Another one bites the dust: Department of Justice No. 3 Resigns

[originalpckelly]

"Third-in-Command at Justice Dept. Resigns

The Justice Department's third-in-command announced his resignation yesterday, becoming the sixth aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to leave amid the political uproar over the firings of nine U.S. attorneys last year.

William W. Mercer -- who had been acting associate attorney general since September -- withdrew his nomination for the job just days before he was scheduled to appear at a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing Tuesday.

Mercer said he will return to his regular assignment as the U.S. attorney in Montana, writing in a letter to Gonzales that there was "no end in sight" to his nomination because of opposition from Senate Democrats.

"After much consideration, I have concluded that it is highly unlikely that both the Judiciary Committee and the Senate will take prompt action on my nomination in the near term, if ever," Mercer wrote."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/22/AR2007062201291.html?hpid=topnews

Will this all be called the "Slow Motion Massacre" one day?

[Horse with no Name]

1. I am so sick of these obstructionists acting as if oversight was obstruction

:mad:And that is what the poodle-press will report.

[Kagemusha]

2. I am too but actions speak louder than words.

And these actions are those of roaches fearing the light.

[Horse with no Name]

3. I see it as people who KNOW too much to be vetted by Congress

so they slink back to safety while another sycophant steps up.

[wordpix]

4. wow, a whole law just so this sleaze doesn't have to show up to his prosecutor's job in MT

and can do Gonzo's and BushCo's bidding in DC. I wonder what my boss would say if I just showed up 3 days a month...:puke:

snip: But Democrats were most critical of Mercer for spending much of his time in Washington over the past two years rather than in his permanent job as U.S. attorney in Montana. Mercer spent an average of three days a month in Billings, according to testimony. Montana's chief federal judge often criticized Mercer's absences and asked Gonzales to replace him. The attorney general refused and assured the judge in a November 2005 letter that Mercer's appointment was lawful.

On the same day that letter was written, however, Mercer instructed a GOP staff member to insert language into a USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill allowing federal prosecutors to live outside their districts to serve in other jobs, according to documents and interviews. The provision -- which retroactively applied to Mercer's tenure in Washington -- was passed by Congress last year. Lawmakers are considering legislation to repeal the measure. :grr: :mad:

[Kagemusha]

5. I remembered that one too...

I hope they do repeal it. Or why have US Attorneys at all?

[wordpix]

6. these repukes have it so good---get the prosecutor's salary in MT while

doing political hatchet jobs in DC.