Reap What You Sow
So Abu Gonzales, who is ass up and balls deep in the prosecutor purge scandal, has scheduled a press conference for 2pm EST today, right after his chief of staff fell on his sword as being the guy who drew up the list of names.
A quick refresher: The Justice Department, beginning in late 2006, suddenly started firing government prosecutors for what it called "performance issues," even though the vast majority of them had stellar approval ratings and solid careers. It quickly came out that the goal of the purge was twofold--to remove prosecutors looking into intra-Administration scandals (such as Carol Lam), and replace them with fresh-faced appointees chosen chiefly for their loyalty to the Republican party and the conservative establishment (such as Rachel Paulose). Thanks to the efforts of blogger-reporters like Josh Marshall, the issue started to snowball, and now Gonzales is looking like he's about to be claimed by the Annihilation Wave.
The New York Times succinctly summarizes Abu Gonzales' repeated affronts to the Constitution, privacy, civil liberties, and the responsibilities of his office. Yet again, this is merely emblematic of the Bush regime--cronyism, incompetence, political hackery, and disregard for principle in favor of opportunism.
Abu should go, make no mistake. But his boss and the inner circle--Cheney, Rove, Addington, etc.--should not be long in following him.
UPDATE: Well, it looks like Gonzales is refusing to resign with dignity. I guess, like Cheney tossing Libby to the wolves before him, he gave up Sampson as a sacrificial lamb. Looks like it's time for the lawyers to lawyer up.
A quick refresher: The Justice Department, beginning in late 2006, suddenly started firing government prosecutors for what it called "performance issues," even though the vast majority of them had stellar approval ratings and solid careers. It quickly came out that the goal of the purge was twofold--to remove prosecutors looking into intra-Administration scandals (such as Carol Lam), and replace them with fresh-faced appointees chosen chiefly for their loyalty to the Republican party and the conservative establishment (such as Rachel Paulose). Thanks to the efforts of blogger-reporters like Josh Marshall, the issue started to snowball, and now Gonzales is looking like he's about to be claimed by the Annihilation Wave.
The New York Times succinctly summarizes Abu Gonzales' repeated affronts to the Constitution, privacy, civil liberties, and the responsibilities of his office. Yet again, this is merely emblematic of the Bush regime--cronyism, incompetence, political hackery, and disregard for principle in favor of opportunism.
Abu should go, make no mistake. But his boss and the inner circle--Cheney, Rove, Addington, etc.--should not be long in following him.
UPDATE: Well, it looks like Gonzales is refusing to resign with dignity. I guess, like Cheney tossing Libby to the wolves before him, he gave up Sampson as a sacrificial lamb. Looks like it's time for the lawyers to lawyer up.