And it just doesn't stop!
The news from Washington gets more and more bizarre. Now we have the firing of Federal prosecutors, with emails flying back and forth between the White House and the Department of Justice. Again, as with the Veteran medical scandal, it's clear that there were political considerations at work, with no one being concerned for anything other than finding prosecutors who were politically reliable and firing those who weren't pursuing political rivals with enough fervor.
But has been the case consistently, the administration first denies, then takes responsibility, then fires an underling, all the while insisting that nothing really wrong took place. Here's Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, at a press conference earlier this week, explaining that he's really busy and can't really be expected to on top of everything that happens in his large department, but that he takes ultimate responsibility.
what he couldn't possibly know, of course, was that his chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, had spent a great deal of time over the past six months planning the firing of the federal prosecutors, explaining to Karl Rove and Harriet Miers that firing all 93 prosecutors would create some difficulties for the Department of Justice carrying on its business. Presumably Gonzales and Sampson had little occasion to see each other and keep up with what they were doing.
Gonzales, testifying below, of course has no intention of resigning. Although there are increasing calls for precisely that from the Senate, especially since it's now quite apparent that a whole series of Justice Department officials simply lied when testifying before Congress. No reason to tell the truth, after all, when one is under oath. More important to keep the Adminstration's doings under wraps.
oh, and Mr. Sampson is still at the Justice Department; he's keeping his office, his computer, his phone, etc., until he can find more work. Suppose he'll have a problem?
And of course, today saw Valerie Plame testifying about the vindictive outing of her CIA status by the Administration as retaliation against her husband's having had the nerve to reveal some of the lies behind the Iraqii invasion. It's long been known that revealing her identity placed many people in danger; now she's talking publically about the recklessness of this vindictive Administation. More details and analysis on the BBC website, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6460227.stm
But has been the case consistently, the administration first denies, then takes responsibility, then fires an underling, all the while insisting that nothing really wrong took place. Here's Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, at a press conference earlier this week, explaining that he's really busy and can't really be expected to on top of everything that happens in his large department, but that he takes ultimate responsibility.
what he couldn't possibly know, of course, was that his chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, had spent a great deal of time over the past six months planning the firing of the federal prosecutors, explaining to Karl Rove and Harriet Miers that firing all 93 prosecutors would create some difficulties for the Department of Justice carrying on its business. Presumably Gonzales and Sampson had little occasion to see each other and keep up with what they were doing.
Gonzales, testifying below, of course has no intention of resigning. Although there are increasing calls for precisely that from the Senate, especially since it's now quite apparent that a whole series of Justice Department officials simply lied when testifying before Congress. No reason to tell the truth, after all, when one is under oath. More important to keep the Adminstration's doings under wraps.
oh, and Mr. Sampson is still at the Justice Department; he's keeping his office, his computer, his phone, etc., until he can find more work. Suppose he'll have a problem?
And of course, today saw Valerie Plame testifying about the vindictive outing of her CIA status by the Administration as retaliation against her husband's having had the nerve to reveal some of the lies behind the Iraqii invasion. It's long been known that revealing her identity placed many people in danger; now she's talking publically about the recklessness of this vindictive Administation. More details and analysis on the BBC website, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6460227.stm
posted by aim | 8:25 PM
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