

* Kevin V. Ryan, Northern District of California

Last, and least, Ryan deserved to be fired. A loyal Bushie, his performance was so bad that a Federal judge threatened to obtain and potentially release copies of his "blistering" negative evaluations. [3]

Sources:

Thanks to Wikipedia contributors for most of this information.

DemocracyNow , May 14, 2007, Interview with Greg Palast. Must Read.

1. Steve Tetrealt. "Ensign voices ire at agency: Explanations for dismissal of U.S. attorney differ", Las Vegas Review-Journal, March 08, 2007.

2. David Bowermaster. "Was McKay ousted over 2004 election?", Seattle Times, February 16, 2007.

3. Dolan, Maura. "Bush loyalist among fired U.S. attorneys", Los Angeles Times, March 22, 2007.