« previous | MUCK HOME | next »
Prosecutor Named In U.S. Attorney Firing Probe
Attorney General Michael Mukasey has appointed Nora Dannehy, a federal prosecutor from Connecticut as prosecutor in the continued investigation of the removal of nine U.S. attorneys.
The appointment comes at the request of a report released today by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General and the Office of Professional Responsibility.
According to her biography on the Justice Department webpage, Dannehy became an acting U.S. attorney in April of this year. Prior to her appointment, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Connecticut District for 17 years and served as a Professional Responsibility Officer.

















The WaPo headline for the past 24 hour has been that Gonzales "would not face a grand jury".
I don't see too much difference between facing a grand jury, and facing a special prosecutor who will have a grand jury backing him up as needed. Lying to the special prosecutor's investigation team is just as bad as lying to a grand jury, as Libby found out. Only this time, there won't be a commutation of sentence after conviction.
September 29, 2008 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dannehy has her job cut out for her; the Final Report has too many glaring ommissions. For example, the chart showing the targeted attorney lists and their respective timelines is incomplete. Why is Paul Warner's name missing from Kyle Sampson's "first" list? At least two other attorneys were forced out around the time of the Warner ouster but I don't recall their names. Here's a recap on Warner:
http://www.mncampaignreport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=354
http://firedoglake.com/2007/03/28/why-isnt-brett-tolman-in-prison-yet/
September 29, 2008 11:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Clarification:
The other attorneys weren't Todd Graves or Thomas Heffelfinger.
September 29, 2008 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's almost unbelievable that Mukasey followed the IG recommendation. That was too easy. This Dannehy person must be completely in the bag for the administration.
September 29, 2008 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
That was my first thought. However, and I could be wrong, doesn't a special prosecutor survive a change of administration? If that's the case, and I seem to remember something about that, Mukasey move makes sense. Better to have even a semi-friendly prosecutor then one picked by an Obama administration.
September 29, 2008 11:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
The other interpretation is tha Mukasey doesn't want to become a pariah in 4 months, as Gonzo did. At least he could say that he did what he had to do.
September 29, 2008 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah - the whole point here is to get a Bush Administration appointee in place before Obama comes in.
Obama will need to create a seperate line of review of the Bush Admin's rape of the DOJ, and give it wide enough marching orders that it also covers this.
John
September 29, 2008 12:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ah. I was amazed at the speedy appointment as well. But in light of the coming election and (hopefully) new administration it makes more sense.
September 29, 2008 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yup, pretty fast. I wonder how independent she'll truly be, what with being appointed by Mukasey.
September 29, 2008 12:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's not Monica Goodling's older sister,is it??
September 29, 2008 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you believe this Dannehy could be Gonzo's worst nightmare.
September 29, 2008 12:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm glad you passed that link along because it allows me to acknowledge that George W. Bush was right about something, and not just right but prescient: Rowland was indeed the future of the Republican Party!
September 29, 2008 1:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
I meant to send this: www.waterburyobserver.com/worxcms_published/recent_stories_89.shtml
September 29, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
She's a straight shooter. She sent our crooked Repblican ex governor, John Rowland, to jail for nearly a year on corruption charges.
I don't see her backing down if and when she finds illegal behavior. Those crooked republicans should start sweating...
September 29, 2008 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope you're right....
September 29, 2008 12:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Given that Prince Bushdar would probably do anything to make Alberto "Torquemada" Gonzales the fall guy for all the lousy stuff he ordered him to do, I suspect this prosecutor is the real deal.
September 29, 2008 12:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are you guys insane with FALSE HOPE?
Ain't no frigging way...this GOP bitch...is gonna do what has to be done.
When Obama comes in...he can get rid of her, or go around her.
THESE ISSUES REQUIRE AN FBI THAT YOU CAN TRUST...FBI HAS snitches...dirty tricks...bait and switch tactics (get the target dirty on something else, use that to coerce info on what you really want to expose)...Title III wiretaps..."sneak and peak"...etc.
This is...MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.
September 29, 2008 1:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ms. Dannehy is not a "Bush appointee". She has been with the DOJ in a staff position for 17 years which may pre-date GWB as governor of Texas. She appears to be well qualified to lead this investigation.
She needs to be given the benefit of the doubt and allowed to review all the information and use a grand jury as necessary to obtain testimony and documentary evidence. As most of the investigation will get done under a new administration, she may be more effective in getting reluctant witnesses to actually answer questions, which will lead to possible charges for one or more individuals.
With an Obama administration, there is zero likelihood of any presidential pardons. Mukasey was not involved in the firing of the US Attorneys, though he may have slowed down any valid investigation. It's likely he wants to get on with his professional life, whatever that may be, when his term expires in January. Alberto Gonzales looks like he could be thrown under the bus for this whole mess.
Have some faith in the system.
September 29, 2008 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Have some faith in the system.
What a remarkably naive thing to say. The DOJ is an absolute cesspool of corruption, from top to bottom and start to finish. They lost the right to the fundamental respect you're talking about a long, long time ago.
September 29, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Never thought Mukasey would stand up and do this.
Could he be getting nervous about some of his own actions?
September 29, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah what guest said.whats up with this login?
September 29, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Congratulations yet again to Josh Marshall and TPM. One regret: What should have been your shining moment of affirmation for literally making this story happen has been eclipsed by the bailout vote fiasco.
September 29, 2008 6:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dannehy-- is she a loyal Bushie?
September 29, 2008 6:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Have some faith in the system." jeez louise, thanks for that line; I needed a good laugh.
The follow up lines are endless, "Which one?", "There's a SYSTEM involved here?", etc. (Okay my lines aren't great, but...)
Unfortunately, I believe it wasn't snark...which makes me laugh again.
September 29, 2008 8:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Look her up on the Google. She appears to be the real deal. Who knows, maybe the scales are finally falling from the eyes of justice.
September 30, 2008 1:19 AM | Reply | Permalink