3-12 George Bush's legal adviser and his failed nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Harriet Miers, reportedly suggested firing all 93 U.S. Attorneys at the beginning of Bush's second term. Someone at the Justice Department patiently explained to her that firing all the U.S. attorneys was not a good idea, even if it was within the power of the President and the Attorney General. Where did Bush find such a collection of nitwits as his advisers?

In testimony before Congress several of the ousted U.S. attorneys describe contacts from political appointees in the Justice Department which indicate their firings were politically motivated, not based on performance. Pete Domenici and Heather Wilson have acknowledged contacting New Mexico U.S. attorney about speeding up indictments of Democrats in time for the election last fall.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/health/07lung.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

NY Times Editorial January 24, 2007

"POLITICAL MEDDLING WITH JUSTICE

"The federal investigation into Congressional corruption is approaching a crucial deadline and potential dead end. Feb. 15 is the last day on the job for United States Attorney Carol Lam of San Diego, the inquiry's dedicated prosecutor who is being purged by the Bush administration.

"Her investigation led to the imprisonment of Randy Cunningham, the California Republican who took millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for delivering lucrative government contracts. But jsut as Ms. Lam was digging into other possible wrongdoing, the White House decided to force her from office without explanation.

"Ms. Lam has been investigating the dealings of Brent Wilkes, a private contractor and deep-pockets political contributor who was designated co-conspirator No. 1 in the Cunningham case. Mr. Wilkes developed other cozy relationships. Among other avenues, the inquiry has been looking into rich government contracts secured by corporations and lobbyists with ties to Representative Jerry Lewis--the former appropriations chairman--and his staff. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Mr. Wilkes could be indicted before Ms. Lam leaves office. The question now is whether her successor, as yet un-named, will pursue the inquiry with the same dedicaton or will quietly smother it.

"The outlook isn't promising. The administration is defenestrating [Nice word!] at least six other U.S. attorneys. Yet Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is refusing to provide Congress with details on these unmerited dismissals. He insists that there's no attempt to quash fresh Republican scandals and says only the "very best" will be named as replacements.

"We are skeptical, especially since the White House's reported choice to replace Little rock's federal attorney is a Republican operative close to Carl Rove. Congress must demand a clear explanation from Mr. Gonzales and the White House on why these prosecutors are being ousted. It must search out every shady aspect of this clearly politically motivated purge--with a particular eye on Feb 15. "

COMMENT: The Times's editorial calls to mind the old saying about the pig who squealed before it was stuck. However, in this case I hope the pig keeps squealing. Some people believe the U.S. attorney in San Francisco was fired because he gave higher priority to white collar, corporate crime such as the backdating of stock options than to drugs and illegal immigration issues.