US Attorney Carol Lam working out of the San Diego Office was conducting investigations of leading Republicans that might have led to Vice President Dick Cheney's door. Therefore, she had to go. But Bush, through his surrogate, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, couldn't fire just her. That would be too suspicious. So they had to fire several others as well. White House counsel Harriet Miers, the inveterate Bush ass saver from Texas gubernatorial days suggested firing all 92. They finally settled on eight including one to make room for a Karl Rove ass kisser.
Carol Lam made her reputation by getting three Democratic San Diego City Councilmen indicted and two of them convicted (one died) in a titty bar scandal. The Republicans were pleased with her performance up to that time. But then she started investigating Republicans. The San Diego Union had run a piece on Congresssman Duke Cunningham questioning the sale of his Del Mar residence to defense contractor Mitchell Wade for twice its market value. Duke then subsequently bought an even more expensive home in the even tonier neighborhood of Rancho Santa Fe. In addition to the bribes provided Cunningham by Wade which included a $140,000 yacht, the Duke-Stir, defense contractor Brent Wilkes supplied Cunningham with a lavish list of gifts including prostitution services. Wilkes' company, Poway-based ADCS, received more than $100 million in government contracts between 1995 and 2005, partly with the help of Cunningham, who sat on the influential House Appropriations Committee.
Carol Lam announced indictments against Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, number 3 man at the CIA, and Wilkes at a February 13, 2007 press conference a little over a month ago. Foggo had awarded Wilkes a multi-million dollar contract to supply water to the CIA in Iraq. Wade had previously pleaded guilty in February 2006. Now about that boat, the aforementioned Duke-Stir, it seems it was bought by Mitchell Wade for $140,000 two weeks after Wade, a man who never before had received a Federal contract, received a check for $140,000 from Vice President Dick Cheney's office to supply office furniture for Cheney. This is according to the Think Progress blog. A few days ago, Kyle Sampson, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' Chief of Staff, resigned. Think Progress had made public an email sent by Sampson in May 2006 that contained the following line: "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." The email also said it was sent at "Harriet's request." That would be Harriet Miers, White House counsel, who has a long history of saving Bush's ass. That's why she's so valuable. But more about that later.
So Carol Lam's firing was not politically motivated? Hmmm. The problem was Carol Lam had switched from investigating and prosecuting Democrats to Republicans! So yesterday Bush warned the Democrats not to subpoena White House officials. Y'all Democrats, he might as well have said, can spin your wheels, bark up wrong trees and go on wild goose chases to your hearts' content, but don't you dare come after my boys! Well, c'mon Democrats, let's cut to the chase. If I can figure this out surely y'all, who have IQs higher than mine, can.
...in 1997, Governor Bush secretly suggested to the chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission that she grant a contract to the client of a Bush ally.
The Governor’s back-door demand to the Lottery chairwoman was not so easy. Bush wanted the Lottery to grant a multi-billion dollar contract to GTech Corporation. But GTech hadn’t even bid on the contract - and a winner was already announced.
There was only way for the Chairwoman to carry out the fix: fire the director of the Lottery who had discouraged GTech from bidding because of its history of corruption.
The Chairwoman, Harriet Miers, did the deed: fired the Lottery director; Miers then ignored the winning bid — and gave Bush’s favored company the contract, no bidding, in perpetuity.
Why did Bush want the contract to go to GTech? Because its lobbyist, Ben Barnes, had been former Lieutenant Governor of Texas during the Vietnam war, and had used his influence to get George W out of the Vietnam War. In 2004, Barnes admitted the draft-dodge fix on 60 Minutes, the broadcast that brought Dan Rather down. Barnes picked up a $23 million dollar fee for getting GTech the lottery contract. In return he kept silent about his role in getting Bush out of the Vietnam War. The Texas Attorney General had a letter laying all this out. Why didn't the Texas Attorney General disclose the information it had or investigate further? It seems that well known Democrats such as Lloyd Bentsen and John Connolly had exerted their influence on Barnes, a Democrat, to get their sons out of the war as well. The moral of the story: he who controls US Attorneys can cover his ass very well indeed. And we come full circle to the current firing of non-compliant US Attorneys such as Carol Lam and their replacement by Bush team cronies who know on which side their bread is buttered.
Oh, by the way, my bet is that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will not be fired. Why? Because he does Bush's bidding. He's one of Bush's boys. And besides he stays or goes at the "pleasure of the President." So no matter how much of a dumbeat, how big a crescendo, in the final analysis, it's up to the President, and the President will just thumb his nose at the Congress, the media and the American people. And besides the real issue here isn't Alberto Gonzales. The real issue is whether or not those investigations initiated by Carol Lam will be continued. With a Bush crony replacing her serving at the "pleasure [whim] of the President," don't bet on it! But if Bush can make a deal - stop investigating in return for Gonzales' head - Gonzales' head will be served up on a platter.
Oh, if Congress and the American people don't like the principle of US Attorneys "serving at the pleasure of the President," why not change the law or the Constitution, whatever?
