In my recent diary on Monica Goodling's 'breakdown', questions arose about Ms Goodling's legal defense counsel, and whether she is paying for the attorney(s) out of her own pocket, out of some legal defense fund, or out of some employment agreement where the White House would have to pay for legal matters arising out of her employment.
Upon consideration of the matter, I believe that it is more likely than not that Ken Mehlman, newly minted partner at Akin Gump, may have a hand in the matter.
I. Ken Mehlman returns to Akin Gump on March 1, 2007
FORMER RNC CHAIRMAN KEN MEHLMAN RETURNS TO AKIN GUMP
(Washington, D.C.) – Kenneth B. Mehlman, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, will return to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a partner, the firm announced today. Mr. Mehlman will focus on developing solutions for clients facing challenges in the legislative, regulatory, constituency, corporate and public relations arenas at the state, federal and international levels.
...
Mr. Mehlman added, "It will be great to be back home. I look forward to working with some of the world’s best lawyers and advisors to develop some of the most creative and effective solutions to solve problems at the nexus of business and public policy."
II. Monica Goodling's 'breakdown' in the office of David Margolis on March 8, 2007
See my previous diary here, and drational's diary here.
III. Monica Goodling's resignation is confirmed April 7, 2007 by John Dowd of Akin Gump:
She resigned in a brief letter submitted to Gonzales, whose resignation has been demanded by Democrats who charge the U.S. attorney firings were political motivated, an allegation the Bush administration denies.
"We can confirm her resignation," said an aide to Goodling's lawyer John Dowd, of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. His office would not release her resignation letter.
source
It is difficult to discover what Mr Dowd's hourly fee is, but, I would imagine it would be in the $600-$800 range. If anyone knows, please mention it in the comments. Suffice it to say, Ms Goodling is unlikely to have that sort of money just laying around, or stacked inside of her bible, or Regent University Course Catalog. So, the money is coming from somewhere....
IV. Ken Mehlman and the U.S. Attorney Scandal
As explained in a previous diary, White House cover-up: Abramoff, Gonzales, Guam, and national security, the attorney scandal goes beyond simply putting in 'good Bushies' and removing 'bad Bushies'; the U.S. Attorney's and their replacements served the purposes of the underlying criminal enterprise being perpetrated from the White House for the past six years. Part of the underlying criminal enterprise has to do with the money-laundering and other activities of Jack Abramoff and his criminal enterprise, working hand-in-hand with the White House, Tom Delay, and the various other felons surrounding the Republic National Committee and its leader, Ken Mehlman.
The participation of Mehlman and Jack Abramoff in eliminating a threat in the U.S. Attorney office in Guam and the Marinas Islands has made it into The Nation magazine, thanks to Ari Berman's recent article, titled Attorneygate in Guam:
The apparent purging of Black at Abramoff's behest demonstrates the clout the lobbyist wielded at both the DOJ and the White House. Then-White House political director Ken Mehlman, the recent chairman of the Republican National Committee, told White House official Leonard Rodriguez, a protégé of Karl Rove, to "reach out to make Jack aware" of all Guam-related information, including candidates for US Attorney, according to the IG report.
Therefore, I believe that Mr Mehlman has an 'interest' in seeing that Ms Goodling receive the absolute best legal counsel HE can provide for her, in furtherance of the criminal enterprise that has been running out of the White House since January 2001. This diary is an opportunity to test whether others have a similar or an alternative explanation.
Of course, the relationship between Mehlman and Abramoff did not begin or end in Guam--they were 'pen-pals' and probably still are. For example, the two worked together, along with Ring and Rudy to get rid of Allen Stayman who was silly enough to try to have more strict rules in the Marinas sweat-shops. It is in Mehlman's interest to protect Goodling from saying too much.
Tags: Monica Goodling, Ken Mehlman, RNC, Jack Abramoff, Organized Crime, Alberto Gonzales, David Marolis, U.S. Attorneys, John Dowd, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP