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Wecht Charges To Be Dropped
The charges against Dr. Cyril Wecht, the celebrity forensic pathologist and prominent Pittsburgh-area Democrat, will be dismissed.
U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, a Bush appointee who had been accused of pursuing a politically motivated prosecution against Wecht, this morning filed a motion to drop the charges, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Wecht, the former Allegheny County coroner, was charged in 2006 with misusing his office for private gain. Last year, his trial ended in a hung jury.
Buchanan said in a news conference that her decision to ask for the charges to be dropped was prompted by a judicial ruling last month -- finding that crucial evidence was inadmissible because prosecutors' search warrants were too general -- which she said made it difficult to move forward with the prosecution.
But she had to fight off the notion that the case should never have been brought in the first place. "If I could have a do-over, I'd still bring the case," she said.
Buchanan had a role in the US Attorney firings scandal. Kyle Sampson told Congress that he consulted with Buchanan -- who from 2004 to 2005 ran the Executive Office for United States Attorneys -- about the Bush administration's plan to carry out the firings.
Though the Obama White House had announced its intention to replace all the US attorneys upon taking office, as is customary, Buchanan announced earlier this year that she intended to lobby to stay in her post. It's not clear whether the end of the high-profile Wecht case will lead to her being replaced.
Josh
Zachary
She has the mindset of the previous administration and must be replaced. Did she know the real reasons the 8 us Attorneys were being replaced? My money is on yes. Sampson is a wimpy wingnut and for sure would have told her. He is/was wrapped up in his own importance. I hope he loses his license for trying to destroy the other attorneys.
June 2, 2009 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
She should have been replaced on the 21st just for grandstanding.
June 2, 2009 2:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
grandstanding? youse guys don't know the half of it! This Buchanan robot was the freak who pursued the politically motivated vendetta against Tommy Chong, entrapping him and sending him to prison for selling bongs by mail.
that'd be like prosecuting Will Rogers for being an Indian.
she's the one who needs to go to prison, for aiding and abetting the corrupt Bush U.S. attorney crony scandal.
June 2, 2009 6:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Speaking of the US attorney scandal, is there still a total blackout on the content of that Karl Rove interview? No leaks? Really?
June 2, 2009 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
How long does it normally take to replace USAs when a new administration comes in? I had the impression they left except for a few who were retained, and senior career employees ran the offices until the new attorneys were appointed.
June 2, 2009 2:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Judging by many of Obama's policies there isn't a new administration. Just a continuation of the old, with different names of the doors. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
June 2, 2009 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is absolute denialist rubbish. Just look at EPA for starters. Already numerous changes and more to come. There has already been more positive changes in the past 100+ days than there was in the entire Shrub era.
June 2, 2009 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
DOJ announcement on March 14, 2001:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AGMONDAY, MARCH 14, 2001
(202) 514-2007WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888
WHITE HOUSE AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
BEGIN U.S. ATTORNEY TRANSITION
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Continuing the practice of new administrations, President Bush and the Department of Justice have begun the transition process for most of the 93 United States Attorneys. Attorney General Ashcroft said, “We are committed to making this an orderly transition to ensure effective, professional law enforcement that reflects the President ’s priorities.”
In January of this year, nearly all presidential appointees from the previous administration offered their resignations. Two Justice Department exceptions were the United States Attorneys and United States Marshals.
Prior to the beginning of this transition process, nearly one-third of the United States Attorneys had already submitted their resignations. The White House and the Department of Justice have begun to schedule transition dates for most of the remaining United States Attorneys to occur prior to June of this year. President Bush will make announcements regarding his nominations to the Senate of new United States Attorneys as that information becomes available. Pending confirmation of the President’s nominees, the Attorney General will make appointments of Interim United States Attorneys for a period of 120 days (28USC546). Upon the expiration of that appointment, the authority rests with the United States District Court (28USC546(d)).
June 2, 2009 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmmm... Mary Buchanan... Michelle Bachmann.... Too close to be a coincidence???
June 2, 2009 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
WHY ARE THERE STILL ALL THESE BUSH ATTYS IN THE OBAMA DOJ? (Sorry for shouting...)
When Bush came in most of the previous attys had already submitted their resignations and by June of 2000 they were gone. We KNOW the kind of litmus tests these appointees had to fulfill - they are Bushie Loyalists.
This is insane.
June 2, 2009 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Speaking of politically motivated persecutions...why isn't Holder doing anything about the criminal persecution of Don Seigelman?
I've even heard the AG in the case wants to up the charges and sentence Seigelman to 20 years in prison!
When is Obama going to sweep all the BushBot AGs out of office and get some people in who respect the laws of the land?
Below, from a CBS article on a piece from 60 Minutes...
“I haven't seen a case with this many red flags on it that pointed towards a real injustice being done,” says Grant Woods, the former Republican attorney general of Arizona.
Woods is one of the 52 former state attorneys-general, of both parties, who’ve asked Congress to investigate the Siegelman case.
“I personally believe that what happened here is that they targeted Don Siegelman because they could not beat him fair and square. This was a Republican state and he was the one Democrat they could never get rid of,” Woods says.
If Holder allows this terrible injustice to go forward, I will lose all respect for him and his boss Obama!
June 2, 2009 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
NOTHING has given me such a sinking sensation that the Obama Administration is a dismal disappointment as the failure to do anything about the Siegelman case and the failure to IMMEDIATELY get rid of the person most responsible for that miscarriage, Leura Canary, the US Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.
Not only is the current Justice Department failing to launch an investigation, they're taking the side of the previous Administration (sounding familiar?) and pressing the case AGAINST Siegelman. Even after several charges were dropped on appeal, they're pressing to INCREASE the sentence in his case from the current 7 years to 20 years!! Wow, this is too Alice-in-Wonderland for me. Screw Obama! This is a shame and a travesty.
Here's a May 15th article followed by the final paragraphs: http://newspirates.com/?p=3531
"Federal prosecutors said in a letter earlier this week that they want Siegelman to serve a much longer sentence than he originally received, even though an appellate court has already thrown out two of the charges against him.
They sent a letter to federal probation officers that recommended Siegelman be sentenced to 20 years in federal prison when he is re-sentenced. Originally, he was sentenced to more than seven years in jail.
“It’s evident that this team of prosecutors is biased and hell-bent to uphold this conviction and try to punish me as much as they can,” Siegelman said in an earlier interview."
This is truly "change" we can be depressed about!
June 2, 2009 6:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm happy for Dr. Wecht.
June 2, 2009 3:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is there a mechanism for prosecuting prosecutors who so abuse their offices? When a nakedly political prosecution is initiated, can the prosecutor be sent to prison for a nice, solid little stretch - nothing crazy, say, three-to-five. That will send out a message. Since political prosecutions are the hallmark of every tyranny, we need to send that message. And the sooner, the better.
June 2, 2009 3:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
But, But, But... Obama is more concerned with the appearance of bi-partisanship (which means Democrats pandering to Republicans since there has been absolutely no evidence of Republicans being interested in any bi-partisanship of any kind) than he is concerned about justice.
Obama fears that any 'interference' in the Siegelman case will be castigated by the Republicans as "partisan politics'.
.
June 3, 2009 7:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
I hope Eric lets her crawl to keep her job, then dumps her ass like a John Bohener bottle of bronze oil!
June 2, 2009 7:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
If she could have a "do over" she'd still bring the case, she says.
Reminds me what my favorite Pittsburgher would say:
"If frogs had wings they wouldn't bump their ass on the ground."
June 3, 2009 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink