Gonzo Update

Day 21 28 of FAUX NEWS Embargo of the Gonzales Story.

Who made the decision to fire the USA's and why? According to AG Gonzales, not he and he's not sure why. The same is true for Michael Battle, the former Director of the Executive Office of United States Attorneys, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, Kyle Sampson, and William E. Moschella, the principal associate deputy attorney general, who have all told Congress that they did not put any names on the list.

So, how likely is it that the White House directed these firings as an attempt to stack not only the USA's but the entirety of the DOJ with "loyal Bushies"? I think to answer lies in the first four updates.

Update: The National Journal reported this week that AG Gonzales signed a secret order giving his Chief of Staff, Kyle Sampson and the DOJ's White House liaison "authority over the hiring and firing of most non-civil-service employees of the Justice Department." That liaison later turned out to be 33 year old Pat Robertson Law School graduate and King maker, Monica Goodling.

Under the authority of this delegation, any proposed appointments or removals of personnel who are 'inferior officers' within the meaning of [the] Excepting Clause of the Constitution shall be presented to the Attorney General... and each appointment or removal shall be made in the name of the Attorney General --- March 1, 2006

This order was not only hidden from the public --- as it was specifically to be keep from the Federal Register --- but it was also hidden from most of the DOJ brass as it was being drafted.

This secret order was not turned over to either the Senate or House as part of their records requests.

Why would the White House liaison be involved not only in the hiring and firing of DOJ personnel but also as an integral part of making up the "purge lost" along with Kyle Sampson?
Answer: The existence of the order suggests that a broad effort was under way by the White House to place politically and ideologically loyal appointees throughout the Justice Department, not just at the U.S.-attorney level.

Update: After "allegations from an anonymous group of Justice employees that most of those cut from the application lists had worked for Democrats or liberal causes and that Michael Elston, chief of staff for Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, removed people for spurious reasons that included "inappropriate information about them on the Internet." (i.e they Googled applicants' names to see if they what political ties they had.)

Of course, if true, this would be illegal.

So, the DOJ is now is "removing political appointees from the hiring process for rookie lawyers and summer interns." As "outlined in an internal memo distributed Thursday, (April 26th) returns control of the Attorney General's Honors Program and the Summer Law Intern Program to career lawyers in the department after four years during which political appointees directed the process."

Update: The Office of Special Counsel is investigating Karl Rove and others for violations of the Hatch Act. Monica Goodling, and her efforts to stack the DOJ with "loyal Bushies" is one of those "others.

What is the Hatch Act? Simply it prohibits politicking on government time or using government resources. Scott J. Bloch, head of the Office of Special Counsel, announced that he is investigating three areas: "whether Bush administration personnel violated civil statutes by inserting GOP electoral politics into Cabinet agency meetings, firing at least one U.S. Attorney, and discussing some of the activities in private e-mails that are missing."

For the last several weeks, a little covered House committee investigation has been going on concerning Hatch Act violations over a January meeting where General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Lurita Doan asked those present at a GSA briefing to consider how the GSA could help Republican candidates in the next round of elections. Karl Roves' deputy, J. Scott Jennings, ran that January meeting.

The White House has since admitted to holding about 20 briefings throughout 2006 and 2007 for federal agency employees to discuss the electability of Republican candidates.

Update: In written accounts submitted to the House Judiciary Committee, some of the fired USA's stated that they were threatened by Michael Elston, chief of staff for Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty that if they did not resign quietly, they would be smeared. McNulty later testified that the USA's were fired for "performance" reasons.

"I believe that Elston was offering me a quid pro quo agreement: my silence in exchange for the Attorney General's." --- former U.S. Attorney for Arizona Paul Charlton

You can read their entire responses at the House's website.

Update: Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testified Thursday before the Senate. Here are some highlights:

--- Kyle Sampson seems to have intentionally ignored all of Comey's recommendations as to who were the weak U.S. attorneys -- and kept Comey, the #2 at the DoJ, ignorant that Sampson and the White House were targeting certain U.S. attorneys with the goal of firing them.
--- With the exception of USA Kevin Ryan, Comey found no performance problems with any of the fired USAs: "My experience with those [fired] Attorneys was very positive. The names that I have read in the newspaper have not been consistent with my experience."

--- Comey “ had heard rumors" that Justice Department White House Liaison Monica Goodling was using political criteria in making personnel decisions among non-political, career staff.


Today's chance of a Gonzales departure: 77 percent

Morales' PI Pleds Guilty

Former criminal defense investigator accused of forging statements from jurors, witnesses and others in death penalty cases pleaded guilty to four charges Monday and accepted a five-year prison sentence.

Kathleen Culhane, 40, said outside a Sacramento courtroom that she filed incorrect documents on behalf of five condemned inmates because she believes that capital punishment is wrong.

"I believe that the death penalty is illegal," she said. "It is barbaric and an atrocity. Any acts I committed are out of a firm belief against the state killing these people."

Culhane, who had worked on death penalty appeals since 1999, will likely go to prison in August when she is formally sentenced.

A prosecutor said Culhane's feelings on capital punishment were irrelevant and said filing false documents is "about as serious as it gets."

"It doesn't matter whether you're for or against the death penalty, you have to play by the rules," said Michael Farrell, senior assistant attorney general in state Attorney General Jerry Brown's office.

Culhane was charged in February with 45 criminal charges involving 23 declarations she filed with courts and the governor's office from 2002 to 2006. In the plea bargain with Brown's office, she admitted to one count of perjury, two counts of forgery and one count of filing a false document. Authorities say Culhane made up stories and forged the signatures of witnesses and jurors to benefit clients' appeals.

The first allegations against her came to light in February 2006 when lawyers for Death Row inmate Michael Morales of Stockton withdrew declarations from five jurors and a witness supporting his petition for clemency from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The statements quoted the witness as saying police had browbeaten her into testifying falsely against Morales, and quoted the jurors as saying they favored clemency or would not object to it. An attorney general's investigator said all of them denied signing the documents or ever being contacted by anyone working on Morales' behalf.

Morales lost his bid for clemency from the governor but later won a stay of execution from a federal judge in a lawsuit over the state's lethal injection procedures. That case is ongoing.

Culhane worked as an investigator for the state-funded Habeas Corpus Resource Center in San Francisco and later in private practice. As an investigator, Culhane's job was to locate and interview witnesses and jurors who participated in death penalty cases, and obtain signed declarations favorable to the inmates' legal defense and pleas for clemency.

The center withdrew about 100 declarations she submitted and cooperated with prosecutors.

In addition to Morales, the condemned inmates Culhane worked for and submitted false documents for are Vicente Figueroa Benavides, Christian Monterroso, Jose Guerra and Richard Clark, according to Farrell.

Farrell said attorneys for the condemned inmates are redoing Culhane's work, which will add considerable time to the appeals process.

Culhane's attorney, Stuart Hanlon, called the five-year sentence -- she could get out in 2 years and 8 months if she behaves in prison and earns good-time credits -- a "very stiff consequence."

Hanlon noted that Culhane has always worked to help others, spending seven years in El Salvador helping war refugees before beginning her work on death penalty cases.

"She has taken responsibility for what she did," he said.