No Match, No Vote

Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark deserves credit for having her poll workers recheck applications, so voters would not have to cast provisional ballots. The No Match, No Vote requires that name, last four digits of a social security card and Florida ID match the voter application. If not, the potential voter either doesn't vote or has to vote by provisional ballot. Florida Sec. of State Kurt Browning responded by threatening legal action against Clark.

Karl Rove and the Republican Party have pushed voter fraud. The Bush administration politized the Justice Department. US Attorneys were fired for not being aggressive enough on voter fraud.

The Justice Department demanded that one U.S. attorney, Todd P. Graves of Kansas City, resign in January 2006, several months after he refused to sign off on a Justice lawsuit involving the state's voter rolls, Graves said last week. U.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic of Milwaukee also was targeted last fall after complaints from Rove that he was not doing enough about voter fraud. But he was spared because Justice officials feared that removing him might cause political problems on Capitol Hill, according to interviews of Justice aides conducted by congressional staff members.

"There is reason for worry and suspicion at this point as to whether voting fraud played an inappropriate role in personnel decisions by the department," said Daniel P. Tokaji, an election law specialist at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law.

In 2007, a New York Times article revealed the Justice Department investigation investigation found no voter fraud conspiracy. What is at work is repressing voter turnout. The McCain campaign is terrified ACORN is registering young voters (that will probably vote for Obama.) So they accuse ACORN is involve in a voting fraud conspiracy. ACORN's problem was a few greedy people getting paid by the application. Most improper voter registration forms are new voters making human error. Republicans believe young people and the undereducated will not vote for their party. So, the GOP disenfranchises these voters. That is why there is a No Match, No Vote law.

Rove using voter fraud allegations to help his candidate Perry Hooper.

Rove had other plans, and immediately moved for a recount. "Karl called the next morning," says a former Rove staffer. "He said, 'We came real close. You guys did a great job. But now we really need to rally around Perry Hooper. We've got a real good shot at this, but we need to win over the people of Alabama.'" Rove explained how this was to be done. "Our role was to try to keep people motivated about Perry Hooper's election," the staffer continued, "and then to undermine the other side's support by casting them as liars, cheaters, stealers, immoral—all of that." (Rove did not respond to requests for an interview for this article.)

The campaign quickly obtained a restraining order to preserve the ballots. Then the tactical battle began. Rather than focus on a handful of Republican counties that might yield extra votes, Rove dispatched campaign staffers and hired investigators to every county to observe the counting and turn up evidence of fraud.

That is GOP voting fraud in a nutshell.

FISA and the U.S. Attorneys Scandal

Nancy Pelosi has decided to let the FISA law elapse. On her Facebook profile, Pelosi wrote that she voted "to uphold the Constitution to uphold the Constitution." Pelosi and House Democrats showed the spine their colleagues in the Senate lacked. The House Republicans response was to take their ball and go home.

House Republicans have just staged a walkout from the chamber to protest the decision of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership to let an act that expands the government’s surveillance powers expire.

Talking Points Memo has video of Minority Leader John Boehner staging the walkout.



Part of the walkout was a smoke screen: Democrats and the 35 Republicans that didn't walk out voted 223 to 32 to hold Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers in contempt for refusing to testify about their roles in the U.S. Attorney scandal. Bush decided that his staffers were above the law and need not testify.

"This is beyond arrogance. This is hubris taken to the ultimate degree," Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in the closing moments of the debate.

Administration officials purged U.S. Attorneys that would not go after Democrats and bogus voter fraud cases. The White House wanted loyal Bushies to use the Justice Department to win elections. Republican Senator Pete Domenici personally asked Bush to fire U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. Domenici was angered that Iglesias would not (illegally) leak information on possible indictments against Democrats.

U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was fired after issuing a warrant to search Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo. A man involved in the Duke Cunningham bribery scandal and Brent Wilkes's prostitute parties. Wilkes was a major Bush fundraiser. Two days after Lam issued the warrant on Foggo, Justice Department Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson fired off this email.

"the real problem we have right now with Carol Lam that leads me to conclude that we should have someone ready to be nominated on 11/18, the day her 4-year term expires."

Nowhere is Lam's record on enforcing immigration laws is mentioned. Sampson admitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Justice Department never discussed with her handling of illegal immigration.

