Prosecutor Purge: Law Headed for Change

The measure governing the nomination of federal prosecutors tucked into the fat USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act is heading for a change, after a Senate committee passed a revision today.

The change will revert the law back to what it was before a member of Sen. Arlen Specter’s (R-PA) staff, acting on behalf of the Justice Department, inserted a measure that effectively allowed the administration to appoint U.S. Attorneys in perpetuity without Senate confirmation. Three Republicans, including Sen. Specter, voted for the change.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) tells the AP that he plans to “do everything I can” to bring the bill to the floor.

In addition to the law change, the Democrats continue to push the issue of the earlier purge.

Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty admitted in a hearing earlier this week that a U.S. Attorney in Arkansas was removed for no reason except to install a former aide to Karl Rove, Timothy Griffin. And today, Democratic leaders sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wanting to know more. You can read the letter in full here.

Among other questions, they asked:

In light of the unprecedented nature of the appointment, we are especially interested in understanding the role played by Karl Rove. In particular, what role did Karl Rove, with whom Griffin was closely associated, play in the decision to appoint Griffin?

And as further proof that this story won’t be winding down any time soon, one of the six prosecutors who were fired on the same day in December, John McKay of Washington’s Western District, has finally come out to say that he, too, was canned without any explanation: “I was given no explanation. I certainly was told of no performance issues.”