The Gathering Storm at Justice-"The report will almost certainly be explosive." (Scott Horton)

[kpete]

“Train Wreck at the Justice Department”
John McKay
(volume 31 of Seattle University Law Review)
Obstruction of Justice
A Torrent Of Lies Under Oath
The WHITE HOUSE IN CHARGE!!!
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1028545

The Gathering Storm at Justice
DEPARTMENT No Comment
BY Scott Horton
PUBLISHED March 15, 2008

I don’t in the ordinary course review and recommend law review articles, but I’ve just come across one that is close to indispensable for public affairs junkies. On December 7, 2006—the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor—at least eight U.S. attorneys received phone calls from Michael Battle, the executive director of the Office of U.S. Attorneys at the Justice Department. Each was essentially ordered to submit his or her resignation.

The Administration attempted to sell the event as a routine personnel turn-over. But Congress and the public weren’t buying. After a series of hearings at which senior members of the Administration committed acts of perjury, there was a public uproar. In its wake the entire senior echelon of political appointees at the Justice Department were forced to leave office under a cloud and subject to an investigation into potentially criminal misconduct, as were a number of senior White House figures, most prominently including Bush’s senior political advisor, Karl Rove.

The storm has died down a bit now as the Justice Department completes its own internal investigation of what happened. This has been led by Inspector General Glenn Fine and by the Office of Professional Responsibility. I understand that this investigation is approaching its conclusion now, and that a report is likely in the course of the spring. The report will almost certainly be explosive.

Of George W. Bush’s cohort of U.S. Attorneys, one of the most highly regarded—perhaps even the most highly regarded—was John McKay, who headed the office in Seattle. He was included in the December 7 massacre. McKay has now authored a law review article that examines the history of the scandal, reviews the legal issues that it raises, and provides some observations on the trajectory the matter is likely to take going forward. It’s called “Train Wreck at the Justice Department,” http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1028545 and it was published in volume 31 of Seattle University Law Review. Here are some key elements of the article, which really merits being read in its entirety:

(EXPLOSIVE) read the rest at:
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002635

[midnight]

1. This story seems important for Sieglman's case don't you think.?

I hit on your first link, but could not figure out how to open vol.31. I'll keep trying, but hope that this takes us somewhere closer to bringing this case in front of someone who plans on doing something....

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

4. I can't get it to open either.

From the Harper article~
Moreover, an examination of other cases points to rampant, likely criminal manipulation of prosecutions in a number of other cases involving U.S. attorneys in Birmingham, Jackson, Montgomery, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. The recent exposé by CBS News 60 Minutes links Karl Rove directly to the fabricated charges brought against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. And notwithstanding the exposure of the fraud through which he was prosecuted, Siegelman remains in prison in Louisiana today, cleaning latrines.
k&r, thanks kpete.

[DemReadingDU]

5. Maybe we need to register with SSRN to read documents?

SSRN - Social Science Resource Network


Edit: no need to register!

Just go to bottom of page where it says
SSRN Electronic Paper Collection
Download the document from:


There is a list of places to download the document.

I clicked on the document for Social Science Research Network

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

7. Dang! Well, I did find this interesting item about Iglesias new book In Justice

coming out in june.
http://www.slate.com/id/2185931/
~Iglesias is persuaded that the nameless, faceless folks who engineered the firings were engaged in serious, if not criminal, wrongdoing. And although the evidence is, he concedes, still mostly circumstantial, one of his chapter titles is "All Roads Lead to Rove." The mild-mannered McKay, for his part, argues for bringing obstruction of justice charges against Gonzales.
snip.

All Roads Lead to Rove.

[DemReadingDU]

8. No need to register!

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1028545

Just go to bottom of page where it says
SSRN Electronic Paper Collection
Download the document from:


There is a list of places to download the document.

I clicked on the document for Social Science Research Network

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

12. Thank You, I am reading it.....

Came up for air, reading that old testimony with Feinstein questioning Gonzo, brings back nasty feelings here.

[DemReadingDU]

11. Easy way to read the document

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1028545


Just go to bottom of page where it says
SSRN Electronic Paper Collection
Download the document from:


There is a list of places to download the document.

I clicked on the document for Social Science Research Network

[L. Coyote]

29. Politicization of the DoJ is one HUGE story, with many faces. Nacchio, Siegelman, Cronyism

Corruption is the story, and no worse place than DoJ, whose job it is to arrest themselves.

[Supersedeas]

37. just the tip of the iceburg?

