This is from one of the best MSM venues, the McClatchy Washington Bureau(formerly the Washington bureau of Knight-Ridder):
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is transforming the ranks of the nation's top federal prosecutors by firing some and appointing conservative loyalists from the Bush administration's inner circle who critics say are unlikely to buck Washington.
The newly appointed U.S. attorneys all have impressive legal credentials, but most of them have few, if any, ties to the communities they've been appointed to serve, and some have had little experience as prosecutors.
This was originally broken by Talkingpointsmemo (see the spectacular TPM coverage here http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/... but this is the first MSM mention I've seen that connects the dots, and what an ugly picture is revealed.
More after the flip...
Who are these replacements?
Since last March, the administration has named at least nine U.S. attorneys with administration ties. None would agree to an interview. They include:
Tim Griffin, 37, the U.S. attorney for Arkansas, who was an aide to White House political adviser Karl Rove and a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
Rachel Paulose, 33, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, who served briefly as a counselor to the deputy attorney general and who, according to a former boss, has been a member of the secretive, ideologically conservative Federalist Society.
Jeff Taylor, 42, the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., who was an aide to Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and worked as a counselor to Gonzales and to former Attorney General John Ashcroft.
John Wood, U.S. attorney in Kansas City, who's the husband of Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Julie Myers and an ex-deputy general counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Deborah Rhodes, 47, the U.S. attorney in Mobile, Ala., who was a Justice Department counselor.
Alexander Acosta, 37, the U.S. attorney in Miami, who was an assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's civil rights division and a protege of conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
John Richter, 43, the U.S. attorney in Oklahoma City, who was the chief of staff for the Justice Department's criminal division and acting assistant attorney general.
Edward McNally, the U.S. attorney in southern Illinois, who was a senior associate counsel to President Bush.
Matt Dummermuth, the U.S. attorney in Iowa, who was a Justice Department civil rights lawyer.
Looks like a list of late-inning defensive replacements to me.
Note that the above list does not include the replacements for the recently fired U.S. Attorneys in San Diego and San Francisco:
In the wake of the recent firings of a half-dozen U.S. attorneys, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, filed bills that would restore to federal judges the right to name interim appointees when vacancies develop. On Thursday, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., whose office has confirmed that he inserted language making the change in Patriot Act last year, gave his qualified support to Feinstein's bill.
Justice Department officials have refused to say how many prosecutors were fired or to explain the firings, but Feinstein has said she's aware of the ouster of at least seven U.S. attorneys since March 2006.
Former U.S. attorneys who know some of those ousted said they were concerned because the administration in some cases offered no reason for the dismissals.
Among those dismissed were Carol Lam of San Diego, whose office won a bribery conviction against then-Rep. Randolph "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., and prosecuted several members of San Diego's city council. The Cunningham case is ongoing.
Also ordered to resign was Kevin Ryan, the U.S. attorney in San Francisco, who was overseeing high-profile investigations into steroids use by major league baseball players and the backdating of stock options by Apple Inc., and other firms.
The new version of the "Patriot Act" allows Gonzales to replace U.S. Attorneys at will with "interim appointees" that can run out the clock until the end of Bush's reign and not face Senate confirmation. How very like BushCo.
Please read the whole thing at The McClatchy Washingtom Bureau. I make it a point to check their website out daily. It is unbelievable how reality-based they are - just look at the front page and you will see.
Also see the full, multi-article coverage where the story was first broken at http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/...
So it seems like Bush's version of Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre, only done with more stealth.