It's official (Tim Griffin Resigns)

[spotbird]

Source: Arkansas Times Blog

The U.S. Justice Department has notified Arkansas's congressional delegation that Interim Eastern District U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin is resigning effective Friday, June 1. Jane Duke will become acting U.S. attorney. (This is the assistant in the office who the Justice Department once had said had to be passed over as an interim appointee because of her pregnancy. Since it's illegal to discriminate on account of pregnancy, Justice had to back off this statement.)

Read more: http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/

---

The Arkansas Times reported earlier today that Tim was in discussion with the Fred Thompson campaign for future employment.

[jaysunb]

1. An idictment might be nice too...

Caging votes is unAmerican, not to mention unlawful.

[Decruiter]

38. Yeah, we oughta be doing the CAGING!

[Jack Rabbit]

2. A minor victory for truth, justice the the American way

Musical interlude: Please click here.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. So he is taking the possition

with a certain candidate?

[bleever]

5. So much for the "Law and Order" candidate, hiring someone

who engages in election fraud.

[deutsey]

36. Person on Thom Hartmann said he's even worse than Rove

Damn...that's pretty bad and doesn't bode well for the upcoming presidential race.

[waiting for hope]

4. Good Luck Fred .....

Rove is soon to be jail bait and he's going to need all his buddies around him. :evilgrin:

[SpiralHawk]

6. Please let the door smack your corrpupt republicon crony butt on the way ou

One less corrupt republicon crony, America breathes a bit easier.

The Vast Majority of intelligent patriotic American citizens say:
throw the entire corrupt cabal of republicon cronies out of Washington.

Now.

[wakeme2008]

7. I wonder what Rove will think of this..

IMHO Rove put Griffin in Ark to attack Hillary if she got the Dem nom.

:dilemma:

[Patsy Stone]

8. I believe that too

And unless Rove is going to work for Fred too, I don't know what's up.

[blogslut]

24. Bite your tongue

Spin three times. Spit. Spit. Spit.

[spotbird]

31. Rove is a happy man today

Someone satisfactory to him will replace Griffin. Keep in mind Griffin wasn't going to get anything done under a spotlight as things were.

Further, the Republicans aren't all that worried about Hillary anyway, whether she wins the nomination or not.

She hasn't lived in Arkansas in 20 years, and Ken Starr beat that $40 million horse to death eons ago. The Griffing placement wasn't about Hillary, Cummins was a good-old-boy, he'd have taken care of Hillary dirt if there was something to find. Cummins was willing to prosecute some flagrant Republican abuses, provided they were out of state, so he was disqualified.

[Canuckistanian]

9. I think this says more about Fred Thomson than about Griffin

Thomson, unless he's a complete idiot, should know Griffin's a political hot potato or is going to be. The man's NO political neophyte.

If this story is true, who is Thomson trying to please?

[JanusAscending]

13. Maybe the "architect" of the election theft?

Draw your own conclusions!! He was in Arkansas to rig the election against any Dem who happens to be the candidate! IMHO P.S. Fred Thompson just shot himself in the foot!

[jazzjunkysue]

10. Dropping like flies. Hand me the mini-vac. It's getting deep. n/t.

[cascadiance]

11. I'm sure Walt Eckard and the San Diego Board of Supervisors will find room for him!

They've already hired Deborah Seiler of Diebold and Michael Vu (of the corrupt Cuyahoga, Ohio registrar's office) to take over for the infamous Mikel Haas here locally in heading up our Voter Registrar's office, and Eckard's now bitchin' about our bitchin' on that move! I'm sure he'd love to find a spot for Griffin just to piss us off more here! :eyes:

[seafan]

12. Arkansas Times editorial blasts Tim Griffin's brand of GOP criminality

When are the indictments coming down for this traitor? That's what I want to know.

The American military has a rich history of ejecting undesired occupants from American property, and/or preventing entry in the first place. During World War II, a famous news photograph showed a fractious and unpatriotic CEO being carried from his Chicago headquarters by soldiers. In Little Rock, memory remains fresh of the National Guard troops who, on orders from the governor, protected Central High School against nine black teen-agers threatening to enroll. Not a single one of the aggressors made it inside while Guardsmen were on duty. Only after their removal did Central High fall to the integrationists.