[SpiralHawk]

2. The K and the R

Thanks for posting this, kpete...

[Supersedeas]

34. and another

[tpsbmam]

3. K & R n/t

[ThomWV]

6. Comment on Paragraph 1, page 271

Notice that the fired attornies 'began to communicate with each other almost daily by E-Mail and telephone conference calls' according to the article. From what we know now it is near certain that the White House had full access to all of those phone calls and every single one of those E-Mails.

Do you think any FISA Judge would have authorized a US Attorney's phone being tapped or their E-Mails (presumably encrypted by a system the NSA could break in a nanosecond) intercepted?

[gristy]

19. Yes, indeed.

[seafan]

9. Rove: ‘I Fully Expect To Be Indicted By The End Of The Year’»

Rove: ‘I Fully Expect To Be Indicted By The End Of The Year’, March 10, 2008


Karl Rove


The Gathering Storm at Justice

By Scott HOrton
March 15, 2008

.....

The Administration attempted to sell the event as a routine personnel turn-over. But Congress and the public weren’t buying. After a series of hearings at which senior members of the Administration committed acts of perjury, there was a public uproar. In its wake the entire senior echelon of political appointees at the Justice Department were forced to leave office under a cloud and subject to an investigation into potentially criminal misconduct, as were a number of senior White House figures, most prominently including Bush’s senior political advisor, Karl Rove. ..... Of George W. Bush’s cohort of U.S. Attorneys, one of the most highly regarded—perhaps even the most highly regarded—was John McKay, who headed the office in Seattle. He was included in the December 7 massacre. McKay has now authored a law review article that examines the history of the scandal, reviews the legal issues that it raises, and provides some observations on the trajectory the matter is likely to take going forward. It’s called “Train Wreck at the Justice Department,” and it was published in volume 31 of Seattle University Law Review. Here are some key elements of the article, which really merits being read in its entirety.

A Torrent of Lies Under Oath

The falsehoods presented, under oath, to Congressional committees were sweeping. They included varying and at points inconsistent accounts of the reasons for the dismissals—which internal documents from Justice reflect were often fabricated on the eve of hearings, sometimes after attempts to synch a false story with the White House. This was largely part of an effort to disguise the obvious fact that the dismissals were the implementation of a political plan which had been formulated in the White House, largely under the guidance of Karl Rove. They were also designed to disguise the fact that an elaborate scheme had been concocted to circumvent the process through which candidates are reviewed and confirmed by the Senate using a secret amendment to the USA PATRIOT Act.

Participants in the conspiracy to misdirect Congress included Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, Associate Attorney General Will Moschella—the top three figures at the Justice Department—and a stream of staffers led by Michael Elston, Kyle Sampson and Monica Goodling.

.....

Perhaps the hallmark of the administration of justice in the Bush era is its complete politicization. No aspect of the process of law enforcement seems beyond the reach of political meddling. This was dramatically demonstrated when Senator Sheldon Whitehouse disclosed early in the hearing process that virtually every political staffer in the White House had been authorized to meddle with criminal investigations and prosecutions. But the reach of Karl Rove was most apparent, and his fingerprints are all about the December 7 scandal. Moreover, when senior figures of the New Mexico G.O.P. decided they wanted to fire their U.S. attorney because he had refused to prostitute his office for electoral political purposes, they went straight to the man who could obviously make it happen: Karl Rove.

McKay reviews the politically motivated dismissal of Iglesias in some detail, and shows the focal role of Rove and the involvement of a number of further political operatives.

.....

The Next Steps

At this point on the basis of the public record alone, no report by the Inspector General could credibly dismiss the serious charges which have been leveled against senior former Justice Department and White House figures connected to the December 7 events. Moreover, an examination of other cases points to rampant, likely criminal manipulation of prosecutions in a number of other cases involving U.S. attorneys in Birmingham, Jackson, Montgomery, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. The recent exposé by CBS News 60 Minutes links Karl Rove directly to the fabricated charges brought against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. And notwithstanding the exposure of the fraud through which he was prosecuted, Siegelman remains in prison in Louisiana today, cleaning latrines.

There are two clear steps which must follow the release of the Inspector General’s report:

*Appointment of a special prosecutor with full authority to investigate and prosecute those involved in criminal conduct associated with this affair.

*Commencement of hearings in the House Judiciary Committee to fully explore the role played by the White House in the misconduct identified in the Inspector General’s report.


.....

