There is a new wrinkle in the ongoing investigation of the DOJ is that the Justice Department probe (joint Inspector General & Office of Professional Responsibility) that has now fingered at least one White House operative, with a trail that leads clearly to Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove and perhaps others. Are criminal penalties in the offing?
This is distinct from yesterday's story about politicizing the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, as diaried here. A third element of the investigation is the prejudicial hiring of career DOJ appointees based on political affiliation or leanings, which was announced a few days ago.
The key, for the moment, is that fishy letter to Congress of Feb 23, 2007 which denied that Rove had anything to do with the firing of Bud Cummins, US Attorney from Arkansas. That letter sent up red flags in the Senate Judiciary Committee and the media, IIRC, because it seemed so unlikely.
Today's story is by Murray Waas, who has been following the case at Huffington Post
The Justice Department investigation into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys has been extended to encompass allegations that senior White House officials played a role in providing false and misleading information to Congress, according to numerous sources involved in the inquiry.
The widened scope raises the possibility that investigators will pursue criminal charges against some administration officials, and recommend appointment of a special prosecutor if there is evidence of criminal misconduct.
Criminal charges against administration officials? This could be the start of something big....
The February 23 letter stated, "The department is not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint Mr. Griffin," and that the Justice Department was "not aware of anyone lobbying, either inside or outside of the administration, for Mr. Griffin's appointment."
Federal investigators have obtained documents showing that Kyle Sampson, then-chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and Chris Oprison, then an associate White House counsel, drafted and approved the letter even though they had first-hand knowledge that the assertions were not true. The Justice Department later had to repudiate the Sampson-Oprison letter and sent a new one informing Congress that it could no longer stand by the earlier assertions.
So who might be guilty here? Certainly Sampson and Oprison for starters. But who ordered them to send that false statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee? Gonzales? Rove?
Speaking anonymously about the investigation:
"It will be as much about the cover up as about the firings," said one former senior Justice Department interviewed at length because of his personal role in the firings. This source believes the investigators "are going to tell a narrative, and they have taken their investigation right into the White House."
Interestingly, the DOJ investigate cannot bring criminal charges—both the IG and OPR "can initiate disciplinary action only against Justice Department employees and neither has prosecutorial powers." However, this investigation could, one would guess, provide the basis for criminal action in the future against the various perpetrators.
Update: There are further details about this case in the comments by jqjacobs and Limelite, who are really better informed than I on the case. Please read their comments. I hope one or both will continue to diary this story on Friday.