If the National Guard is needed to remove Tim Griffin from the federal courthouse, the Guard can do the job, we’re certain. But how much better for Griffin to leave on his own two feet, rather than on the shoulders of troopers. The Bush administration has already stripped much of the dignity, not to mention honor, from the federal justice system. More debasement would just about do the system in.

Though a resolute partisan himself, Griffin was surely embarrassed by the appearance of Monica Goodling before a congressional committee. Goodling was barely out of a Pat Robertson-founded law school, most of whose graduates fail the bar examination, when the administration assigned her to drive from the Justice Department all lawyers not violently Republican. She laid on with a will. Competent U.S. attorneys were replaced by appointees less qualified and more partisan, many of them members of the sinister Federalist Society. Griffin, a Karl Rove protege and former dirt-digger for the Republican National Committee, was one of those appointees. (At the time, the administration had sneaked past Congress a legal provision allowing the executive branch to name U.S. attorneys without the Senate approval previously required.)

Fearing criminal prosecution, and with the help of an expensive lawyer — not a graduate of a Pat Robertson law school, we’ll wager — Goodling managed to evade many congressional questions. Still, hers was a sordid recitation of political opportunism at the expense of the people.

Even an immoderate like Griffin can succumb to a rogue honorable instinct, previously dormant. For him to resign would be a far better thing than he has done before. Way far better.

[L. Coyote]

16. Goodling "with the help of an expensive lawyer" Yeah, it's Bush's lawyer

"Fearing criminal prosecution, and with the help of an expensive lawyer — not a graduate of a Pat Robertson law school, we’ll wager — Goodling managed to evade many congressional questions."

You won't believe who the Goodling and Ralston lawyers really are (read "really represent").

Matthew Dowd = Senior Strategist, May 16, 2003. Senior advisor to the RNC. Director of polling and media planning for the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign. Prior: President and founding partner of Public Strategies Inc., Austin, Texas.

Monica Goodling's Lawyer at Akin Gump, also Boss of DC Madam Escort?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x995236#1001068

Monica Goodling's Lawyer at Akin Gump, also Boss of Sara Taylor for Bush-Cheney '04
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x995236#1007075

Bradford A. Berenson is one of the original eight associate counsels during Alberto Gonzales's tenure as White House counsel.
Represented Executive on Issues from Homeland Security to the USA Patriot Act ... Berenson’s responsibilities included work on judicial selection, executive privilege, and responses to congressional oversight efforts. .... He worked on the USA Patriot Act, the military order authorizing the use of military commissions, detainee policy and anti-terrorism litigation, presidential action against terrorist financing, and the restructuring of the federal government to create a new Department of Homeland Security.

Mr. Berenson ... previously worked on the defense of complex white collar criminal matters... defended criminal cases at every stage of development, from corporate internal investigations and grand jury proceedings through trials, sentencings, and appeals, in areas as diverse as government contracts, environmental crime, health care, and public corruption ...

Berenson ... clerked for... Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ralston's attorney: Bradford Berenson, associate counsel under Gonzales at White House
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x995236#997432

Bradford A. Berenson, Ralston's USA firings lawyer, defends Bush spying.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x995236#997748

Mr. Berenson, the former White House associate counsel, said that in rare cases, the presidents' advisers may decide that an existing law violates the Constitution "by invading the president's executive powers as commander in chief." ........

[blogslut]

25. Hang on

Goodling's lawyer is John Dowd. Not Matthew Dowd. Are you saying the two men are related?

[L. Coyote]

33. Thanks. Good eye . Iran-Contra lawyer vs. Dowd Says He “Misplaced” Faith In Bush

YOU caught an error. Thanks for the great eye, and confirmation that people are critically reading posts.

PLUS WOW, the Iran-Contra lawyer is the one!!! Names needed for the list of clients. Was the Senator John McCain? Who is the "army" colonel?

I should have remembered that Matthew Dowd had jumped ship on Bush. That moment got a lot of “Misplaced” Faith news:

=========================================
Ex-Bush Aide Dowd Says He “Misplaced” Faith In Bush....
By Joe Gandelman
http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/11859/ex-bush-aide-dowd-says-he-misplaced-faith-in-bush/

You know a Presidency is in trouble with former — and trusted — aides begin to break prominently from their former boss. Particularly if they break with the boss in the New York Times.…and that’s what is being pitchforked into the old media and new media news cycles right now:

In 1999, Matthew Dowd became a symbol of George W. Bush’s early success at positioning himself as a Republican with Democratic appeal.