But we should also keep in mind that the jurisdictional basis for the Inspector General’s review is formally limited to the Justice Department and its employees. Therefore the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives should convene its own hearings to follow up on the trail to the extent it goes into the White House. In particular the involvement of Karl Rove and Harriet Miers must be fully tested, using the subpoena power, and invoking the power of impeachment if necessary. No claims of Executive Privilege may be lawfully raised to obstruct these hearings, and they should proceed as a matter of urgency and priority.

Karl Rove

Not gonna be dancin' too much longer.

[malaise]

10. After reading that paper from SSRN my only question

is when do impeachment hearings begin?

[elleng]

13. Thanks kpete!

Picture for a Sunday Afternoon! Seattle University Law Review!

[peacetalksforall]

14. This may not be the place to include Spitzer, but Greg Palast has

written a fascinating article framing a take-down of Spitzer. I think the Governors and U.S. Attorneys can be talked about in combination.

Cheney and Bush have and are re-paying their backers and keeping promises.

Placing THEIR judges and attorneys in all the courts and jurisdictions is one of them.

Especially for the martial law and laws they want to substitute.

Cheney working secretly while the cheerleader lies about and exploits democracy.

[psychmommy]

28. i read that Greg palast article

i ma not surprised. it makes perfect sense to me. it did disturb me though. our economy is in serious trouble. our gov't sold us out.

[Peace Patriot]

15. When you allow people to run your country who were not elected, and who are not

beholden to the people and our laws and our democratic traditions, this is what happens.

--------

Throw Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia election theft machines (and the Supreme Court) into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

[gristy]

16. Not yet published at SULR's web site - this link should work once it is

http://www.law.seattleu.edu/lawrev/volume31/issue2
But you can get it here (click on the first hyperlink in the article, then scroll down to find the pdf): http://harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002635

[gristy]

17. from page 283

Former Attorney General Gonzales has admitted he took multiple
phone calls from Domenici urging that U.S. Attorney Iglesias be replaced,
and (Gonzales) has admitted that the President spoke with him about “problems”
with Iglesias. Gonzales has even admitted that one of the reasons
that Iglesias was fired was because Senator Domenici had “lost confidence”
in Iglesias.48 One of the last of the U.S. Attorneys to be added to
the list of those to be fired, the name of David Iglesias appeared in October
2006; he was fired within six weeks.

While these allegations are troubling under any analysis, a thorough
and independent investigation is necessary to determine whether criminal
laws have been violated. Among the considerations facing the Inspector
General is whether the actions of former Attorney General Gonzales in
removing Iglesias constituted obstruction of justice. Attempts to
influence Iglesias in his prosecution of the public corruption case in New
Mexico, including a retaliatory firing, could well constitute obstruction
of justice, and, at minimum, warrant a full investigation. Although Gonzales
has claimed he did not create the list of U.S. Attorneys to be fired,
he has admitted that he approved the firings. That he had knowledge of
the high-profile public corruption case being investigated by Iglesias in
New Mexico is virtually certain, given that he has admitted speaking to
Domenici and would almost certainly be expected to have such knowledge
as the leader of the Justice Department. Under the broad language
of 18 U.S.C. § 1503(a), it would be hard to imagine that “corruptly influencing”
would not extend to firing the United States Attorney in the middle
of a public corruption case because he “lost the confidence” of a
Senator who sought to manipulate the indictments for crass political advantage.

At the end, he recommends the appointment of a special prosecutor, and even gives 4 recommendations. :bounce:

[Richard Steele]

18. K&R

[donkeyotay]

20. Let us remember the cars in Texas when we examine the train wreck

Thelma Quince Colbert, lead assistant U.S. attorney for civil enforcement in Fort Worth, who drowned in her pool July, 2004, and Shannon Ross, criminal chief for the U.S. Attorney's office in Dallas, who had signed subpoenas investigating GPOs. She died on her sofa in Sept., 2004. This was followed by Alberto "Fredo" Gonzales firing not one, not two, but three U.S. attorney assistants on the case: Senerote, Uhl. and Snipes. For more on why GPOs are such a big deal, here's a Ft. Worth article on the whistle blower case:



http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=6344

Novation, based in Las Colinas, is the biggest company you’ve never heard of. It’s the largest GPO, or group purchasing organization, in the country, brokering $33 billion worth of healthcare supplies annually for 2,500 hospitals and more than 10,000 clinics.

