More US Attorneys Involved in Firings

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before the House Judiciary Committee in a near repeat performance of his testimony in front of a similar Senatorial body at the end of last month. A sentiment Alberto didn’t feel ashamed to admit “My feelings and recollections about this matter have not changed,” he said.

He was questioned about the departure of an additional US Attorney. Todd P. Graves, was asked to step down in January 2006 by the Department of Justice (DoJ). He was never given a reason why, but he was already planning a return to private practice and thus felt no need to oppose the matter. His dismissal is drawing parallels to Bud Cummins firing, who was asked to leave in the same manner.

Graves appears to be the ninth US Attorney to have been replaced by the Justice Department as part of its bungled operation to politicize the federal bureaucracy. This comes after testimony from Gonzales and other DoJ officials that the firings were limited to the eight attorneys already known. If evidence can be found that there was a plan to oust all nine of these prosecutors and Gonzo lied about there only being eight, there could be perjury charges.

Graves was replaced by Bradley J. Schlozman who immediately went to work filling voter fraud indictments against Democrats weeks before the 2006 election. A case that Graves had refused to pursue and was later thrown out by a federal judge. Schlozman was scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee next Tuesday but had requested more time to practice his lies… errr testimony.

As a final note, Alberto Gonzales’s testimony included an interesting question and answer. Representative John Nadler (D-New York) asked Gonzo, “If most people believe that the United States attorney general has not told the truth about why these U.S. attorneys were fired, how can they have confidence in your job?” Gonzo responded, “I don’t believe that’s an accurate statement.” Like the rest of his testimony he was wrong.

An April 25 Washington Post – ABC News poll showed that 67% of respondents believed the firings were motivated by politics, essentially calling Gonzo’s reasoning for the firings a lie. Additionally, a majority of people (53%) who have an opinion on the matter believe he should resign. Step down Alberto, step down.