After Bush/Rove/Ashcroft the federal "justice" system is totally illegitimate

The CBS report on the miscarriage of "justice" that the political prosecution of Alabama Democratic Governor Don Siegelman represents has exposed the total corruption of the American government under Bush and the Republican Party. Dday at Hullabaloo summarizes the case itself:

The nub of the case is that Siegelman allowed HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to remain on an oversight board on which he had already served, and in return Scrushy gave money to a noble effort to improve education in the state of Alabama, an effort Siegelman approved of. That's literally the reason that Siegelman is in a jail cell right now. This is the kind of thing that, were it actually considered bribery, would put every politician in America in jail. The case hung on evidence that Siegelman walked out of a meeting with Scrushy with the check, a baseless lie spouted by a convicted criminal on Siegelman's staff, and the Justice Department KNEW it was a lie and yet continued the case. 60 Minutes tried to talk with the accuser, a man named Nick Bailey, but the DoJ refused to authorize the interview (he's in a federal prison).

There has been no doubt that the Department of Justice was politicized under both Ashcroft and Gonzalez to bring politically-motivated prosecutions against successful Democratic politicians so that the Republican control of government could be increased, but until now the republicans have been successful in concealing the facts from a media that simply hasn't wanted to search for the Truth. That's what makes the firing of U.S. Attorneys for NOT bringing politicized prosecutions has been all about. But cases like firing San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam because of her successful prosecution of Republican Congressman and her indictments of Brent Wilkes, Mitchell Wade and Dusty Foggo for corrupt dealings with Cunningham and others; for the manner in which Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Debra Yang was bribed to halt her investigations of corrupt Congressmen John Doolittle and Jerry Lewis; the removal of Arizona U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton because he was actively investigating corruption by Congressman Rick Renzi (crimes for which Renzi has recently been indicted after the investigation was slow-walked but did not disappear); and on the opposite side, how Milwaukee U.S. Attorney Steve Biscupic was able to hold onto his job by conducting a similar political prosecution of an innocent Wisconsin civil servant, Georgia Thompson, in order to create an issue to use to defeat the Democratic Governor of Wisconsin.

The prosecution of Governor Siegelman is only the most blatant of these efforts to use the U.S. Federal Courts to elect Republicans by falsely indicting and even imprisoning Democrats. In so doing, the Bush administration has turned the Federal Courts into a bad joke. Dday at Hullabaloo presents this:

Here's the state of justice in America.

It has been 20 months since Siegelman’s trial ended and no trial transcript has been produced by Fuller's court. This is in violation of the rules of criminal procedure which require a transcript within 30 days of sentencing. Siegelman can't appeal his conviction with out an official trial transcript.

The Attorney General, by the way, has said he would rather let the case go through the normal appeals process rather than open an investigation.

Kafka would be proud.

America could get better justice from turning the government over to the Mafia than it has gotten from the Republican Party. At least the Mafia Dons have a reputation for Honor. The Republicans steal more and lack even the pretense of Honor.

Here is why Carol Lam was removed as U.S. Attorney, San Diego

Nov 26, 2007 - The most recent analysis of record from the Wilkes trial gives Emptywheel a lot to discuss. This came from the transcripts and subpoenas in the Wilkes case. Emptywheel at the Next Hurrah has been tracking the story. Below are earlier posts in time sequence.

The traditional media will not be discussing this because the CIA, the Department of Justice and the White House all don't want it publicized.

Apr 27, 2007 - About that FBI Special Agent In Charge. FBI Special Agent in Charge Dzwilewski commented on what happened to cause Carol Lam's dismissal and the manner it which it was done. Six weeks later he retired. Asked if there was any pressure to resign, Dzwilewski said: “I can't speak for what's behind all that, what's the driving force behind this or the rationale. I guarantee politics is involved.”

May 08, 2007 - The Foggo-Wilkes Leaks.

May 11, 2007 - Emptywheel looks at the Leaks. About that DOJ Leak.

Aug 09, 2007 - In The Leak Wars: Revisiting the Pre-Indictment Leaks. EmptyWheel looks more deeply into the alleged media leaks and the connection to the trial of Kontogiannis.

Aug o8, 2007 - Carol Lam did not know why she was dismissed, even after she left. But Elston at DoJ accused her of leaking the reasons she was removed to the press. The Leak Wars: Elston Accuses Lam IN actual practice, Lam was fired because she was threatening to indict Foggo, the third ranking man at CIA and Kontogianis, an individual who the CIA was protecting because he had been laundering money they were using for operations.

