Partisanship at Justice

At least three firings appear fishy

Published March 17, 2007 at midnight

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Let us stipulate that U.S. attorneys are political appointees. They are expected to implement the policy objectives of their ultimate boss, the president.

And while most attorneys expect to serve for no more than four years, they can also be replaced any time at the president's choosing - for any reason or none at all.

That said, fairness in law enforcement is jeopardized if Justice Department decisions are made for crassly partisan motives. And the way Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the White House handled the firing of eight U.S. attorneys in December sure smells like a partisan job in which the true agenda had little to do with "underperforming" officials.

There's evidence that pressure from Congress or cronyism played a role in at least three of the eight firings:

• David Iglesias of New Mexico. In March 2005, Kyle Sampson of the Justice Department recommended the retention of Iglesias. In the coming months, Sen. Pete Domenici contacted Gonzales, key White House adviser Karl Rove or their aides on at least three occasions, complaining that Iglesias had not aggressively prosecuted voter-fraud and corruption allegations against Democrats.

Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson admit calling Iglesias in October 2006, inquiring whether indictments would be issued before the November election. (They were not.)

Sitting lawmakers who contact a prosecutor during an open investigation threaten the independence of law enforcement. And yet, Iglesias was added to the firing list in October. It sure looks as if the White House responded to pressure from Congress.

• Carol Lam of Southern California. During Lam's tenure, she emphasized corruption probes, leading to the conviction of former GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham on bribery charges. She also convicted two former council members in San Diego on a strip-club related bribery sting that led to convictions of three former Democratic county commissioners in Las Vegas.

The day the Cunningham investigation implicated another Southern California Republican, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, Sampson sent an e-mail to White House Deputy Counsel William Kelley calling Lam a "real problem."

• Bud Cummins of Arkansas. Cummins was replaced by Tim Griffin, Rove's former aide. Griffin has only two years' experience as a prosecutor for the Justice Department and the military. But he's spent more than 10 years as either a GOP congressional staffer, a press spokesman for the Republican National Committee, or a member of the White House political shop.

At a press conference Tuesday, Gonzales offered the classic evasive Washington response to criticisms of the firings: "Mistakes were made." He also said he would "accept responsibility" for finding out "what went wrong here." But if what went wrong is as bad as it now looks, accepting responsibility could involve a resignation letter.

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