Boehner is helping turn the GOP into the party that stands up against enforcing laws. His sense of politics and policy are so misguided that he is helping the Democrats win more House seats. House Republicans are retiring, the party has a nominee that the base can't get behind and Boehner still wants to hitch House Republicans to Bush.

One Year Later: the Fired U.S. Attorneys

How are the fired U.S. Attorneys doing?

A year later, most have landed on their feet, in law partnerships or private-sector jobs where their compensation dwarfs government pay. Some carry scars from the experience. Six of the attorneys marked the anniversary of their firings at a private dinner in San Diego 10 days ago, where they toasted one another for persevering.

"The great irony of this is, it has hardly tarnished any of our reputations," said Paul Charlton, the former U.S. attorney in Phoenix, who hosted the reunion.

Charlton, now a partner in a Phoenix law firm, says that as a group, the attorneys have fared much better than the department officials who orchestrated their demise.

Meanwhile, Alberto Gonzales has a legal defense fund in his name. Gonzo is facing potential perjury charges. There is the question if Gonzales pressed the U.S. Attorney to prosecute Democrats to help Republican candidates.

It is interesting that lawyers fired for not being loyal Bushies have a brighter future than the most loyal Bushie.

Dianne Feinstein's Vote For Michael Mukasey

I have pondered what exactly did Dianne Feinstein hope to gain by confirming Michael Mukasey. She is in a blue state and a safe seat. The only effect I see is Feinstein pissing off the base.

Feinstein explained her vote in a Los Angeles Times op-ed.

The Justice Department is in desperate need of effective leadership. It is leaderless, and 10 of its top positions are vacant. Morale among U.S. attorneys needs to be restored, priorities reassessed and a new dynamic of independence from the White House established.

Feinstein is incredibly naive if she thinks Mukasey is going to prosecute members of the Bush administration. Mukasey refuses to say that waterboarding is torture to protect the administration. The White House will never nominate an Attorney General that that would tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others have committed war crimes. Mukasey is "effective" leadership only for administration officials wishing to stay out of prison.

Scott Horton reported Mukasey all but guaranteed to the Federalist Society no special prosecutor would be appointed for the torture or U.S. Attorneys scandals. Effective leadership, indeed.

Democrasy For America has launched a campaign to have Feinstein removed from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on a rework of the FISA Act -- the law that's supposed to protect us all against illegal wiretapping.

When the Bush administration didn't want to follow this law, they asked major telephone companies like AT&T and Verizon to help. Several phone companies broke the law to help Dick Cheney read our emails and listen to our phone calls.

They knew it was illegal. But they didn't expect to get caught.

Now that they did, the Bush administration is trying to protect AT&T and others from lawsuits by granting retroactive immunity for breaking the law. The Senate Judiciary Committee can kill this bill if all ten Democrats vote against it.

Senator Feinstein is the only Democrat who says she'll vote for it.

Please call Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid right now and demand he remove Senator Feinstein from the committee and replace her with a Democrat who will stand up to President Bush's abuse of power.

Feinstein ignored civil and human rights, alienated the base and gave Republicans a victory. This is a horrible political and policy decision. The question is why did she vote for Mukasey? The answer is Feinstein really is naive. She hasn't learned anything about how the Bushies.

Another One Bites the Dust

The U.S. Attorney's scandal is taking it's toll on the Republican Party. First it was Karl Rove. Then Alberto Gonzales. Now Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) will not seek reelection.

Domenici called Alberto Gonzales and asked that U.S. Attorney David Iglesias be fired. Domenici pressed Iglesias as to if any Democrats were named in corruption cases in sealed indictments. The contents of sealed indictments are not to be discussed with officials not involved in pending cases. Domenici was attempting to obtain information he had no legal right to. The fact that he called Iglesias at his home is unheard of.

Domenici wanted Democratic corruption cases announced before the election. He wanted a scandal to affect the outcome of congressional races in New Mexico.

He made a call to Karl Rove to have Iglesias removed.

At some point after the election last Nov. 6, Domenici called Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove, and told him he wanted Iglesias out and asked Rove to take his request directly to the president.

Domenici and Bush subsequently had a telephone conversation about the issue.