How many top DoJ resignations now?

On December 7, 2006 the Bush Department of Justice (DoJ) fired eight U. S. Attorneys in a single day, stating that it was for performance reasons. This Pearl Harbor Day purge was unique in the history of the DoJ. The Washington, D.C. media made a one-day story of it, and moved on to more interesting things, like the latest from Nicole Richie or Lindsay Lohen.

The unique event and the failure of the Bush administration to provide a satisfying explanation for it must have bugged Josh Marshall, because he didn't let the issue go. Josh's refusal to let the issue go has led the Congress to look more closely at the DoJ and also to a series of interesting stories out of the Department of Justice this year. Let's look at some of the stories that have resulted from Josh Marshall's curiosity and refusal to let a good story be ignored.

Of particular interest was (and continues to be) the U.S. Attorney for San Diego, CA who had successfully investigated, prosecuted and imprisoned California Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (for longer than any other Congressman has ever been imprisoned) and continued to investigate Cunningham's briber, Brent Wilkes as well as the Number three ranking CIA executive, "Dusty" Foggo. Carol Lam's firing has all the appearance of being an effort by the Bush administration at Obstruction of Justice.

Next we learn that the U.S. Attorney from Los Angeles, Debra Yang, had been on the list to be fired, but resigned in late November to take a Partnership at the Republican law firm which was defending Rep. Jerry Lewis as he was being investigated by (oops) U.S, Attorney Debra Yang. The partnership came along with a $1.5 million signing bonus. There is a saying in Latin America. "Plata o plomo." Silver or lead. It looks very much as though Debra Yang, a 47 year-old divorced mother of two young children was given the option of taking the signing bonus or being fired on Pearl Harbor Day with the rest.

News reports state that Rep. Jerry Lewis has decided to retire rather than run for a 16th tern, although his office denies that he has made such a decision.

Another U.S. Attorney, Paul Charlton of Arizona, was fired because he was investigating a crooked land deal by Republican Rep. Rick Renzi. While the investigation into Rep. Renzi has been slow-walked since U.S. Attorney Charlton was fired, Rep. Renzi has just recently announced that he is not going to run for reelection in 2008. That is one short step short of a guilty plea.

Two more of the Pearl Harbor Day purge, David Iglesias, fired U.S. Attorney from New Mexico, and John McKay, fired U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, present a good case that they were fired for refusing to bring flimsy indictments against Democrats that would influence an up-coming election.

The cases of Iglesias and McKay show what happened when the DoJ tried to order ethical attorneys to bring politically-motivated cases to influence elections so the Republicans could win. They refused and were fired. Then there is the unethical U.S. Attorney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Steve Biscupic, who was on the list to be purged on Pearl Harbor Day until he brought corruption charges against Georgia Thompson who worked as a civil servant for the State of Wisconsin. This case was so weak that the Appeals Court threw it out at the end of oral argument and chastised the U.S. Attorney for even bringing it. See also NY Times gets it right! See editorial today.. Ms. Thompson was accused of a crime that had not occurred and was convicted with no evidence. But that didn't matter to U.S. Attorney Biskupic. He created an issue the Republican candidate for governor of Wisconsin could use to attack the Democratic incumbent, and Biskupic kept his job when ethical attorney's were being fired. [Biskupic remains as a U.S. Attorney today.]

There are more situations which deserve close investigation, but the real set of problems all go back to the politisation and mismanagement of the Department of Justice. See my earlier article The deeper problem revealed by the US attorney Purge.

It should be no surprise when Paul Kiel at talking points memo muckraker lists the recent top level resignations from the Department of Justice.

"1) Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, today.
2) Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty announced his resignation May 14th.
3) Acting Associate Attorney General William Mercer (the Department's #3) announced that he was withdrawing his nomination for the position June 22nd.
4) Kyle Sampson, Gonzales' chief of staff, resigned March 13th.
5) Department White House liaison Monica Goodling resigned April 6th.
6) Michael Elston, McNulty's chief of staff, resigned June 15th.
7) Executive Director of the Executive Office of United States Attorneys Michael Battle, announced his resignation in mid-February.
8) Bradley Schlozman, an attorney in the Counsel to the Director staff at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, formerly the U.S. attorney for Kansas City and a former acting assistant attorney for the Civil Rights Division, resigned mid August.

