Everything--well, almost everything--you need to know about the Bush Crime Family you can learn from The Godfather. As I read two consecutive stories today on TPMuckraker, I could only think back to two scenes from the Godfather, Part II.
The two stories that brought up this memory concerned the announcement by the Justice Department into a criminal investigation of Monica Goodling, and the other story is regarding the series of phone calls made on Paul McNulty's approval, attempting to silence at least three of the fired attorneys.
I. The Godfather, Part II
In the movie, Frank Pentangeli is an aging member of the Corleone Crime Family and has been given a choice: Either testify against the Godfather--Michael Corleone--or go to a Federal Prison. On day one of his testimony, Michael has Frank's older brother flown in from Italy, and he is seen by Frank sitting next to Michael at the back of the audience. The message is simple: Speak the truth about the Crime Family, and the brother doesn't make it on the plane back to Italy. Here is a snapshot of Micheal, next to the old man. The bald gentleman in the foreground is the consigliere to the Corleone Crime Family, Tom Hagen:
Needless to say, Frank demurs and his brother lives. That night, Frank gets a visit from Tom. By now, Frank knows that Frank is dead. He can either testify and be killed, or he can not testify and still get killed for his initial efforts. The Crime Family offers him a third option:
Frank Pentangeli: Those were the great old days,you know... And we was like the Roman Empire... The Corleone family was like the Roman Empire...
Tom Hagen: When a plot against the Emperor failed... the plotters were always given a chance... to let their families keep their fortunes. Right?
Frank Pentangeli: Yeah, but only the rich guys, Tom. The little guys got knocked off and all their estates went to the Emperors. Unless they went home and killed themselves, then nothing happened. And the families... the families were taken care of.
Tom Hagen: That was a good break. A nice deal.
Frank Pentangeli: Yeah... They went home... and sat in a hot bath... opened up their veins... and bled to death... and sometimes they had a little party before they did it.
The Godfather, Part II
Frank returns to his protective custody with two FBI agents. He draws himself a hot bath, lights a cigar, and slits his wrist.
II. The Bush Crime Family
Monica Goodling is being considered for immunity from any legal action against her should she testify to the actions of the White House, Karl Rove, and other individuals regarding the U.S. Attorney Scandal. Yesterday, the Justice Department says they are opening their own investigation into any criminal activity of Ms Goodling. Here is TPM:
The timing of the release, Dowd also wrote, was suspicious:
What disturbs us most is that the Department chose to make its announcement about Ms. Goodling in the midst of Congress's ongoing investigation into the Department's affairs, and less than two weeks after the House Judiciary Committee passed a resolution authorizing the House General Counsel to apply for an order of immunity for Ms. Goodling. The timing of your release smacks of retribution and intimidation.
But that intimidation isn't likely to work, Dowd wanted them to know: Congress's approval of Goodling's immunity is "in no way subject to approval by the Department," he wrote, adding that "the Department may not delay the issuance of an order of immunity by instituting a parallel investigation."
Next, we have the story of Paul McNulty telling Michael Elston to make calls that have been characterized as threatening to at least three of the fired U.S. Attorneys, prior to the testimony of Alberto Gonzales, and prior to the U.S. Attorneys testifying as to what they believed the reasons for their firings may be. TPM says:
Paul Charlton told Congress that Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, called him and warned him to remain silent. "I believe that Elston was offering me a quid pro quo agreement: my silence in exchange for the Attorney General's," Charlton wrote in answer to questions from the House Judiciary Committee.
...
U.S. Attorney for Little Rock Bud Cummins testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Elston had made a similar call to him in mid-February. Cummins produced an email written the day of the call that clearly laid out the threatening undercurrent to Elston's message.
And U.S. Attorney for Seattle John McKay has said that he got a call from Elston in December. Newsweek reported that McKay says "he also got a phone call from a 'clearly nervous' Elston asking if he intended to go public: 'He was offering me a deal: you stay silent and the attorney general won't say anything bad about you.'"
I will leave it up to the script-writers in the Bush Crime Family to write the ending of the story with much anticipation! I love when life imitates art, or is the other way around?
Tags: Frank Pentangeli, Monica Goodling, Paul McNulty, Michael Elston, U.S. Attorneys, Bud Cummins, John McKay, Organized Crime, Alberto Gonzales