A top strategist for the Texas Democrats who was disappointed by the Bill Clinton years, Mr. Dowd was impressed by the pledge of Mr. Bush, then governor of Texas, to bring a spirit of cooperation to Washington. He switched parties, joined Mr. Bush’s political brain trust and dedicated the next six years to getting him to the Oval Office and keeping him there. In 2004, he was appointed the president’s chief campaign strategist.

Looking back, Mr. Dowd now says his faith in Mr. Bush was misplaced.

In terms of political significance, this is similar to the watershed moment when it became clear that former Secretary of State Colin Powell and a host of other Bush 41 administration bigwigs were not pleased with George Bush 43. And Dowd’s comments become even more damaging — because he articulates what many independent voters have already concluded (look at the polls)

============================================

JOHN M. DOWD, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Washington, D.C.
Practice Areas: Litigation
White Collar Criminal Defense
Corporate Governance
http://www.akingump.com/attorney.cfm?attorney_id=58

John M. Dowd heads the firm's criminal litigation group. Mr. Dowd has prosecuted and defended significant criminal matters at trial and in parallel proceedings before Congress and regulatory agencies for more than 30 years. His practice focuses on the trial of complex civil and criminal cases.

Mr. Dowd is noted for his representation of a U.S. district judge, a former U.S. attorney and two U.S. senators. In addition, he represented a U.S. governor in a lengthy, high-profile criminal trial involving 23 counts charging false statements, wire fraud and attempted extortion.

Mr. Dowd has represented a U.S. senator before the Department of Justice and the Senate Ethics Committee; a U.S. Army colonel in the Iran Contra Hearings; a U.S. senator before the Senate Ethics Committee; and a U.S. governor in litigation with the Resolution Trust Corporation and in a fact-finding hearing before the House Subcommittee on General Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, which inquired into the failure of the savings and loan industry. .....

[L. Coyote]

14. Gonzales and McNulty both lied under oath, Sen. Pryor (D-AR) aide Teague said.

Former Justice official says Congress misled about Griffin
Thursday, May 24, 2007
By Aaron Sadler
Stephens Washington Bureau
http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2007/05/24/WashingtonDCBureau/342141.html


A former Justice Department official testified Wednesday that the No. 2 man at the department misled a Senate panel about his knowledge of Tim Griffin's hiring as a federal prosecutor....

Monica Goodling told the House Judiciary Committee that Paul McNulty, the former deputy attorney general, was aware of White House involvement to appoint Griffin as interim U.S. attorney in Little Rock....

"I believe that the deputy ... failed to disclose that he had some knowledge of the White House's interest in selecting Tim Griffin as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas," Goodling said.

.........Goodling is a friend of Griffin. Both were opposition researchers for the Republican National Committee during the 2004 election and Goodling said in an e-mail made public Wednesday that "Tim and I speak daily."

........Pryor spokesman Michael Teague said the e-mail illustrates why Griffin shouldn't be U.S. attorney. "Everything's political to him," Teague said. "He e-mails Karl Rove and he's bragging about how he took a swipe at Pryor. This e-mail was sent to the entire White House team right at the time everybody was saying, 'Oooh, Karl Rove's got nothing to do with this.'" It's "pretty clear" from Goodling's testimony and newly public e-mails that Gonzales and McNulty both lied under oath, Teague said.

Goodling on Wednesday said McNulty also withheld knowledge of allegations that Griffin had tried to suppress black votes during the 2004 presidential election.

The BBC in 2004 connected Griffin to possible "caging" in Florida, an effort to use direct mail as a method of challenging voter status ....

=======================
More on DU: DEAL OR NO DEAL? Abramoff's and Rove's ex-aide has "useful information" about Abramoff, White House
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x995236

[Up2Late]

15. Great! Now if we can just get Michael Griffin to resign from NASA...

...,both have brought profound sense of shame to the Griffin name, I really hope I'm not related to either of them.

[gratuitous]

17. Cue Queen

Another One Bites the Dust.

Keep the subpoenas and the investigations coming. News travels slowly into the White House bubble. Corruption isn't just going to slide through anymore.

[David Zephyr]

18. Does this signal Rove working for Fred Lobbyist Thompson?

?

[Maraya1969]

19. So now he is going to help Fred Thompson steal votes.

[133724]

20. I don't think I can eat much more popcorn...

I am getting soo full...