And, finally, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Wan Kim was another notable resignation (on August 23rd), although Kim's troubles were unrelated to the firings scandal.

High personnel turnover is a symptom of a poorly run organization. It is an especially bad sign when the guys at the top are all leaving at once. This isn't politics so much as it is bad management and an attempt to politicize the DoJ. And, like Alberto Gonzales himself, the major problems of the DoJ have come out of the White House.

Gonzales took over as Attorney General on February 3, 2005. It has taken him two years and seven months to literally destroy that organization and its reputation.

It is really strange that no one in the Washington D.C. press corps was curious about the Pearl Harbor Day U.S. Attorney Purge like Josh Marshall was.

Details on Randy "Duke" Cunningham's corruption and that of the Republican Party

How crooked was Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the most corrupt Congressman ever imprisoned? What did Brent Wilkes, Mitchell Wade, and the Greek mystery man, Thomas Kontogiannis, get for their bribes? Cunningham has been talking to the FBI and other feds from his prison cell in Tuscon where he is serving the longest prison sentence ever given to a sitting Congressman. The San Diego Union Tribune has just published a story with some of the bigger answers. George E. Condon Jr. and Marcus Stern of COPLEY NEWS SERVICE reported on two days of FBI interviews with Cunningham in February, 2007. The currently indicted Brent Wilkes, who is currently awaiting trial for bribery charges will be less than happy at the information.

Here are some highlights from the story:

Cunningham was able to promote defense contracts for favored companies through the use of legislative “earmarks,” provisions lawmakers could slip anonymously into spending bills without debate, discussion or disclosure that benefit interests in their districts or their political supporters Wilkes has said a $100,000 payment he made to Cunningham in 2000, was not a bribe, but instead was to purchase Cunningham's river yacht, the Kelly C.

“Cunningham said that there was never a sale,” said the FBI report. “Cunningham stated that he and Wilkes created the cover story of a boat sale to explain, if anyone ever found out and asked, his receipt of $100,000 from Wilkes.” Cunningham told investigators that Wilkes fully understood that there would be “no actual change in ownership” of the yacht. The two men agreed to divide the $100,000 into two checks because both “felt that the smaller checks might be less noticeable.”

The documents show that Cunningham had first asked Wilkes for $550,000.

“Wilkes said no to the $550,000 but then countered with an offer of $100,000 if Cunningham would ensure that the support and earmarks would continue to happen. Cunningham promised Wilkes that he would 'fight like hell' for Wilkes/ADCS.”

The FBI report made the point that Cunningham was clear about the quid pro quo:

“Cunningham stated that, by 2000, he had already been receiving numerous benefits from Wilkes that included such things as vacation trips, liquor, cash/maintenance money. According to Cunningham, in return for these benefits, he had been helping Wilkes/ADCS in their efforts to secure government contracts.”

This also sheds light on two other individuals known to be involved with bribing Cunnigham.

His [Cunningham's] admissions to the investigators – who were from the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. attorneys' office and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service – also shed light on the actions of others implicated in the scandal.

They include Mitchell Wade, president of MZM, Inc. in Washington, who pleaded guilty in the case but has not yet been sentenced, and Thomas Kontogiannis, a New York developer accused of laundering the bribe money.

Kontogiannis pleaded guilty to providing $1.1 million in mortgages to Cunningham for a Rancho Santa Fe mansion, even though he knew the house was purchased with proceeds from illegal activity. The plea was made in February but was not made public until last month. [Snip]

Cunningham was well placed steer military intelligence contracts to Wilkes and Wade because he was on the House defense appropriations subcommittee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

The story also provides more information on what the mystery man, Kontogionnis, did and what he was after from Cunningham. This further information comes from a 75-page affidavit filed by the FBI in support of a search warrant.

The FBI stated that:

• More than $1 million in bribes were laundered by being sent to Kontogiannis instead of going directly to Cunningham. Investigators identified at least 70 separate bank accounts maintained by Kontogiannis at only one bank.
• Despite all his many businesses, Kontogiannis has not filed a tax return since 2001.
• For the first time, investigators shed light on what Kontogiannis expected to get from Cunningham – help on a potential sale of fighter jets to his native Greece.

This was part of what the Department of Justice and President Bush were covering up when they fired Carol lam. The two following links provide more details and links.

