Prosecutor Firing Tidbits: Phone Firings, Rejected 9th Circuit Bid, Iglesias E-Mails
Reporters taking an in-depth look at the Justice Department report on the firings of nine U.S. attorneys have uncovered some interesting tidbits about the way they were carried out and possible involvement of the White House.
The report released on Monday cited evidence that “partisan political considerations played a part in the removal of several of the U.S. attorneys” and said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales “abdicated” his responsibility to oversee the firing process.
A Washington Post follow-up story says new e-mail messages uncovered in the probe that led to the report hint at administration involvement in the firings. The e-mails by lawmakers expressed concerns about the pace of a bribery probe against a Democrat and a voter fraud investigation, all being undertaken by U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico.
Some e-mail complaints were sent to White House political adviser Karl Rove. The report said White House counsel Harriet Miers also appeared to have “significant firsthand knowledge regarding Iglesias’ dismissal.” Neither spoke to Justice Department investigators.
The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times published other highlights from the report, including:
• Miers asked about the possibility of firing U.S. Attorney Debra Yang because the prosecutor had rejected an overture to serve on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The suggestion was never carried out. Yang later joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
• The nine U.S. attorneys learned they were fired in a phone call from Michael Battle, director of the Executive Office for U.S Attorneys. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty disliked the idea of doing it in person because it would have been unpleasant.
• Attorney General Alberto Gonzales decided to publish a USA Today editorial about the dismissals to placate the U.S. attorneys, but it backfired after Justice Department computers went down and chief of staff D. Kyle Sampson dictated the piece over the phone. Sampson inserted this line: “While I’m grateful for the public service of these seven U.S. attorneys, they simply lost my confidence.”
