Jerry Lewis(R-CA) Prosecutor quits, joins his defense law firm....

[Blackhatjack]

...this does not pass the smell test.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001846.php#more

more on Lewis investigation

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2437103&mesg_id=2441727

Edited to fix link

[hedda_foil]

1. I can't find a reference to this at the link.

There was lots on Lewis, but couldn't find this. Please cut and paste it.

[Blackhatjack]

2. Fixed the Link, about 1/3 page down ....

.... thanks, I fixed the link, you have to scroll down about 1/3 page to get to it.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001846.php#more

[Wickerman]

3. this sure sounds wrong

"Debra Wong Yang, U.S. attorney for California's central district, is resigning to take a job with a high-profile private law firm.

Yang is expected to leave Nov. 10 for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where she will serve as co-chair of the firm's crisis management practice group. . . .

" provides legal counsel to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, currently under investigation by Yang's office over his ties to a lobbyist." (LA Daily News)

[TahitiNut]

4. The STENCH of corruption should nauseate even the dead.

L.A.'s U.S. attorney resigning for job at private law firm
BY JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press

Debra Wong Yang, U.S. attorney for California's central district, is resigning to take a job with a high-profile private law firm.

Yang is expected to leave Nov. 10 for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where she will serve as co-chair of the firm's crisis management practice group.

There was no word yet on a successor, said U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek.

"I was fortunate to be able to serve my country as the United States attorney," Yang said. "I am excited to add the skills and experience I have to Gibson Dunn's impressive resources."

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher boasts a roster of former government lawyers, including Theodore B. Olson, the former U.S. solicitor general, and Robert Bonner, who once led the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles and was once head of Customs and Border Protection.

It also provides legal counsel to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, currently under investigation by Yang's office over his ties to a lobbyist.

Under government rules, Yang would be recused from that and other cases she was involved with during her tenure at the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's Office.

<more...>

[Blackhatjack]

6. This could not be a bigger conflict of interest for Yang...

...it is like the law firm defending Al Capone hiring one of the Government's Prosecutors because they have such good skills. With an ongoing investigation in process IN HER OFFICE the damage could be substantial if she were to apprise her new employer of the status of the Government's investigation of Lewis.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

9. Not just "one of the govt's prosecutors", but the CHIEF prosecutor!

See http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/cac/aboutus.html .

[ProgressiveEconomist]

5. Here's an MSM link. Wonder what govt files she took with her when

she quit, and how much she's getting paid at her new gig?

From http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-lewis18oct18,1,12986.story?coll=la-news-a_section :

"Legal Fees Are Drain on Lewis' War Chest

The congressman from Redlands has paid lawyers $750,000 amid a federal lobbying probe.

By Richard Simon, Times Staff Writer

October 18, 2006

WASHINGTON Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), the House Appropriations Committee chairman whose ties to lobbyists have come under scrutiny, has spent more than $750,000 from his campaign fund for defense lawyers, according to his latest spending report. Federal investigators are examining Lewis' association with lobbyists who have secured millions of dollars in congressional earmarks for their clients. Lobbyists and their clients have contributed heavily to Lewis' political war chests, records show. ... More than $550,000 was paid to the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher between July 1 and Sept. 30. And he paid the firm a $200,000 retainer in June. ...

His lead lawyers are Robert Bonner, who once headed the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Joseph Warin, a onetime federal prosecutor. IN A TWIST, U.S. ATTY. DEBRA WONG YANG OF LOS ANGELES, WHOSE OFFICE HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING LEWIS, ANNOUNCED TUESDAY THAT SHE WAS RESIGNING HER FEDERAL JOB TO JOIN GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER. She could not be reached for comment, but a spokeswoman for the law firm said Yang would have "no involvement whatsoever" with Lewis.

Even with the legal fees, Lewis whose challenger is so little-known and -funded that the congressman hasn't hired a campaign manager or opened a campaign office entered the home stretch of the campaign with more than $1 million cash on hand, according to his report. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group that posted Lewis' legal fees on its website, said some of the congressman's donors "work at some of the most prolific lobby shops specializing in federal earmarks."

Earmarking is the largely secret process that committee chairs and other powerful members of the House and Senate use to insert spending directives into pending legislation without going through the normal budget review process. The use of earmarks has soared in recent years...."

[Blackhatjack]

7. Uncertainty about what the Govt knows or does not know is powerful tool.

...for getting people to tell the truth. Many people would be willing to chance a false story, or just not cooperate in any way if they knew what the Govt knows in their investigation.

It sure sounds like this could have been a purchase of that information for Lewis.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

8. My guess would be that most of the latest $200k "retainer" in June

is going to Yang for the files and inside info she brings to Gibson.

Did you notice how spokespeople for her new bosses say she'll have "no involvement whatsoever" with Lewis?

That leaves open the strong possibility she'll be an internal consultant for those lawyers who WILL formally handle Lewis's case. Why else would the firm risk such a high profile, highly suspicious hire at this point in the proceedings against Lewis? Or are we to believe that the timing of this hire is a concidence?

[never cry wolf]

10. Guess who gets to appoint her successor?

She herself was a shrub appointee but maybe now he can pick one with even less integrity? Can a U.S. Attorney be appointed as a recess appointment? If so, look for this slot to be filled pronto before the elections in case the pubes lose the senate.