Meet the Press tends to get me thinking, extrapolating, and writing.
US Attorney David Iglesias told Tim Russert, today, that he felt leaned on when Senator Pete Domenici and congresswoman Heather Wilson asked him about pressing charges against a Democrat running in a tight race. Iglesias should have filed charges-- against the senator and congresswoman-- for interfering in the judicial process. Domenici and Wilson should be criminally charged and should resign.
Iglesias tells Tim Russert he didn't even report Domenici, and Wilson, though, inappropriate and illegal as their efforts at tampering were, because of his "loyalty," Iglesias reports. Loyalty to Domenici, a mentor who helped him get the job? Yes. Loyalty to Heather Wilson, a fellow Republican? Yes, and also, to the Republican party? Probably. What about loyalty to justice? To the law? Iglesias is no innocent. He was fired because he just wasn't the total whore who put politics before the law that the white house wanted. He just violated the law a little bit. Yes. It was a part of his job as US attorney to report efforts to influence justice. He didn't do it. That was reason to fire him. His failure to act as a political hitman was not.
The fact is, as Tim Russert says, "in each of these districts a corruption investigation was going on."
Bush, through Rove and Gonzales, arranged for the chief prosecutors to be fired, taken off the job, removed from heavy duty investigations of Republicans. This reason for firing is not "at the pleasure of the president" no way, not ever, never, even though this is the despicable lie that right wing echo chamber members keep repeating. Whenever you hear the words "at the pleasure of the president" you're hearing someone supporting the spin campaign being orchestrated by the whitehouse.
John McKay, another fired US Attorney, in answer to Tim Russert's question as to whether Gonzales can continue to run the Justice Department said that it's up to the President and AG Gonzales. What a weak, cover-his-ass answer. At least, he then said, "There is a cloud over the Justice Department and that has to be removed." It's clear he's afraid to tell the truth, that he knows the vicious way this administration will make his work future toast if he just says what he thinks about his fellow Republicans in the Justice Department.
Of course, Gonzales was just the trigger man for Bush. President Bush is the one who should be removed.
When we look at the history of the US. This horrendous abuse of justice will be ranked right up there with some of the worst, most criminal acts by a government official.
Mainstream Media Collusion in Preventing the Corruption Story From Being the Top News
It is time for the mainstream media to be making the criminal firing of these attorneys as the big news story, not the battle between Bush and the congress. That's the spin Bush wants. Every time the news talks about the conflict between congress and the President, Bush Wins.
The story is about the worst abuse of the justice system in recent history. Bush's failure to pull Gonzales just makes him more guilty. This WILL be the lynchpin that leads to Bush's impeachment. We better get to work on Cheney, or he could be Bush's replacement. Cheney has to go first.
Getting back to Meet the Press. Russert comments that three of the eight attorneys fired were among the top ten prosecutors in terms of convictions.
He asks Arlen Spector, about Gonzales--
"Do you believe he has the integrity, independence and candor to continue..."
Spector replies--
"Integrity-- lets see."
"Independence-- there's a real question... I want to hear from him directly, vis a vis the white house, what kind of independence he showed."
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