GPOs originated in New York in the early 1900s, when hospitals partnered to buy supplies in bulk. In the 1980s, as healthcare costs soared, more GPOs were formed and consolidated to negotiate for better prices from suppliers. Novation was started in 1998 to buy for two hospital groups: VHA, an Irving-based network representing 28 percent of America’s community hospitals, including Baylor; and University HealthSystem Consortium of Illinois, an alliance that includes 90 percent of the leading academic medical hospitals, including Parkland in Dallas and John Peter Smith hospital system in Fort Worth.

Although they provide a service to hospitals, most GPOs are private, for-profit companies...

[MSC2007]

33. Everything You Would Ever Want to Know About Novations Corruption!!!

Obstruction of Justice
Warrantless Surveillance
Illegal Targets of Investigations
Dead and Purged USA
Racketeering
Fraud
Public Officials and The Part They Played
Medicare and Medicaid Fraud

www.MedicalSupplyChain.com/news.htm

[donkeyotay]

38. Thank you for this link. nt

[Jade Fox]

21. McKay....

Bushco made a big mistake when they messed with McKay. :bounce:

I wonder if McKay is still a Republican.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

22. k n r

[Turner Ashby]

23. I think criminal prosecution might be too tough.

For a lawyer, equally bad is simple disbarment proceedings, and the outcome is much easier. Attorneys are pretty vicious when they are dragged through the mud by these bozos. They make the whole profession look like a joke, and they make good attorneys like Iglesias the fall guys. And often, if disbarment is big enough, as in covered by the media, which it would be, then criminal charges would follow. Plus, the attorney would have no cover, except pleading the 5th, since it is a civil proceeding. Once they plead the 5th, they are sunk, since the only reason why you plead the 5th in the mind of the public, is because you are guilty. As an attorney, I don't like pulling that trick, but since this Administration was into enemy combatants, I'm into "live by the sword, die by the sword, no pity".

[riderinthestorm]

24. I'm also inclined to believe that Rove, Gonzo, Sampson, Goodling etc.

will conveniently lose their memories again if they are called to testify in court, precisely the strategy that was coordinated for them for their previous testimony. This gives just enough wiggle room in a criminal proceeding in my opinion that they might get out of it.

However, I don't think that kind of testimony would fly in a disbarment hearing. I don't know but I would guess that they wouldn't plead the 5th knowing how much that would jeopardize their license, they'd just try the old "can't recall" trick over and over. I don't know if that would work any better than the 5th but I suspect that's what they would do.

Interesting observation anyway. Welcome to DU!

[McCamy Taylor]

25. Mukasey has continued the political prosecution of Dems by the DOJ

I doubt that he will appoint a Special Prosecutor. Maybe the NSA has blackmail info on him. Maybe he just made a deal with the devil when he accepted this job.

I think Congress may have to censure Mukasey.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

26. Horton Sees A Who !

;)

[Kurovski]

27. Kick. (nt)

[WinkyDink]

30. Nothing will come of this. Nothing.

[pokercat999]

32. Why isn't the MSM asking Hillary and Obama if they

intent to prusue this when they become president? Along with the crimes in Iraq?

It's always the same in DC from one admin to the next from party to party one formula always works well for everyone:
1. Get broom
2. Lift rug
3. Sweep shit under rug
4. Pretend everything is OK

[Jackpine Radical]

35. Sadly, I agree.

This will be buried as effectively as all the other scandals surrounding this administration. Buried with Democratic complicity, I might add.

[L. Coyote]

31. Train wrech at the White House

Moving these people into DoJ made the institution a White House branch office.
They just moved their desks from 1600 Pennsylvania to the RFK Building.

Train Wreck at the Justice Department:
An Eyewitness Account
John McKay†

(page 11) ... almost immediately upon Gonzales’ arrival to the RFK
Building as Attorney General. Gonzales’ Chief of Staff D. Kyle
Sampson, a lawyer with little trial experience and a former White House
staffer, now began assembling a list of U.S. Attorneys to be fired.
Claiming to be the “aggregator” of names, Sampson ignored formal
evaluations long utilized by the Justice Department and appears to have
compiled a “hit list” with the active participation of Attorney General
Gonzales, Deputy Attorney General McNulty, McNulty’s Chief of Staff
Michael Elston, Senior Counselor (and White House Liaison) Monica
Goodling, and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General William
Moschella.....

[The Stranger]

36. Ode to the Nancy Disaster

(The Part for which I've lost track)

Oh, our Nancy Disaster,
They packed the courts and purged the USA's offices,
But you wouldn't put impeachment on the table,
I'm beginning to think that for you,
A word like "Disaster" may not be bad enough.

[DiverDave]

39. I,too, would be hugely surprised if anyone gets a day in jail

for this...