As noted below, we now know that there were not 8 but 9 US Attorneys fired last year by the Department of Justice — the earliest, Todd Graves in Kansas City, way back in March 2006, right after the passage of the revised USA Patriot.
Now, there’s a lot more we want to know about what happened here. And our reporters at TPMmuckraker are working the story as we speak to bring you more.
But here’s one nugget that’s really got me interested. By his own account, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) has known Graves was fired since March 2006. Meanwhile the Senate Judiciary Committee has been investigating the firings story for three months.
Graves’s ouster is highly relevant to that investigation. Did Bond not share this information with the Committee? If not, why not? Did committee investigators know conclusively, as Bond did, that Graves was fired. And have they spoken to him since the news broke last night?
We’ve just gotten the latest statement out from fired US Attorney Todd Graves. Speaking of his forced resignation, Graves says how it is “far better to take a graceful exit than to do something that you should be ashamed of.”
And yeah, we’re curious too.
Here it is, a copy of Alberto Gonzales’ secret order delegating authority to Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson to hire and fire certain political appointees in the Justice Department.
Wolf Blitzer looks the other way while his GOP guest lies repeatedly to CNN viewers about the network’s own poll.
The latest on the 9th fired US Attorney, in today’s episode of TPMtv …
Late Update: For a summary of today’s episode, click here.
Former U.S. attorneys John McKay and David Iglesias tell The Seattle Times that they think the firing scandal will result in criminal charges.
Here’s an interesting idea being batted around privately by some House liberal Dems on another way Congress can confront the White House on Iraq.
Things definitely improving in Baghdad.
From the AP: “A sharp increase in mortar attacks on the Green Zone â the one-time oasis of security in Iraq’s turbulent capital â has prompted the U.S. Embassy to issue a strict new order telling all employees to wear flak vests and helmets while in unprotected buildings or whenever they are outside.”