Josh Marshall has been on this for a while now.

Post #278,134 by Silverlock 3/13/07 11:20:52 AM Reply	Josh Marshall has been on this for a while now. [link\|http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/\|http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/] Results from a site search on "attorney general-- [link\|http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/mt/mt-search.cgi?search=attorney+general&search.x=11&search.y=11\|link] I would say that Josh Marshal is probably the definitive goto guy on this topic. ----------------------------------------- Draft Clark [link\|http://draftwesleyclark.com/\|now].
Post #278,156 by jb4 3/13/07 5:49:15 PM 3/13/07 5:59:31 PM Reply	In today's dead-tree Milw. Journal-Sentinel There was a story stating that the Berk administration wanted to fire all 93 U.S. Attorneys two years ago. Have been unable to find the link to it up to now...I'll keep looking. The upshot of the article is that, contrary to what they've been saying all along (and this surprises you how?), the Berk administration did have their hands in this for a long time. Edit: From the [link\|http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-congress-prosecutors,1,6628932.story?coll=chi-news-hed\|Chicago Tribune] WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales accepted responsibility Tuesday for mistakes in the way the Justice Department handled the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors but he rejected calls for his resignation. At a Justice Department news conference, Gonzales said he would find out why Congress was not told sooner that the White House was involved in discussions of who would be fired and when. He did not, however, back away his stance that the dismissals that did take place were appropriate. "I stand by the decision and I think it was the right decision," Gonzales said. Democrats in Congress have charged that the eight dismissals announced last December were politically motivated and that some of those ousted have said they felt pressured by powerful Republicans in their home states to rush investigations of potential voter fraud involving Democrats. Justice Department officials, led by Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, told lawmakers under oath that the decision to fire eight U.S. attorneys in December was made solely by the Justice Department and said the decision was based on performance, not politics. E-mails released Tuesday, however, revealed that the firings were considered and discussed for two years by Justice Department and White House officials. [emphasis added] ... A Justice Department official said Tuesday that [Harriet] Miers, in a February 2005 discussion with Sampson, suggested firing all of the U.S. attorneys. Snow described the idea as a move to get fresh faces in the 4-year term jobs, and said that it was not a firm recommendation by Miers. The e-mails show that [Kyle] Sampson [Gonzales's top aide, who resigned today] rejected the idea to fire all of the prosecutors but spent the next year drawing up a list of potential dismissals. On Jan. 9, 2006, Sampson sent Miers a memo listing what the official described as roughly 10 names of prosecutors who were viewed as underperforming in their jobs. <gun type=smoking /> The question is, does anybody care anymore, or have we all become so inured against the foibles of this "administration" that nothing has the power to rile anymore? jb4 "It's hard for me, you know, living in this beautiful White House, to give you a firsthand assessment." — George W. Bush, when asked if he believed Iraq was in a state of civil war (Newsweek, 26 Feb 07) Edited by jb4 March 13, 2007, 05:59:31 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #278,180 by rcareaga 3/13/07 8:50:34 PM Reply	A decent apology to Josh from Time's DC bureau chief [link\|http://time-blog.com/swampland/2007/01/running_massacre.html\|Jay Carney, 01/17/07]: Of course! It all makes perfect conspiratorial sense! Except for one thing: in this case some liberals are seeing broad partisan conspiracies where none likely exist. [link\|http://time-blog.com/swampland/2007/03/note_from_underground_1.html\|Jay Carney, 03/02/07] If Iglesias names names, and others tell similar stories, I will take my hat off to Marshall and others in the blogosphere and congratulate them for having been right in their suspicions about this story from the beginning. [link\|http://time-blog.com/swampland/2007/03/where_credit_is_due.html\|Jay Carney, 03/13/07] My hat is off. Josh Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo and everyone else out there whose instincts told them there was something deeply wrong and even sinister about the firings, and who dug around and kept writing about them while Iglesias decided whether to talk to the press or go quietly on to his next job, deserve tremendous credit. When this story first surfaced, I thought the Bush White House and Justice Department were guilty of poorly executed acts of crass political patronage. I called some Democrats on the Hill; they were "concerned", but this was not a priority. The blogosphere was the engine on this story, pulling the Hill and the MSM along. As the document dump proves, what happened was much worse than I'd first thought. I was wrong. Very nice work, and thanks for holding my feet to the fire. As someone more patient than I am said in the comments section after this last post, "Jay, a little advice for the next year and a half, though I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet: When it comes to the Bush Administration, assume the worst. It saves time." Of course, none of this will sway the Bush dead-enders, who must be very patient characters, but it will be interesting to see whether the sensibilities of the public have become anywhere near as scorched and numb as those of the Potomac press courtiers. cordially, Die Welt ist alles, was der Fall ist.

Welcome to IWETHEY!