2006 dismissal of U.S. attorneys: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:42, 27 March 2007

Revision as of 08:13, 27 March 2007

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{{cite news|accessdate=2007-03-07 |url=http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070307/oppose07.art.htm |title=They lost my confidence: Attorneys' dismissals were related to performance, not to politics |author=Alberto R. Gonzales|work=USA Today|date=[[March 7]], [[2007]]|page=A10}}</ref>

All of the United States Attorneys in question were appointed by President [[George W. Bush]], and confirmed by the [[United States Senate|Senate]]. A key issue in the controversy is the political nature of United States Attorneys' appointments. A 2006 revision of the [[USA PATRIOT Act]] amended the [[United States Code]] to permit the term of an interim U.S. Attorney to last until a nominated replacement is approved by the Senate, in effect giving the [[United States Attorney General]], the officer authorized to appoint interim U.S. Attorneys, the power to appoint U.S. Attorneys without [[United States Senate|Senate]] approval.<ref>{{cite news | author=Marisa Taylor and Greg Gordon | url=http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/nation/16555903.htm | title=Gonzales appoints political loyalists into vacant U.S. attorneys slots | publisher =[[McClatchy Newspapers]] | date =Jan 26, 2007}}</ref> On March 20, 2007, the Senate voted to overturn this provision by a vote of 94-2.<ref> {{cite news | author=David C. Iglesias | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/opinion/21iglesias.html | title=Why I was Fired | publisher =[[New York Times]] | date =Mar 21, 2007}}</ref> On March 26, the U.S. House overturned it as well, by a vote of 329-78.<ref>{{cite news | author=David Johnson and Carl Hulse | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/washington/27attorneys.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin] | title=Aide to Gonzalez Won’t Testify About Dismissals | publisher =[[New York Times]] | date =Mar 27, 2007}}</ref>

Another concern involves the actual reasons for the dismissals. Critics contend that the attorneys were fired due to a failure to prosecute enough [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]s (at the request of [[Pete Domenici]] and [[Heather Wilson]]), or as retribution for prosecuting [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]s (such as the prosecution of [[Randy Cunningham]] by [[Carol Lam]] or the investigation of [[Rick Renzi]] by [[Paul K. Charlton (attorney)|Paul Charlton]]).