Leahy, Durbin, Feingold: "DOJ Counsel HAS BROKEN THE LAW"

[kpete]

Senators: Justice Department's Chief Counsel Breaking the Law
By Paul Kiel - July 19, 2007, 4:24 PM
Nothing surprises me any more.

Four Democratic senators wrote Alberto Gonzales today to inquire whether Stephen Bradbury, the apparent acting head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, was illegally carrying out his duties.

Bradbury was nominated for the top spot at OLC last year, but the Senate Judiciary Committee returned his nomination to the president, refusing to hear it until Bradbury's role in approving the National Security Agency's surveillance program became clear. The President shut down an internal Justice Department investigation of the matter last year by taking the unprecedented and unexplained step of denying security clearances to investigators from the Office of Professional Responsibility.

In the letter, written by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), along with Sens. Durbin (D-IL), Kennedy (D-MA), and Feingold (D-WI), the senators say that since it's been more than 210 days since the Senate returned the nomination to the President, Bradbury should not be carrying out the duties for the spot under the Vacancies Act. But that certainly appears to be what is happening.

............

Think about it: Bradbury's advice meant that Miers did not need to testify to Congress about whether she plotted to circumvent the Senate confirmation process in order to replace independent-minded U.S. attorneys with political cronies. As a committee staffer put it, "This appears to be yet another attempt by this Administration to circumvent the confirmation process in order to install a controversial nominee in a key Justice Department post, and now, ironically, that nominee is involved in protecting the Administration’s efforts to circumvent the confirmation process." Yikes.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003728.php

[Greeby]

1. So what ya gonna do bout it? huh? nt

[Ezlivin]

2. We're going to seriously fret, wring our hands, shake our heads

Then we'll move on to being perturbed and upset. We'll be on tenterhooks with butterflies in our stomach, get twitchy, jittery and in a dither.

After being so strung out, we'll get squirrelly and start pacing.

[katsy]

4. ROFL!

:thumbsup:

[bullimiami]

3. after w declares martial law next year he will just toss them in jail.