• What is happening with the investigation into firing of Carol Lam, USA San Diego?
• CIA official, contractor, face new corruption indictments

Connections to the U.S. Attorney Purge

Today’s story tells of how and why Cunningham was bribed, but reading between the lines it suggests some of the links to the firing of San Diego U.S. Attorney, Carol Lam. U.S. Attorney Lam successfully prosecuted Cunningham, and as she was leaving her job after being fired, indicted two of the bribers, Wade and Wilkes, as well as the number three official at the CIA, Dusty Foggo. This story sheds a good deal of light into Wades and Wilkes.

This story sheds no real light into the case against the indicted CIA official, Dusty Foggo, however. The details of the connection of Foggo to this story seems to be concealed by the classified status of his work at the CIA, but the report that would declassify the relevant information is bottled up in Congress. See

• the indictments of Wade and Wilkes are being relatively actively pursued but
• the indictment of Dusty Foggo appears to be being slow-walked by the current U.S. Attorney in charge of his case.

Information on the "Foggo" part of the story is probably in the internal investigation of the House Intelligence Committee (on which Cunningham sat) which has been bottled up by the former House intel committee chairman, Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) and its current chairman, Silvestre Reyes (D-Tx). That report must have a good deal of additional information that supplements the currently reported information on the effects of bribing “Duke” Cunningham. [h/t to Laura Rozen.]

This story also sheds some light on how the related corruption investigations of Rep. Lewis (CA - R) and Rep. John Doolittle (CA - R) were sidetracked or slowed by the Republican politician through the Department of Justice and the White House. Besides the firing of U.S. Attorney for San Diego, Carol Lam, U.S. Attorney Debra Yang of Los Angeles (investigating Rep Lewis) was hired by Lewis' attorneys for an astounding $1.5 million up-front bonus and a partnership. Until Debra Yang took the offered bribe job, she was apparently on the list to also be fired on Pearl Harbor Day of 2007. This connection has not been adequately investigated or reported yet.

The broader corruption of the Republican Party

"Duke" Cunningham's corruption, while extreme, is not unique to the Republican Party. The only question remaining on William Jefferson (LA-D) is when the indictments will be filed. But Jefferson’s case is a single situation, one which has not brought out every defensive measure of the Democratic political party to which he professes allegiance. What is unique, and is demonstrated by the Cunningham case, is the list of extreme and frequently criminal measures the Republican Party has taken to bottle up and even derail the investigations and protect their own.

Rep. Daryll Issa (CA-R), also from San Diego, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General complaining about U.S. Attorney Carol Lam in an effort to get her to back off the Cunningham investigation. The timing of his action suggests that it was triggered by U.S. Attorney’s indictment of Cunningham. Interestingly, Issa's letter was supported by Duke Cunningham, Jerry Lewis, Richard Pombo, John Doolittle, Duncan Hunter, and Bill Thomas, Republican politicians who were threatened by Lam-led investigations. There is little doubt that Issa's complaint was a factor in getting Carol Lam fired. Whether Issa also complained to the White House is not at this time known. He certainly worked to sidetrack investigations into his fellow Republicans.

A similar complaint from Sen. Pete Domenici (NM-R) to the Attorney General (and to the White House) led to the firing of U.S. Attorney for New Mexico David Iglesias. (see also Domenici Says He Contacted Prosecutor.) Then there is the case of U.S. Attorney of Arizona Paul Charlton who was similarly removed as part of the Dec 7, 2006 firing. He was investigating Rep. Rick Renzi, Republican of Arizona. Several other of the U.S. Attorney's fired on Peal Harbor Day, 2006 were involved in similar investigations of Republican corruption.

Clearly Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was not similarly protected from the powers of the Republican-controlled U.S. Department of Justice.

Siegelman, a Democrat, was convicted last year of bribery and other charges. He began serving a seven-year prison sentence last month.

Democrats have long maintained that his prosecution was politically motivated, and recent allegations that White House officials were steering decisions at the Justice Department have added weight to the claims.

Last month, a GOP lawyer who once worked on the campaign of Republican Gov. Bob Riley signed a sworn affidavit saying she overheard conversations among campaign officials in 2002 suggesting that the White House was involved in Siegelman's prosecution. She has offered to testify to any investigative agency or in court.

Karl Rove has been directly connected to pushing the prosecution of Gov. Siegelman.

