by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 14, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

alling the firings of eight U.S. attorneys general “entirely appropriate,” President George W. Bush, defended his besieged Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, speaking to reporters in Mexico City, on the last day of his seven-day Latin American swing. Bush rejected calls for Gonzales' head, telling the press he had confidence in the country's first Latino attorney general. “Mistakes were made. And I'm frankly not happy about them,” said Bush, reminding reporters that U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. “Previous administrations have removed U.S. attorneys. It's their right to do so,” trying, on the one hand, to justify the firings but, on the other, expressing regrets about the way it happened. Democrats cried foul, complaining the firings were politically motivated due to the reluctance of some attorneys to prosecute election fraud after Democratic victories in the 2006 midyear elections.

      Disturbing e-mails, written in 2005 soon after Bush's reelection, by Gonzales' chief of staff D. Kyle Sampson exposed a political agenda. “Recommend retaining; strong U.S. Attorneys who have produced, managed well, and exhibited loyalty to the President and Attorney General,” wrote Sampson to White House counsel Harriet Miers. “Recommend removing; weak U.S. Attorneys who have been ineffectual managers and prosecutors, chafed against Administration initiatives, etc.,” underscoring the importance of obedience to the White House agenda. Admitting some mistakes, Gonzales accepted Sampson's resignation, though it's not clear, based on White House denials, why Sampson hit the road. Tampering with the Justice Department, while legal, injects politics into federal law enforcement. Sacrificing Sampson buys Gonzales some time while he tries to save his own hide.

      Bush claimed what was botched was the way in which firings went down. “What the Justice Department did was appropriate . . . What was mishandled was the explanation of the cases to the Justice Department,” said Bush, walking a fine line, supporting Gonzales but ousting Sampson. Firing Sampson acknowledged that Senate and House committees want testimony from Bush's senior strategist and deputy chief of staff Karl Rove. Rove targeted Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. Atty. Bud Cummins, replacing him with his good friend GOP political operative Timothy Griffin. “We should gum this to death,” Sampson e-mailed White House Justice Dept. liaison Monica Goodling, showing the kind of political meddling now prompting congressional hearings. White House officials defended the targeted terminations based one the President's right to clean house.

      Gonzales can't have it both ways: Accepting responsibility for serious mistakes and, at the same time, claiming the Justice Department did nothing wrong. E-mails between Sampson, Miers and her deputy William K. Kelly indicate that the firings were part of a carefully orchestrated scheme to purge the Justice Department of employees too independent for White House taste. In one case, Sen. Peter Domenici (R-N.M.), contacted Albuquerque U.S. Atty. David Iglesias to inquire into his efforts to prosecute Democratic operatives for possible election fraud. Domenici since apologized for contacting Iglesias. Yet Iglesias was one of the eight U.S. attorneys fired by Gonzales' office. “I am here because I've learned from my mistakes, because I accept responsibility, and because I'm committed to doing my job, and that is what I intend to do,” said Gonzales, refusing to step down.

      Accepting responsibility involves more than giving the ax to underlings like Sampson. Gonzales either participated directly in Sampson's scheme to fire eight U.S. attorneys as part of Miers' master plan to fill the department with obedient employees or was oblivious, demonstrating unforgivable mismanagement. Gonzales admitted on NBC's “Today Show” that he had “general knowledge” of Sampson's plan but acknowledged, “I was obviously not aware of all communications.” No department head knows all e-mails, text messages or phone calls. But Gonzales knew about Sampson's plan to purge the AG's office of eight federal prosecutors. “I think the attorney general should be fired,” said John Sununu (R-Vt.), the first GOP defection, echoing the views of several Democratic senators, including presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), calling for Gonzales to go.

      Gonzales can't feign ignorance of Miers' plan and Sampson's scheme to rid the Justice Department of independently-minded prosecutors. Just like the CIA must be free of political influence to provide credible intelligence, the Justice Department must be clear from political pressure to manage federal law enforcement. With Gonzales still reeling from violations of the Patriot Act, the latest mishap shows that he's in over his head. Bosses—not just underlings—must be accountable for gross mismanagement and incompetence. There's enough evidence to indicate either Gonzales knew and approved Sampson's scheme or failed to provide adequate supervision over his department. Either way, apologies aren't enough to undo the damage and fix the problem. “I think he is gone. I don't think he'll last long,” said Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), stating the obvious.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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