The conversation between Bush and Domenici occurred sometime after the election but before the firings of Iglesias and six other U.S. attorneys were announced on Dec. 7.

The stench of this scandal goes as far as Bush. The players involved are going to need good legal council. This could go on well after the next presidential election.

The issue isn't that U.S. Attorneys serve as the President's pleasure (which is true.) It's that the White House was using the power of the Justice Department to help rig elections in the Republican Party's favor. The witch-hunting of Democrats and bogus voter fraud cases thrown out of court were about keeping a political party in power. The people in the White House were sworn to uphold the law. Not use it to club opponents to death.

Alberto Gonzales Resigns

It is no coincidence that Alberto Gonzales resigned shortly after Karl Rove. Both were facing immense political pressure from the House and Senate Judiciary committees' investigations into the U.S. Atorney scandal. Both face the choice of staying in office and contradicting the testimony of others or seeking immunity. The choice isn't that difficult.

"Al Gonzales is a man of integrity, decency and principle," said President Bush.

The seal of approval from Bush was Gonzales's kiss of death. It was only a matter of time before the Attorney General was forced out.

“I do have confidence in Attorney General Al Gonzales,” Mr. Bush said of his old friend from Texas.

Bush's seal of approval did little to help Michael Brown, Tom Delay or Dennis Hastert. The President's loyalties and political instincts are so misplaced it's as if he is trying to intentionally screw up.

Fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias had this advise on the qualifications for the next Attorney General.

"Get an attorney general who's respected by the courts and by Capitol Hill and somebody who has experience as a federal prosecutor.... You need someone who understands that the attorney general has to say no to the president sometimes."

One can only hope.

USA Today has an Alberto Gonzales timeline.

Update: Here are comments from Florida congressional members.

Mel Martinez: "Alberto Gonzales is an honorable man whose life history speaks volumes about what’s best about America. ... Alberto Gonzales has conducted himself always with honesty, dedication and integrity. He is my friend and he is a good man. He and his family have my thanks for their sacrifice for serving during difficult times, and my best wishes for the future."

Bill Nelson: “We have an urgent need to restore credibility at the Justice Department. My hope is President Bush’s new pick will take politics out of enforcing the law.”

Adam Putnam: “The Department of Justice now has the opportunity to benefit from fresh leadership. What the American people need right now is an effective, independent Attorney General who will be undistracted in his or her efforts to enforce our laws, secure our borders, and vigorously prosecute the war against militant Islamist jihadists.

Martinez is a Bush loyalist to the end.

Update: Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ron Klein offer their opinions on Gonzo's resignation.

Wasserman Schultz

"We need an Attorney General who will act as a lawyer for the American people rather than a lawyer for President Bush- that is why he has a White House Counsel," said Wasserman Schultz, a member of the House Judiciary Committee. "Attorney General Gonzales was the antithesis of the blindfolded Lady of Justice; rather than providing a blind, balanced justice, he tipped the scales to the right. The President must now appoint an Attorney General who will serve as the nation's chief law enforcement officer and as defender of our constitution independent of political influence."

Klein

"The Attorney General is one of the most critical positions in our government as he or she is tasked with overseeing the enforcement of our laws, and the prosecution of suspected criminals and terrorists. Thus, it's essential that the Attorney General is a person that maintains our sense of justice and keeps Americans safe," Klein said. "Unfortunately, the retention of Alberto Gonzales is another example of President Bush favoring loyalty over competence and integrity. Strong, honest, independent leadership must be restored to the Office of Attorney General or else the American people's faith in our justice system will continue to be comprised. I strongly urge President Bush to appoint a person that meets these high thresholds of character and integrity when searching for a replacement to Mr. Gonzales."

Update: Litbrit has a post on Gonzo. She is surprised by Gonzales's resignation. I'm not. Both Rove and Gonzales know that a grand jury investigation(s) will go beyond Bush's term. The prospects of another Republican president is not guaranteed. They can't rely on a pardon. They need legal council and will likely point blame at Bush and Cheney. The President and Vice-President will hide behind executive privilege and run out the clock.

Karl Rove Resigns

Karl Rove is official resigning.

"I just think it's time," Mr Rove said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, adding that he was quitting for the sake of his family.