The documents in these cases all show that the Department of Justice under Alberto Gonzales was the action agency in the removals of the U.S. Attorneys, but it is clear that the White House (See also ”White House Backed U.S. Attorney Firings, Officials Say “.) was very involved and certainly approved the actions, if not instigating them. There isn't much documentary proof of this, but that is because the White House has been very careful not to leave documentary evidence. This explains why over 50 top White House officials used emails provided by the Republican National Committee rather than the official White House emails which, by law, must be archived and cannot be destroyed. Since documentary evidence is so sparse, the key to finding out how involved the White House had been will be testimony by top White House officials. Recently resigned White House Counsel Harriet Miers certainly knows exactly how involved the White House was. That is why the White House has to fight to keep her from testifying. U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales and "Scooter" Libby are also likely to be able to provide the evidence that proves how crooked George Bush, Karl Rove and Dick Cheney have been. That is the core of the battle against this White House, and that is what the Republican Party as an organization is corruptly attempting to prevent investigations of corrupt Republican Party politicians while pushing for selective prosecutions for purely political reasons against Democratic Party officials or for officials in Democratic administrations.

The testimony from Randy "Duke" Cunningham is going to be a real blow to the Republican Party. As corrupt as Cunningham was, the Republicans generally have provided a network of support to protect him and others like him. This goes far beyond just one man. It is the entire Republican Party. It has become a criminal enterprise rather than a political party.

---

Talking Points Memo provides links to

• The FBI report on the interview with Cunningham


• the 75 page FBI affidavit described above.


• The TPM Muckraker Duke Cunningham file


• The TPM Muckraker Wilkes file.

What is happening with the investigation into firing of Carol Lam, USA San Diego?

Josh Marshall explains the real problems with the firing of Carol lam, the U.S. Attorney in San Diego, CA while she was investigating a corruption case related to the Abramoff case that includes a Congressman, the House Appropriations Committee, high level CIA officers and high level civilians in the Department of Defense.



Josh explains why the firing was at the direction of President Bush.

CIA official, contractor, face new corruption indictments

The previous number three official at the CIA, "Dusty" Foggo, and the contractor, Brent Wilkes, who allegedly bribed him to arrange a $100,000,000 contract are facing new indictments on thirty charges of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. From the Sacramento Bee:

According to the new indictment, Foggo provided Wilkes with "sensitive, internal information related to our national security," including classified information, to help him prepare proposals for providing undercover flights for the CIA under the guise of a civil aviation company and armored vehicles for agency operations. Foggo allegedly then pushed his CIA colleagues to hire Wilkes' companies without disclosing their longstanding friendship.

In a June 2005 e-mail to the head of CIA air operations quoted in the indictment, Foggo offered to "use some 'EXDIR grease'" on Wilkes' behalf - apparently a reference to his title as the agency's executive director.

Prosecutors say that in return, Wilkes offered to hire Foggo after he retired from government service. In the meantime, he allegedly treated his friend to a Scottish golf trip during which they racked up a $44,000 hotel bill at the luxurious Pitcastle Estate.

Details in the indictment show that the arrangement between the two men began deteriorating in the summer of 2005, as the federal investigation into Cunningham began to envelop Wilkes. Foggo, who hosted a lunch in the CIA dining room for Wilkes in February of that year, allegedly instructed a CIA employee not to hire his friend after federal agents raided Wilkes Corp. offices in August.

This grew out of the Abramoff corruption investigations, and may well have been the reason why the U.S. Attorney for San Diego, Carol Lam, was fired. These new indictments replace the indictments filed by Carol Lam two days before she was forced to leave her job by the Department of Justice.

Details on Rep. Renzi corruption.

Emptywheel at The Next Hurrah concisely explains the corrupt land swap for which Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi is being investigated by the FBI.

It is becoming more clear that U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton was most likely removed by Gonzales' DoJ because of this corruption investigation. Charlton's objection to the Death Penalty and his efforts to get approval to tape record confessions by criminals (currently prohibited by DoJ policy) were excuses that Gonzales dreamed up to justify the real reason Charlton had to go.

---

Addendum 3:25 PM
The Wall Street Journal weighs in with a front page story on the details of the questionable and almst certainly corrupt land swap.

