A compendium of useful details to aid in understanding.As most of you know, David Margolis was assigned on August 12, 2005 by the departing James Comey to be the DOJ supervisor of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/ag_memo_august_12_2005.pdfComey departed DOJ to go work for Lockheed. His job was supposed to go to a crony-clown by the name of Timothy Flanigan, but Timmy had to withdraw over concerns re: his coziness with a certain lobbying crook. Consequently, the White House appointed YET ANOTHER GOP crony to serve in the departing Mr. Comey's position:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128767692409The money quotes from the above cited article:
Bush's previous nominee for deputy attorney general, Timothy E. Flanigan, withdrew his nomination early this month, citing uncertainty over when he would be confirmed. Senators complained that Flanigan lacked prosecutorial experience and also questioned his dealings with indicted Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
McNulty is known on Capitol Hill. He served as spokesman for House Judiciary Committee Republicans during the impeachment of President Clinton. He later directed the Bush transition team for the Justice Department and worked in the deputy's office until Bush appointed him to the prosecutor's job in Virginia.
In the administration of President George H.W. Bush, McNulty served as the department's director of policy and communication.
McNulty had no comment on the appointment.
So, what do we know about Mr. Margolis? This seems hopeful:
He has won a number of awards for his work:
under Clinton,
http://www.opm.gov/ses/2000merit.asp and under the current administration:
http://www.opm.gov/ses/dea02jus.aspDavid Margolis
Associate Deputy Attorney General
Office of the Deputy Attorney General
Throughout his extraordinary public service, Mr. Margolis has served with honor and distinction. He has become the Department of Justice’s embodiment of integrity, determination, and judgment. Of particular note, he set up the process by which the Department’s disciplinary system for its lawyers has been opened to public scrutiny thereby fostering public confidence and at the same time assuring that the important privacy rights of federal employees are protected. In addition, Mr. Margolis was instrumental in helping to develop and implement one of the Department’s most important ethical initiatives, the formation of the Professional Responsibility Advisory Board, which provides Department attorneys with consistent training and guidance on professional responsibility issues. It is a measure both of Mr. Margolis’ integrity and of the high esteem in which he is held within the Department that Mr. Margolis was selected to be the Professional Responsibility Advisory Board’s first chairperson.
He has been with DOJ for FORTY YEARS
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/011843.htmlDavid Margolis...has been a Justice Department lawyer for 40 years.
Margolis, whose title is associate deputy attorney general, is taking the place of Deputy Attorney General James Comey, whose last day of work was Friday. Comey will be Lockheed Martin's new general counsel.
Comey made the designation of Margolis. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has stepped aside from the probe because he was White House counsel when Valerie Plame's name was leaked in 2003 and he has testified to the grand jury investigating the unauthorized disclosure.
Comey gave broad discretion to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago when he was appointed to investigate the leak in December 2003. Margolis is not expected to alter Fitzgerald's mandate in what are likely to be the final months of his investigation. The grand jury ends its term in October. One thing I did not realize in all this is that ASHCROFT, Alberto Gonzalez's predecessor and Bush crony, DID NOT IMMEDIATELY RECUSE HIMSELF when this mess began. Talk about hubris!!! (The entire article is very instructive, BTW):
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0533,waasweb1,66861,2.html Up until that point, the investigation had been conducted by a team of career prosecutors and FBI agents, some of whom believed Ashcroft should recuse himself. Democrats on Capitol Hill were calling for him to step down, but he did not. Then on December 30, 2003, Ashcroft unexpectedly recused himself from further overseeing the matter, and James B. Comey, then deputy attorney general, named Patrick J. Fitzgerald as the special prosecutor who would take over the case.
The Justice Department declined to publicly offer any explanation at the time for either the recusal or the naming of a special prosecutor—an appointment that would ultimately place in potential legal jeopardy senior advisers to the president of the United States, and lead to the jailing of a New York Times reporter. ....
As the truthfulness of Rove's accounts became more of a focus of investigators, career Justice Department employees and senior FBI officials became even more concerned about the continuing role in the investigation of Ashcroft, because of his close relationship with Rove. Rove had earlier served as an adviser to Ashcroft during the course of three political campaigns. And Rove’s onetime political consulting firm had been paid more than $746,000 for those services.
In response to these new allegations, Representative John Conyers of Michigan, the current ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and former chairman of the committee as well, said in a statement: "There has long been the appearance of impropriety in Ashcroft's handling of this investigation. The former attorney general had well documented conflicts of interest in this matter, particularly with regard to his personal relationship with Karl Rove. Among other things, Rove was employed by Ashcroft throughout his political career, and Rove reportedly had fiercely advocated for Ashcroft's appointment as attorney general. Pursuant to standard rules of legal ethics, and explicit rules on conflict of interest, those facts alone should have dictated his immediate recusal.
"The new information, that Ashcroft had not only refused to recuse himself over a period of months, but also was insisting on being personally briefed about a matter implicating his friend, Karl Rove, represents a stunning ethical breach that cries out for an immediate investigation by the Department's Office of Professional Responsibility and Inspector General."
One last tidbit about Margolis--he came down on the right side of a case concerning a FBI critic/whistleblower:
The source, Judicial Watch, is all over the page, usually not in our favor, but whatever:
http://news.baou.com/main.php?action=recent&rid=20589 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- (OfficialWire) -- 10/20/05 -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced yesterday that the
FBI’s proposal to fire Special Agent Robert G. Wright, Jr. has been rejected by the Justice Department. Judicial Watch represented Special Agent Wright in his efforts to reverse the FBI’s decision to dismiss him in apparent retaliation for his criticism of the FBI’s handling of terror investigations. On October 12, 2005, Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis decided that Special Agent Wright can continue his career as an FBI agent, rejecting the FBI’s proposal to terminate him. The FBI targeted Special Agent Wright for dismissal after he publicly criticized FBI counterterrorism investigations during a press conference held on June 2, 2003....When the FBI threatened Special Agent Wright with disciplinary action and dismissal, Judicial Watch actively represented Wright through the appeals process, ultimately securing an impartial review of the case by the Justice Department.
Special Agent Wright also received assistance from Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in the matter. The Senators called on former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller to investigate the “continued targeting” of Special Agent Wright following his public criticisms. Judicial Watch commends Senator Grassley and Senator Leahy for their efforts on behalf of Special Agent Wright and his whistleblowing activities.
Special Agent Wright is the only FBI agent prior to September 11, 2001 to have seized funds (over $1.4 million) from U.S. based terrorists using federal civil forfeiture statutes. During his career, he has consistently received excellent job performance evaluations despite his outspoken criticism of the FBI’s counter-terrorism efforts. Moreover, Special Agent Wright ‘s motive for speaking out about his concerns over the FBI’s handling of terrorism investigations was patriotic and he never profited monetarily or otherwise from voicing his criticism. These considerations played a significant role in the Justice Department’s decision to reject the FBI’s proposal to dismiss him.
“The FBI retaliated against Special Agent Wright because he had the courage to speak out about his concerns over the FBI’s handling of terrorism investigations. We are pleased that Special Agent Wright can continue doing what he does best to protect all Americans,” said JW President Tom Fitton. “And Judicial Watch and Special Agent Wright are grateful to Senators Grassley and Leahy for helping Judicial Watch save Special Agent Wright’s 15-year career.”
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