See it for yourself, the September 13, 2006 email from Alberto Gonzales’ chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, to Justice Department liaison to White House counsel Harriet Miers.
Fifteen minutes earlier, Sampson had sent the same email to the Justice Department’s liaison to the White House, Monica Goodling, asking “Any corrections?” before sending it over.
In the email, Sampson outlines the “USAs We Now Should Consider Pushing Out.” They were: Arizona’s Paul Charlton, San Diego’s Carol Lam, Western Michigan’s Margaret Chiara, Nevada’s Daniel Bogden, and Seattle’s John McKay. All five were eventually fired. Arkansas’ Bud Cummins had his own heading, “USA in the Process of Being Pushed Out.”
In the summary portion of the email, Sampson lays out his recommendation to use a legal loophole to install replacements without Senate confirmation.
“I am only in favor of executing on a plan to push some USAs out if we really are ready and willing to put in the time necessary to select candidates and get them appointed — It will be counterproductive to DOJ operations if we push USAs out and then don’t have replacements ready to roll immediately. In addition, I strongly recommend that as a matter of administration, we utilize the new statutory provisions that authorize the AG to make USA appointments…. we can give far less deference to home state senators and thereby get 1.) our preferred person appointed and 2.) do it far faster and more efficiently at less political costs to the White House.”
Sampson added, intrigiuingly, that he had “one follow up item I would want to do over the phone.”