Rove has been subpoenaed for his alleged involvement in the U.S. purge scandal. Litbrit pointing to an under-oath statement by Kyle Sampson that Alberto Gonzales confirmed.

Gonzales confirmed statements by Sampson that presidential adviser Karl Rove passed along GOP complaints to Gonzales last fall about the alleged lack of aggressiveness by Iglesias and two other U.S. attorneys in prosecuting voter fraud. Gonzales said he passed on the complaints to Sampson, who at some point in the same time period placed Iglesias on the firing list.

White House official don't resign unless they are in trouble (Michael Brown, Lewis Libby) or out of favor with the Bushies (Richard Clarke.) It's hard for me to believe that a political junkie like Rove would want out before the 2008 elections. He is aware how vulnerable the GOP is right now. Resigning after being subpoenaed gives reason for skepticism.

Joe Wilson points out that Rove was suppose to be forced out after President Bush promised to fire anyone caught leaking Valerie Plame's identity to the media.

"Karl Rove's resignation signals the final chapter in the Bush administration's betrayal of the identity of a covert CIA officer. When this breach of national security occurred, the President promised the American people that anybody in his administration responsible for the leak would be removed. Rove, identified by the prosecutors as one of the leakers, not only was not summarily dismissed, but has been allowed to leave on his own terms, to praise from the President. This sordid tale of compromising national security to cover-up and distract from the false rationale for the invasion of Iraq will forever remain in history a black mark on the Bush presidency."

The Bush administration: words mean more than actions.

Update: video of Bush/Rove press conference.

Who's Who In U.S. Attorney Scandal

The Wall Street Journal has made a useful who's who in the U.S. Attorneys scandal.

U.S. Attorney Greg Miller On Purge List

McClatchy Newspapers reports two more U.S. Attorneys were on the purge list.

The two prosecutors who were targeted were Gregory Miller, the U.S. attorney for the northern district of Florida in Tallahassee, and Bill Leone, the former acting U.S. attorney for Colorado.

Miller has been a potential target for termination since February 24, 2005. The St Petersburg Times reports that Miller was shocked to find out he was on the list.

"I have never been asked to resign," he said. "Nor have I ever been told by anyone at the Department of Justice that my performance was lacking or that I was being considered for termination."

The question is why Kyle Simpson place Miller's name on the purge list. Miller received a Justice Department award for superior performance in public service. Much like the other U.S. Attorneys, the evidence points to Miller being a good U.S. Attorney. The Justice Department's statements of the purge candidate's performing poorly sounds like a cover story. Sampson knew as much when he sent this email to Harriet Miers and William Kelley.

I am concerned that to execute this plan properly we must all be on the same page and be steeled to withstand any political upheaval that might result (see Step 3); if we start caving to complaining U.S. Attorneys or Senators then we shouldn't do it -- it'll be more trouble than it is worth.

Another question is if the Justice Department had problems with the job performance of these attorneys then why didn't they discuss it with them.

"You're telling me something I didn't know," Miller said. "I never heard of any concerns from the administration."

Alberto Gonzales said that only 8 U.S. Attorneys were targeted for termination. That statement is obviously false. No one is sure exactly how many U.S. Attorneys were on the purge list. The Washington Post reports that 26 U.S. Attorneys were considered for firing. Other attorneys such as Christopher J. Christie expressed the same reaction as Miller.

"I was completely shocked. No one had ever told me that my performance had been anything but good," Christie said.

The White House replaced attorneys with hacks. Leone's replacement was Troy Eid. He had little coutroom experience, but was a member of the Federalist Society. Conservative credentials count more than judicial experience.

Impeach Alberto Gonzales

Update: Bush isn't budging on Gonzo.

"I frankly view what's taking place in Washington today as pure political theater," he said. "I stand by Al Gonzales, and I would hope that people would be more sober in how they address these important issues."

Nothing works it's magic like the Bush vote of confidence.

Update: Sunny has a superb post on Alberto Gonzales failing to prosecute Texas guards that sexually abused juveniles. Talk Left has more on the Texas Youth Commission.

Arlen Specter On Alberto Gonzales

Arlen Spector is hinting Alberto Gonzales may resign before confidence vote.

