Over the past six months, we have learned some of the details and possible motives for firing US Attorneys in the Bush Administration. Included in the possible reasons are:
- Retaliation for failure to pursue investigations of Democrats
- Interference with ongoing investigations against Republicans
- To provide resume-fluffing opportunities for young and ideologically extreme Republicans.
- As a favor to Karl Rove.
Less well known is what a US Attorney must do to avoid the chopping block. Ongoing HJC and SJC investigations are continuing to explore the prosecutor firing scandal. Yesterday, as reported at TPM muckraker, we learned a little bit more about the things Loyal Bushie US Attorneys do to keep their jobs....
They initiate political prosecution to effect partisan gain, practicing "bad law" based on "bad facts".
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee released a Justice Department internal document pertaining to the Georgia Thompson case in Wisconsin. As many here will recall, Ms. Thompson was the Wisconsin State Purchasing Supervisor who was prosecuted for corruption immediately before the 2006 elections. The case, which was brought forward by Wisconsin US Attorney Steven Biskupic, was viewed by some as impugning the integrity of Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (D), who seeking a second term and was considered relatively vulnerable by the Republican establishment.
Although Doyle easily won reelection, Ms. Thompson was convicted. On appeal, however, within 26 minutes of oral arguments before a 3-judge Appeals Court panel, the conviction was overturned:
Federal judges Thursday ruled that former state purchasing supervisor Georgia L. Thompson was wrongly convicted of making sure a state travel contract went to a firm linked to Gov. Jim Doyle’s re-election campaign and freed her from an Illinois prison.
The three-judge panel in Chicago acted with unusual speed, ruling after oral arguments by Thompson’s attorney and the U.S. attorney’s office.
During 26 minutes of oral arguments, all three judges assailed the government’s case, with Judge Diane Wood saying at one point that "the evidence is beyond thin."
During a news conference later Thursday, Doyle, a former state attorney general, said the three judges did an "extraordinary thing" by entering an order finding Thompson innocent and ordering her immediate release.
Clearly, the timing of the prosecution raised questions of a politically motivated prosecution, and the quickly vacated conviction demonstrated that the merits of the case were suspect. The newly released HJC document, which was sent to the Committee in response to a request for documents relating to allegations of selective prosecutions. The document is an email exchange between Craig Donsanto, Justice Department Election Crimes Branch Director, and Raymond Hulser, Deputy Chief of the Department's Public Integrity Section. Donsanto hits the nail on the head, and asks the critical question:
"How in the heck did this case get brought"
That question remains the focus of the HJC and SJC in the ongoing investigations. Although Rove, Gonzales, and many others are now themselves purged from our Government, the administration that enabled this malfeasance is still in office. Additionally, many of the US attorneys who were not fired may remain in office because, like Steven Biskupic, they pursued Political Prosecutions that pleased the Bush Administration. In Conyer's Press Release, he notes that "This email demonstrates that even Justice Department insiders thought the Thompson case was seriously flawed. This only underscores the need for further investigation into the Administration's alleged role in politicizing prosecutions."
The investigations continue.