Maybe a toast; a good Arrogant Bastard Beer....





He is not worthy....

[Raksha]

21. This is the cagemeister, right? Thank heaven for small favors! n/t

[orleans]

22. so when do all these fuckers get busted? n/t

[tiptoe]

23. Perhaps he'll turn evidence against Rove for a deal?

(that's presuming an eventual approach by prosecutors re the illegal caging operations about to be exposed via Palast's emails-with-excel-attachments. Griffin's resignation may signal validity to such an anticipation.)

[spotbird]

29. Not a chance.

None. He wasn't fired by Gonzo, if they could have avoided it Griffin would have stayed in place. This was an unfortunate accident of legislation.

[tiptoe]

40. BREAKING: Griffin Resigned After Conyers Requested 'Vote Caging' Evidence from BBC

A BradBlog Breaking Exclusive —BLOGGED BY Brad Friedman ON 5/31/2007 7:07PM PT

( BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Rove Pick for US Attorney Resigned After Conyers Requested 'Vote Caging' Evidence from BBC
House Judiciary Chair Tells Palast in Interview: 'We're Not Through With Griffin by Any Means'
Indicates Caging Operation Could Not Have Been Done Without Knowledge of Rove, According to Palast Team... )

[tom_paine]

26. Griffin must have had a PILE of smoking guns

These Busheviks simply DO NOT resign due to guilt, and they DO NOT give up a position occupied by Loyal Bushies to give it back to Loyal Americans.

Griffin's guilt must be so obvious, the guns so thoroughly smoking, that he HAD to get out NOW.

[spotbird]

27. Most likely,

the law changed, so Bushco couldn't "gum it to death" for another 18 months. Faced with that reality, the next best opportunity for Griffin to destroy the nation would come with a Thompson victory, so Griffin opted to subvert democracy in the way most comfortable to him and sign on there.

It's not as if the permanent replacement will be a candidate above reproach. They'll just find another hack to finish the job. Sen. Pryor's problems with the Griffin appointment were personal, he'll be a good boy for BushCo again and play along now.

[mod mom]

28. Griffin must have had enough time to delve into Clinton's past, so now it's time

to move on and use his "opposition reseaarch" skills elsewhere. One problem, Tim...caging based on racial profiling is ILLEGAL, immoral and this time has been brought out to the public. I can only hope REAL justice will serve, and this architect of disenfranchising African Americans will pay the price for his dastardly deeds.

[spotbird]

30. I doubt he was there for her

It's a red herring

That's not to say he wouldn't have done all he could in that regard, but he had a laundry list of corruption to conceal before he could even start Clinton attacks. There was the Missouri Governor Blunt investigation, also outgoing Arkansas Governor Huckabee was likely the most criminal governor in the country. There is a ist of public crimes in ARkansas that could keep an honest AG busy until the next millennium. Cummins wasn't much, but he did pursue some of it. Griffin came with a guarantee that only Guatemalans washing dishes for $4.50 an hour would be targeted, and with much fan-fair.

[Marnieworld]

32. the heat's on Timmy! This won't save you

:popcorn:

[spotbird]

34. No one is after him

they changed the law so that it was impossible for him to stay. If that hadn't happened he'd never have left.

[Marnieworld]

35. I think that Greg Palast would disagree

Felonious caging revealed in congressional testimony. Pretty big deal that I can't imagine would escape Conyers or Leahy's attentions.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4608 :D

[thereismore]

37. Who will do Rove's dirty work in Arkansas now? nt

[struggle4progress]

39. Griffin to resign as U.S. attorney for eastern Arkansas

By ANNIE BERGMAN
Thursday, May 31, 2007 2:46 PM CDT

LITTLE ROCK - U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin announced he will step down Friday from the position he took over amid the firing of eight federal prosecutors by the Bush administration, but stressed he was not forced out of the job.

Griffin announced Thursday he was resigning to pursue "opportunities in the private sector." A former assistant to President Bush's top political adviser Karl Rove, Griffin told The Associated Press he would be "leaving on my own timetable."

Griffin, 38, stepped in as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas in December, replacing U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins.

The firings drew the most criticism from U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., whose office confirmed on Wednesday that Griffin was on the way out. Pryor had called for Griffin and U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign. ~snip~

http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2007/05/31/ap-state-ar/d8pfi0og1.txt