---

So far we have:

• Carol Lam - removed as U.S. Attorney in San Diego because of her investigations into corrupt Republican Congress persons Duke Cunningham and John Doolittle, and
  
• Debra Yang - U.S. Attorney of Los Angeles bought off with a lucrative job (at the law firm which represents Rep. Jerry Lewis no less) and a $1.5 million bribe signing bonus because she was investigating - you guessed it - Rep. Jerry Lewis. Now we have
  
• Paul Charlton - U.S. Attorney of Arizona removed as he was investigating Rep. Rick Renzi, Republican of Arizona.

Prior posts can be found by clicking on the labels "Lam," "Yang" and "Renzi."

Carol Lam was not an innocent victim.

An anonymous diary at dKos gives a brief recent history of Ron Nehring, the head of the San Diego County Republican Party before he was recently appointed head of the California Republican Party. He got Carol Lam appointed as San Diego US attorney, then had her investigate the then-dominant Democratic Party county office-holders publicly while the Republicans used those indictments to replace the Democrats with Republicans. His appointment as head of the California Republican Party is an effort to drag the California Republican Party back to the right, after Schwartzenegger went off the reservation and moved to the middle.

Nehring has tight connections to Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform, and was close to both Jack Abramoff and now-convicted Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. US attorney Carol Lam slow-walked the investigation into Cunningham, but he was so over-the-top in his corruption that she couldn't derail the investigation and conviction.

If I lived in San Diego I'd be writing a book about this. As it is, I can only get snippets like this diary (and Digby's discussion of it) as they reach the more national news.

Daryll Issa was a key in removing Carol Lam

Emptywheel at The Next Hurrah goes back into the details of what caused the removal of Carol Lam, US attorney at San Diego and the prosecutor of Issa's compadre, Ex-Rep. and now Felon Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

It looks like the California Republican Representatives were really afraid of Carol Lam, especially when the investigation expanded to Rep. Jerry Lewis.

Daryl Issa received an anonymous report from someone in DHS back in 2005.

"Issa, after having sat on the report for at least six months, suddenly saw fit to publish it--and do a media campaign around it--just a week or so after Lam's investigation of Cunningham expanded to include Jerry Lewis and Dusty Foggo. What a remarkable coincidence, huh?

But I wonder if there isn't another coincidence here. Issa received this document back in fall 2005, right? I wonder if it was anytime around the time that a bunch of Republican Congressmen from California wrote a letter complaining about Lam's immigration prosecution policies. I ask that question, you see, because a whole bunch of those who signed that letter are among those who were targets of what would be--or might have been--Lam's expanded investigation. The signers include:

• Duke Cunningham
• Jerry Lewis
• Richard Pombo
• John Doolittle
• Duncan Hunter
• Bill Thomas

A nice bunch, those CA Republicans.

I just thought the coincidence of timing worth mentioning."

A few more revelations like this and we will know why the White House was willing to do something as strange and inflamatory as firing the gaggle of US attorneys.

The answer begins to look like it was a case of desperation. They feel the noose closing in on them.

Who is running the investigation of Rep. Jerry Lewis?

Sunday I posted a story in which I regretted an earlier story (March 14th) stating that the investigation into the allegedly corrupt activities of California Rep. Jerry Lewis was being run from the US attorney's office run by Debra Yang in Los Angeles rather than the office of Carol Lam in San Diego. In checking my information, I learned that both stories are currently active in the blogosphere, but neither is well-sourced.

I checked the Press Releases from both the San Diego and the Los Angeles offices, and found no answer.

So I emailed Thom Mrozek, Public Affairs Officer United States Attorney's Office - Los Angeles and asked if the Los Angeles US attorney was supervising the investigation into Rep. Jerry Lewis. Mr. Mrozek replied "We have not made any comment on media reports concerning this matter." written in blue as I demonstrate.

This looks like an interesting story. But I live in Texas and know no one in California who I can call to verify who is running the investigation of Rep. Lewis. If anyone can verify that Los Angeles US attorney Debra Yang was supervising the investigation before she went to work for the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher who represents Rep. Jerry Lewis in that investigation, that is a big story. Since I live in Texas, I have no connections who can provide further information on this story.

If anyone can confirm that the investigation was out of the Los Angeles US attorney's office, please let me know. My email is jayray21@hotmail.com, my name is Richard and my phone is (817) 413-7236. I need at least one strong confirmation and I want two. I will respect and protect your anonymity if necessary but I need to know how you know.

Please contact me. Thanks.

McClatchy - Lam was set to search CIA officials home just before being fired.