In a television interview Sunday, Senator Arlen Specter said he expects a number of Republicans will join the Democrats in a "very substantial" vote against Gonzales, if the measure comes to the Senate floor.

Senator Arlen Specter, 17 May 2007
Specter says he thinks Gonzales will resign in preference to having such a mark on his record.

Specter spoke on Face the Nation on the no confidence vote.

Schieffer: "What leads you, Senator, to the conclusion that he will probably step down before such a vote is taken?"

Specter: "Because of the likelihood of a very substantial vote of no confidence, and I think that if and when he sees that coming that he would prefer to avoid that kind of an historical black mark."

Specter said Gonzales was no longer a credible Attorney General. He will still not vote against Gonzales.

"I think the actual termination is a personal one for the attorney general, and also for the president."

A true profile in courage.

Paul McNulty Resigns

Carol Lam issued a warrant to search the home of Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo on May 9th 2006. He is an ex-CIA official who is linked to the Duck Cunningham scandal. Kyle Sampson quickly issued this DoJ email.

"the real problem we have right now with Carol Lam that leads me to conclude that we should have someone ready to be nominated on 11/18, the day her 4-year term expires."

Sampson sent the email to the White House council on May 11th. The two Justice Department officials Lam informed about the warrant are Alberto Gonzales and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty. The latter is now resigning for family reasons.

"The financial realities of college-age children and two decades of public service lead me to a long overdue transition in my career," McNulty said in the letter, which did not mention the firings controversy.

McNulty was probably forced oyt for not maintaining the fantasy-based narrative.

On Feb. 6, McNulty told a Senate panel that at least one of the ousted prosecutors was asked to leave without cause — Bud Cummins in Little Rock, Ark., who was told to resign so that Tim Griffin, a former aide to Rove and the Republican National Committee, could take his place.

Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers responds to McNulty's resignation.

“Mr. McNulty’s resignation is a sign that top level administration at the Justice Department may be crumbling under the pressure of ongoing revelations, and what is yet to be disclosed. With this news and as we press on with our investigation, we look forward to his cooperation.”

I smell another immunity deal.

Monica Goodling Receives Immunity

It will be interesting just how damaging Monica Goodling's testimony will be.

Lawmakers want to question Goodling as part of an inquiry into whether the Justice Department played politics with the hiring and firing of department officials. What began as an inquiry into whether U.S. attorneys were fired for political reasons has grown to include the role of the White House in the firings and whether the Justice Department officials misled Congress about them.

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Goodling's lawyer has said that, with an immunity seal, she would cooperate and testify honestly.

The cat is out of the bag about how the Justice Department handled the firings. What Goodling will be asked about is the role of Karl Rove and his staff.

Dana Perino Defends Gonzo

Dana Perino's explanation for President Bush's increased confidence in Alberto Gonzales in mind-blowing.

Q There were about 64 variations, according to some accounts in the media, 64 variations of "I don't recall," "I don't remember. So what about that testimony in which he said "I don't recall," some variation, 64 times, that made the President say he now has increased confidence in the Attorney General?

MS. PERINO: Look, Ed, I think that you had testimony that lasted I don't know how many hours, over seven hours, and so many of those questions were repeated over and over. And the Attorney General, who is an honorable and honest man answered truthfully. And I think that's all that we can ask of any public servant or any of us in this room.

Perino's reasoning is that Gonzales was asked the same questions too many times. She avoids dealing the the subject of Gonzales's faulty memory. That's not good spinning. Just a lame excuse about the performance of an Attorney General who had a month to prepare for his testimony. Perino also fails to explain what was it about Gonzales's performance that gave Bush greater confidence.

Even Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee didn't feel Gonzales was truthful. Any other administration would have fired Gonzales by now.

Gonzales Testimony

Alberto Gonzales had a month to prepare and he still lies badly to the Senate. Both Carol Lam and former AG Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson have publicly testified that her handling of immigration was never brought up.

Gonzales first said that the Justice Department contacted Lam. Later, Gonzales said that members of Congress contacted her.

Chuck Schumer asked that is it standard procedure to have members of Congress speak to U.S. Attorneys when the Justice Department has performance problems.



Gonzales gets hammered more.

