Back in 2000, did Patriot Act-appointed US Attorney Tim Griffin really say he makes the bullets in the war against Democrats? Stay tuned.
Remember San Diego FBI chief Dan Dzwilewski? He’s the one who said he “guaranteed[d]” politics was at the bottom of Carol Lam’s firing and that her dismissal would adversely affect her public corruption investigations. He just announced he’s resigning from the Bureau.
A question from TPM Reader PE: “Did Sampson ever explain how names got put on the list? Who was responsible for that? It seems he just kept saying he just kept the list.”
No. No. And you’re right.
A slightly longer answer would be that on every delicate particular Sampson said that he was collecting viewpoints from various administration officials about their views on particular US Attorneys but that he couldn’t remember specifics and that no one issue was ever determinative. He also said whatever records or notes he kept about the process likely no longer exist.
Today’s Must Read: who will emerge as the most shameless hack of the Bush administration? A little known Bush appointee at the Fish and Wildlife Service vies for the title.
House Dems strike deal for private testimony from Justice Department officials.
More muck on Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons (R), courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
Your media. Behold the wit and wisdom of columnist Margaret Carlson on Bill Clinton:
“Only Hillary thinks he has changed his ways.”
Update: Don’t miss the exchange on video, where the buffoonery really shines.
Rudy endures his first real bad press as Presidential candidate.
A lot of people have noted today’s news that New Mexico Democrat Manny Aragon was indicted yesterday by the guy who replaced David Iglesias. This was the indictment that Sen. Domenici (R-NM) and Rep. Wilson (R-NM) wanted Iglesias to pop before the November election, to help Wilson head off the challenge from Democrat Patricia Madrid.
Now, the first thing to say is that I don’t know enough about the particulars of the Aragon case to comment on it specifically. But I will say that my assumption has always been that Iglesias was investigating this case as a very real and serious criminal inquiry and probably intended eventually to bring indictments. The article notes that three of the four people indicted had actually reached sealed plea deals earlier this year. So those may actually have been secured during Iglesias’s tenure.
However that may be, I would caution people against jumping to the conclusion that Iglesias’s successor has brought an indictment that Iglesias himself was unwilling to seek. Given how much wrongdoing we’ve found in this story I wouldn’t say it’s impossible either. But my impression has always been that the issue here was timing. Domenici and Wilson wanted Iglesias to rush an indictment in time for the election to help Wilson hold on to her House seat. He refused.
If we hear anything that indicates otherwise, we’ll let you know.