From McClatchy Newspapers (who last year bought out Knight-Ridder):

By Margaret Talev and Marisa Taylor
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)

WASHINGTON - Fired San Diego U.S. attorney Carol Lam notified the Justice Department that she intended to execute search warrants on a high-ranking CIA official as part of a corruption probe the day before a Justice Department official sent an e-mail that said Lam needed to be fired, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Sunday.

Feinstein, D-Calif., said the timing of the e-mail suggested that Lam's dismissal may have been connected to the corruption probe.

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse denied in an e-mail that there was any link.

"We have stated numerous times that no U.S. attorney was removed to retaliate against or inappropriately interfere with any public corruption investigation or prosecution," he wrote. "This remains the case and there is no evidence that indicates otherwise."

I wonder if anyone with half a brain and a memory of the Bush administration that goes back more than six years believes Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse?

The more I see on the US attorney firings, the more I am convinced that, as I I previously wrote, the firing of the seven US attorneys on December 7th was primarily motivated as a coverup for firing the one they really wanted, Carol Lam. She indicted Brent Wilkes before leaving office and was investigating Rep. Jerry Lewis for the same set of corrupt actions involving the CIA purchasing and contract behavior. Lewis was Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee (on which "Duke" Cunningham served) so that goes directly at the House Republican Leadership. Then, because of the secrecy of the Intelligence expenditures, we have no idea what corruption occurred at the CIA. Now we know that a high-ranking CIA official was to be served a search warrant, and we know that the CIA number 3 person, Foggo, is being investigated. Foggo is, of course, a high school and college friend of Brent Wilkes who has already been indicted.

Do you wonder why Kyle Sampson, the Chief of Staff to Attorney General Gonzales and the person who actually "pulled the trigger" on the firings of the seven US attorneys, left that job so suddently? Can you say "Obstruction of Justice?"

[h/t to TPM.]

Who is Rep. Jerry Lewis?

This article from Congresspedia is an excellent summary of the situation that Rep. Jerry Lewis is in right now.

I might add that I wish I had checked this out before writing earlier that the corruption investigation into Rep. Lewis was being handled by Debra Yang out of Los Angeless. I appear to be wrong about that. He is clearly in the USA district of Carol Lam. My source was Laura Rozen of War and Piece, someone I usually find reliable, and I am not a Californian. San Diego? Los Angeles? Just two big cities located somewhere, and where in heck was Riverside County? I thought it was just east of Los Angeles. I swear I did. and what's San Diego famous for? Nothing, right? It's just "Hey, we're almost to Mexico!" That's like people who think that Texarkana, Texas is cloer to El Paso, Texas than it is to Chicago, Ill. It's not.

The connection appears to be that Debra Yang did go to the law firm defending Jerry Lewis, but based on the map it does not seem likely that Ms. Yang was heading the investigation into Jerry Lewis. Carol Lam would have been doing that.

Mea Culpa. The confusion appears to have been mine.

This is not any better for Jerry Lewis, though. He still seems to be as crooked as ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, just not investigated as soon.

Red Flag! Why US attorneyGate is extremely important!

Josh Marshall points out why the whole US attorney firing is extremely suspicious. One of the US attorneys fired is Carol Lam of San Diego, CA. She is the US attorney who investigated, prosecuted and incarcerated then California Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (Republican.) As Josh points out, there is more.

Lam's investigation (and the allied ones her probe spawned) were uncovering a) serious criminal wrongdoing by major Republican power players on Capitol Hill, b) corruption at the CIA -- which reached back to the Hill, c) and as yet still largely hidden corrupt dealings at the heart of the intelligence operations in the Rumsfeld Pentagon.

U.S attorney Lam indicted Brent Wilkes (briber of "Duke" Cunningham - and others) and Wilkes long-time personal friend and number 3 at the CIA, Dusty Foggo.(Here is a copy of the Wilkes indictment in .pdf format.) A related investigation of Rep. Jerry Lewis (CA - R), initiated by the investigation of Rep. Cunningham, is on-going.

The investigations ram-rodded by Carol Lam have been gaining momentum. Yet the DoJ claims they fired her for failure to get enough immigration convictions?? Please. This is classic coverup. Someone in the White House really fears those investigations. Otherwise, Lam should have been untouchable while she was investigating Wilkes, Foggo and the appropriations committee that "Duke" Cunningham sat on.

