BIPARTISAN SUPPORT TO END BUSH REGIME PRACTICE OF PERVERTING THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

I hope you've been following the stories about how the rogue Bush Regime has been firing U.S. Attorneys-- each one a Republican appointed by Bush himself-- under dubious circumstances and for dubious reasons (like successfully prosecuting Bush cronies for bribery). Today the Senate Judiciary Committee, with wide-- though certainly not complete-- bipartisan support moved a bill forward to curb the Justice Department's assumed power to replace federal prosecutors. So far Gonzales has knocked off seven. The vote, on a bill sponsored by Dianne Feinstein, was 13-6 with Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) joining the Democrats and voting the interests of the American people for a change-- instead of rubber-stamping Bush Regime neo-fascism. The neo-fascist side was led by Jon Kyl (R-AZ).

No one knows how the mysterious provision that was slipped into the Patriot Act allowing Bush to run rough shod like this got there. Originally it was reported that then Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter had slipped it into the bill in the dead of night. Specter not only denies that but says he discovered it recently and agreed "We ought to change it back to what it was."
It has recently come to light that Karl Rove, Bush's political hatchetman, played a role in several of the unjustified firings and that political favoritism was the motivating factor.

The Democrats cite the firings since March of seven U.S. attorneys from Arkansas to California, some without cause, as evidence that the administration is punishing prosecutors whose work targeted Republican allies and rewarding those faithful to the GOP.

Gonzales has denied that charge and promised to submit every replacement for Senate confirmation.

Earlier this week, his deputy, Paul McNulty, told the panel that some of the ousted prosecutors were fired for performance-related causes he would not describe, while others were asked to leave without cause.

Democrats demanded the performance reports of all seven dismissed prosecutors and threatened to subpoena the material. McNulty cautioned that the reports might not detail any reasons for dismissal.

The panel's action came a day after one of those fired, former U.S. Attorney John McKay of Washington state, said his resignation was ordered by the administration without explanation seven months after he received a favorable job evaluation.

"I was ordered to resign as U.S. attorney on Dec. 7 by the Justice Department," McKay, who led the Justice Department's Western Washington office, said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "I was given no explanation. I certainly was told of no performance issues."

The Seattle Times reported Thursday that in his last performance review, McKay received a highly favorable report from a 27-member team from the Justice Department's Evaluation and Review Staff.