Red Flags

The Albuquerque Journal has a must-read article on Republican Senator Pete Domenici appealing to the Justice Department and White House to fire U.S. Attorney David Iglesias.

Domenici first tried to get Iglesias transferred to the White House. Domenici called Attorney General Alberto Gonzales late last year to have Iglesias fired. Gonzales told the Senator he would do so only at the request of the President. The question is did Domenici's converstation with the AG happen after the Senator had this conversation with Iglesias.

Fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias testified today that he "felt sick" after an October phone call from his onetime mentor, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, asking whether indictments in an Albuquerque corruption case would be issued before the November elections.

"He asked, `Are those going to be filed before November?' " Iglesias told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I said I didn't think so. He said, `I'm very sorry to hear that.' And then the line went dead.

"I felt sick afterwards," Iglesias said. "I felt leaned on to get this moving."

Domenici wanted to pressure the U.S. Atorney's office to announce Democratic corruption cases before the election. What makes the story more chilling is that the Senator called Iglesias at his home. That is unheard of. The target was Congressional candidate Democrat Patricia Madrid. She was running against Heather Wilson. She also played phone tag.

Iglesias said Wilson called him about Oct. 16 and said "she had been hearing about sealed indictments. What can you tell me about sealed indictments?"

"Red flags went up," Iglesias said. "We cannot talk about sealed indictments."

Domenici took his complaints to Karl Rove.

At some point after the election last Nov. 6, Domenici called Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove, and told him he wanted Iglesias out and asked Rove to take his request directly to the president.

Domenici and Bush subsequently had a telephone conversation about the issue.

The conversation between Bush and Domenici occurred sometime after the election but before the firings of Iglesias and six other U.S. attorneys were announced on Dec. 7.

The timing of all this reeks of political payback. The White House is in damage control mode. Everyone's favorite email buddy Scott Jennings sent out the missive.

I just received a phone call from Steve Bell, Sen. Domenici's CoC, who is urgently reporting the following:

He is allegedly going to say that he was contacted by two Members of Congress last fall regarding the investigation into the courthouse construction corruption case. Information on this is in the following article.
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/19/federal-attorneys-plans-step-down-iglesias-investig/

This people are introuble and they know it.

Update: Here is Iglesias's Senate testimony of the phone call.

The Dog Ate My Emails

You got to be kidding me.

The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Congressional investigators looking into the administration's firing of eight federal prosecutors already had the nongovernmental e-mail accounts in their sights because some White House aides used them to help plan the U.S. attorneys' ouster. Democrats were questioning whether the use of the GOP-provided e-mail accounts was proof that the firings were political.

This is technological equivalent of saying the dog ate their homework. I bet the FBI can find those emails if they tear apart the White House/RNC servers.

Update: this quote really bothers me.

Stanzel said some e-mails have been lost because the White House lacked clear policies on complying with Presidential Records Act requirements.

Stanzel needs the read the Presidential Records Act.

Defines and states public ownership of the records

Places the responsibility for the custody and management of incumbent Presidential records with the President

Allows the incumbent President to dispose of records that no longer have administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value, once he has obtained the views of the Archivist of the United States on the proposed disposal

Requires that the President and his staff take all practical steps to file personal records separately from Presidential records

Establishes a process for restriction and public access to these records. Specifically, the PRA allows for public access to Presidential records through the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) beginning five years after the end of the Administration, but allows the President to invoke as many as six specific restrictions to public access for up to twelve years. The PRA also establishes procedures for Congress, courts, and subsequent Administrations to obtain special access to records that remain closed to the public, following a thirty-day notice period to the former and current Presidents.

Requires that Vice-Presidential records are to be treated in the same way as Presidential records

The responsibility for these lost emails falls on Bush. The White House must clear the disposal of records with the Archivist.

The Ninth Targeted U.S. Attorney

Todd P. Graves is reported to be the ninth U.S. Attorney targeted for dismissal by Alberto Gonzales and the White House. Graves officially resigned March 24, 2006.

One possible connection between Graves and Carol Lam is they both persued Medicare fraud cases.