This is the red flag in the US attorney Purge. Lam was fired, even though the great risk in firing her was to bring more attention and heat to her investigations. And we now know who it was important to. Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General, carried it out, his Chief of Staff actually did the firings and now has resigned over them (sacrificial lamb, or as we might say, another "Libby." But when we follow the trail back to who started the operation it leads directly to G. W. Bush and his Legal Counselor, Harriet Miers. Karl Rove was also involved.

The other six U.S. Attorneys Fired at the same time as Carol Lam appear to be part of the coverup. This article I posted Saturday describes the second-level coverup of the Lam firing. Searching for the hidden reasons for which each of the group the were fired makes it more difficult to recognize just how important the White House and Department of Justice considered the Lam investigations. They hide the main purpose of what they were doing by firing seven U.S. Attorneys in one day, for a variety of reasons, then pass it off pass it off as though it were a routine personnel matter. They even had the Attorney General put out the word that it was only a routine personnel matter. This was just the first level of coverup. The search for the reasons for firing all the US attorneys tied the Press up so that the real, deep reason for the firings was obscured. It was a two-level smokescreen to cover the firing of Carl Lam and the removal of the threat she presented.

Assuming this is correct, the lack of tact and apparent tin ear for the politics of rather brutally firing that many at once becomes part of the PR strategy. It drew the Press to the firing of the group, drawing their attention away from the firing of Carol Lam. The Bush administration had to do something like this as a distraction because firing Carol Lam all by herself would have brought the same kind of reaction that Nixon got when he fired Archibald Cox, the Special Prosecutor investigating Watergate. Of course, Nixon had greater problems because he was surrounded by too many honest Republicans like Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. Bush is clearly in no such danger.

With a complaisant Press and a Republican-run Congress the Bush people could get away with it. They nearly did anyway, except that Josh Marshall over at TalkingPointsMemo spotted it, and has dug into it like he did the Trent Lott speech where Trent Lott claimed that America would have been better off if it had elected Strom Thurmond President in 1948 on the Segregation Plank. Again, like in the Trent Lott case, Marshall has now uncovered enough to get the big media interested.

The Red Flag in this US attorney Purge is that it covers up the firing of Carol Lam. The administration is covering up the corruption between the Appropriations Committee of Congress, the CIA and the Republican administration.

The Bush administration could have survived the Lam investigations, but with damage. They will NOT survive the coverup.

DoJ and US Attorneys clash on reasons for firings

The Senate hearings today by the Senate Judiciary Committee rather clearly establish that at least most of the United States Attorneys recently fired have been fired because they were insufficiently responsive to members of the Republican Party and especially to Republican political appointees in the Department of Justice in bringing charges against Democrats prior to the 2006 election or even earlier. The fact that Carol Lam (USA, San diego, CA) was deeply involved in further major corruption investigations against California Republican Congressmen is a dead giveaway.

Paul Kiel of TPM has been doing excellent work reporting on the testimonies. Here is an especially powerful report on questioning by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). It includes uploaded sections of the recorded testimony. Here is a key statement from the US Attorneys:

Maybe the biggest bombshell during the hearing was admissions from Cummins, McKay and Iglesias that they would have opened an obstruction investigation based on the phone call to Cummins from Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, if they were still in office.

Then, if you accept the story the Department of Justice witnesses presented, Paul K. Charlton, the US Attorney for Colorado was fired because he was too aggressive in prosecuting child molesters. David Kurtz at TPM writes that story.

The prior US Attorney for Maryland has given an interview to the New York Times about his firing for investigating close associates of the Republican Governor of Maryland for corruption.

This is a story that will only get bigger.

[I wonder how an impeachement of Attorneu General Alberto Gonzales would play out in the House? Or the Senate if he refused a subpoena to testify, or took the fifth?]

The story of the fired Federal Attorneys. What were they getting too close to?

A standard way of ignoring criminal misconduct has long been to label it "A Conspiracy Theory" and lump it in with the thousands of (mostly fantastic) "explanations" of who assasinated JFK. The problem these days is that the I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial has shown very clearly that there is a dangerous conspiracy at the heart of the White House in the Office of the Vice President.

Sort of makes it harder to dismiss an assertion that something is "Only a conspiracy theory" an effective way to dismiss charges when the Cheney-centered conspiracies are so clearly true.

That said, Media Matters lays out the outline of the recent firings of eight Federal Attorneys (a story that has been well reported by Josh Marshall and his TPM crew.) Go read it, and see if it doesn't seem to need to be more deeply investigated.