Emptywheel reports on data dump from DoJ re: US attorney purge

Emptywheel has been working overtime. Let me provide some annotated referrals to her posts on the Department of Justice data dump.

• Sara Taylor, aid to Karl Rove, threatened fired US Attorneys if they spoke out. Two days before leaving office, Carol Lam (US Attorney, San Diego) indicted Brent Wilkes and CIA executive Kyle "Dusty" Foggo. Two days after Ms. Lam left, Ms. Taylor contacted Kyle Sampson at DoJ re: NY Times article about Harriet Miers' involvement in Bud Cummins' dismissal. The following Monday Mike Elston, chief of Staff to Deputy AG Paul McNulty, at DoJ Washington called Bud Cummins and threatened retaliation if he went public on the firing. Links included.
  
• Testimony of Deputy AG Paul McNulty to the Senate. Emptywheel connects Mr. McNulty's testimony on the phone calls to the fired US Attorney, and he linked his actions to Karl Rove's White House office, the White House Office of Political Affairs. Links included.
  
• Why did Carol Lam think she was being asked to resign. Ms. Lam asked, no one ever answered her. Emptywheel considers what is known. Links included.
  
• "Dusty" Foggo is trying to get his trial moved. Emptywheel points out that removing Carol Lam was supposed to let the DoJ appoint a compliant prosecutor for "Dusty" Foggo, sort of like the way they did with the Tobaccl Lawsuit. But the "flap" that has grown up around the US Attorney Purge has prevented that. So Foggo's attorneys are trying another tack. Links included.
  
• Time line for James Comey. Comey is going to testify to the Senate tomorrow, so EmptyWheel presents a time line of his connections to the US Attorney Purge and to the earlier firing of the US Attorney Frederick Black. Black was removed as USA for Guam and Marianas Islands because he had started an investigation of the activities of Jack Abramoff.