The Western District of Missouri US Attorney office under Todd P. Graves had been active in prosecuting Medicare fraud. Medical Supply Chain, Inc.'s civil antitrust suit against Texas based Novation LLC, Volunteer Hospital Association (VHA), University Health System Consortium (UHC) and Neoforma, Inc. alleges the companies formed a cartel and were involved in a scheme to monopolize hospital supplies to defraud Medicare through payments to administrators and kickbacks. The scheme resulted in almost all of Kansas City, Missouri St. Luke's hospital's one hundred million dollar supply budget being purchased through Novation LLC. St. Luke's merged with University of Kansas Hospital after Irene Cumming, CEO of the University of Kansas Hospital was given a job by University Health System Consortium (UHC) on March 19, 2007.

Novation LLC is owned by the Dallas-based Tenet Heathcare Corp. The parent company was forced to pay $10 million in a civil suit. The company inflated prices to drive up their profits.

US Attorneys Leonard Senerote, Michael Uhl and Michael Snipes were also investigating Novation LLC. None of them are no longer with the Justice Department.

Jeffrey Barbakow of Tenet is a 2004 Bush pioneer. To be bestowed that honor means Barbakow raised at least $6.6 million for the Bush/Cheney campaign.

Why Scott Jennings Used Unofficial White House Email Address

Why is Karl Rove deputy Scott Jennings using gwb43.com e-mail domain name and not an official White House email address? Jennings was involved in the email exchange to promote fellow Rove aide Tim Griffin to be a U.S. Attorney. Congressman Henry Waxman is looking into the matter.

"We're a go for the U.S. atty plan. WH leg, political and communications have signed off and acknowledged that we have to be committed to following through once the pressure comes," Jennings wrote in an e-mail from the gwb43.com domain name. Sampson noted in a related e-mail that "getting him appointed was important to" Rove, then-White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers and other officials.

The gwb43.com account, and others like it, have been traced to the Republican National Committee computer servers, Waxman's staff said.

What hurts the White House is since these emails weren't on official White House addresses; the case of executive executive privilege is harder to make. The use of nonofficial White House email is a violation of the Presidential Records Act.

Defines and states public ownership of the records

The President can shield some documents from the public. Since these emails are not official White House documents and are the focus of a Congressional investigation that isn't possible. The White House screwed themselves trying to get around the law.

Update: The Los Angeles Times posted a correction.

White House e-mail: An article in Monday's Section A on White House use of a private e-mail system incorrectly attributed to Scott Jennings, a deputy to senior advisor Karl Rove, an e-mail on that system saying, "We're a go for the U.S. atty plan. WH leg, political and communications have signed off and acknowledged that we have to be committed to following through once the pressure comes." The e-mail was written by Deputy White House Counsel William Kelley using a White House e-mail account.

Sorry about that, people.

Gonzales Studies For Congressional Hearings

Alberto Gonzales is an embarrassment even by Bush administration standards. He makes Donald Rumsfeld look good.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has virtually wiped his public schedule clean to bone up for his long-awaited April 17 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee—a session widely seen as a crucial test as to whether he will survive the U.S. attorney mess. But even his own closest advisers are nervous about whether he is up to the task. At a recent "prep" for a prospective Sunday talk-show interview, Gonzales's performance was so poor that top aides scrapped any live appearances. During the March 23 session in the A.G.'s conference room, Gonzales was grilled by a team of top aides and advisers—including former Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie and former White House lawyer Tim Flanigan—about what he knew about the plan to fire seven U.S. attorneys last fall. But Gonzales kept contradicting himself and "getting his timeline confused," said one participant who asked not to be identified talking about a private meeting. His advisers finally got "exasperated" with him, the source added. "He's not ready," Tasia Scolinos, Gonzales's public-affairs chief, told the A.G.'s top aides after the session was over, said the source. Asked for comment, Scolinos told NEWSWEEK: "This was the first session of this kind that we'd done."

Kevin Drum suggested that if Gonzales told the truth he wouldn't have this problem. Even if Gonzales told the truth he would need his aides to tell him what to do. The Michael Isikoff article reports Gonzales is lost without Kyle Sampson and Paul McNulty telling him what to say. The White House had to bring in David Addington from Cheney's office to hold Gonzales's hand. I have less faith in Gonzales's abilities than Drum. Which his properly isn't much.

This is the man President Bush picked to be his personal consigliere. The blind leading the deaf.