Other Spaces

A Bush Scandal of a Different Sort

Perhaps this blog entry should be labeled "Another Day, Another Bush Scandal," but this particular scandal, or what is amounting to one, is of a somewhat different vein than the backroom dealings the Bush administration had with Enron in creating our energy policy or their illegal and covered-up wiretapping and surveillance of Americans.

Apparently, Pres. Bush is firing U.S. attorneys that don't follow a narrow ideological agenda, specifically those who refused to use the attorney office to subpoena Democrats. New Mexico U.S. attorney David Iglesias, for example, was asked to step down after he refused to issue subpoenas to Democrats before the fall elections at the behest of two New Mexico Republicans, one of whom was Senator Pete Domenici. Moreover, the California attorney who brought down corrupt congressman Duke Cunningham, was subsequently asked to step down -- and she was a Republican who was merely doing her job.

Huntsu over at the preeminent progressive N.J. blog, Blue Jersey, has covered this scandal and has some interesting postulations concerning N.J.'s own U.S. attorney, Chris Christie, who may have been pressured into subpoenaning Senator Bob Menendez ahead of the November midterms:
http://www.bluejersey.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=4164

His follow-up covers an Arkansas U.S. attorney who also lost his job (then filled by a Bush cronie a la a Patriot Act provision) due to strange circumstances. Thankfully, congress is going to hold hearings on this possible, or probable scandal.
http://www.bluejersey.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=4164

posted by Michael Martin @ 7:48 PM