The charges are almost invariably debunked -- by courts, by prosecutors, by state elections officials and by local newspapers that probe beyond partisan screeching and get down to the facts.
The McClatchy newspapers of California scored a major coup when they linked Karl Rove and failed Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers to new Arkansas US Attorney Bud Cummins. Talk about election fraud connections, Cummins was instrumental in the voter suppression technique called voter “caging” in 2000. Greg Palast – “A Criminal for US Attorney?”
A look at what's behind the U.S. attorney flap
Ron Hutcheson, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo
McClatchy Newspapers
March 16, 2006
WASHINGTON - Suspicions about political influence in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year focus on a handful of cases. Here's a look at the dismissals that are drawing the most attention:
Former U.S. Attorney H.E. "Bud" Cummins lost his job in Arkansas to make room for Tim Griffin, a Republican political operative and a protégé of presidential aide Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser. E-mails indicate that Rove and then-White House counsel Harriet Miers pushed the Justice Department to give Griffin the Arkansas job.
Cummins resigned without protest, and administration officials haven't explained why they were so intent on putting Griffin in the job.
Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, who was fired in New Mexico, has been outspoken in his belief that politics played a role in his ouster.
Republican officials in his state complained to the White House and to the Justice Department that he wasn't aggressive enough in pursuing voter-fraud allegations against Democrats. Republicans were also upset that Iglesias resisted pressure to indict Democratic officials on corruption charges before the November election.
At the end of the week, the New York Times bats cleanup and nails it. They quote prosecutor McKay’s reason for not filing voter fraud charges in the 2004 Washington Governors race: “There was no evidence for it.” The Times is not the last word, however.
Phony Fraud Charges
New York Times Editorial
March 16, 2007
In partisan Republican circles, the pursuit of voter fraud is code for suppressing the votes of minorities and poor people. By resisting pressure to crack down on “fraud,” the fired United States attorneys actually appear to have been standing up for the integrity of the election system.
John McKay, one of the fired attorneys, says he was pressured by Republicans to bring voter fraud charges after the 2004 Washington governor’s race, which a Democrat, Christine Gregoire, won after two recounts. Republicans were trying to overturn an election result they did not like, but Mr. McKay refused to go along. “There was no evidence,” he said, “and I am not going to drag innocent people in front of a grand jury.”
Now we’re moving out of the election fraud arena on to the impeachment battlefield. Gonzales is a long time Bush political ally and operative. Gonzales saw to it that Bush did not have to pull jury duty when he was Governor of Texas. Had he failed, the court would have taken an oath from Bush on past crimes (e.g., the Maine drunk driving charges). Gonzales was there for the presidential actions that involved violating everyone’s Constitutional rights, the illegal war, etc., etc.
When you’re ready to dump a guy like that, you’re in serious trouble. Bush is now in his last desperate struggle to stay in office. Throwing Gonzales over the side is a move he may have to make even though he knows it’s a risky one. He also knows that there’s an outside chance that letting Gonzo take the fall for these firings when again, it’s Rove. This may turn into a disaster of epic proportions if Gonzo every talks on the record.
Gonzales’ plight puts Bush at risk
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