(Leahy & Whitehouse)Dems want internal DOJ probe findings made public

[maddezmom]

Source: The Hill

April 30, 2007

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) demanded Monday that Solicitor General Paul Clement make public the findings of his investigations into the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.

In a letter to Clement, the senators sought the assurance that the results of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and Office of Professional Responsibility’s (OPR) joint investigation into the firings “will be made available to the Congress and to the American people.”

The letter comes after Whitehouse, a former U.S. attorney, asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at an April 19 Judiciary Committee hearing whether the results of the OIG and OPR investigations would be made public.

Gonzales referred Whitehouse to Clement, noting that he and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty had recused themselves from overseeing the investigation.




Read more: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dems-want-internal-doj-probe-findings-made-public-2007-04-30.html

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:thumbsup:
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200704/043007.html

~snip~

Here's the Leahy-Whitehouse letter to Clement:

"As you know, the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and Office of the Inspector General (OIG) have initiated a joint investigation to examine issues related to the recent dismissals of United States Attorneys. We write to seek assurance that the results of this investigation will be made available to the Congress and to the American people.

At the Judiciary Committee’s April 19 oversight hearing, Senator Whitehouse asked Attorney General Gonzales whether the joint report of this investigation would be made public. Citing his recusal from the joint investigation, the Attorney General told the Committee that the question should be directed to you.

According to Inspector General Glenn A. Fine and OPR Counsel H. Marshall Jarrett, the investigation will examine the propriety of the dismissals, including whether the removal of any United States Attorney was intended to interfere with, or was in retaliation for, either pursuing or failing to pursue prosecutions or investigations. It will also examine the accuracy of statements made by various Department officials to Congress about the removal of United States Attorneys.

While we are hopeful that this joint investigation will help us to understand the truth of what occurred with these dismissals, the results of the investigation will only be useful if they are accessible to Congress and to the public. The Congress and the public have a right to know whether DOJ officials have behaved improperly – and whether they have been truthful.

more:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/30/politics/politico/thecrypt/main2745364.shtml

[sabra]

1. k & r

[bdamomma]

2. kick

Leahy and Whitehouse, I guess Senator Leahy was very impressed by the chart Whitehouse presented. Very good Senator Whitehouse!!

[formercia]

3. K&R

[Doctor_J]

4. There should be NO security issues here. No reason for them

to hide these docs from the people.

[donkeyotay]

5. Make their findings public? I don't think so. This is a private government.

They looked into it privately and found no wrong doing. You can trust them. Letting the public have any clue of what the private government does threatens homeland security.

[MasonJar]

6. Boy, Whitehouse is worth his weight in gold bullion. n/t