Comments (55)

slouch wrote on March 8, 2007 3:36 PM:

The blame for the controversy rests with WHOM?

Nice try Arlen...

PLEASE, Somebody ROAST him for this one!

ccinnc wrote on March 8, 2007 3:39 PM:

It's like every day is Christmas this week. I love it.

Meantime, Rove is saying OF COURSE we'll get the new USAs confirmed! We were the ones who fixed the system to eliminate "constitutional challenges". What a load of BS.

Robin Boerner wrote on March 8, 2007 3:41 PM:

Sounds like Bush is going to "Libby" Gonzales to save his own ass. I wonder if it's a done deal yet?

skeptic wrote on March 8, 2007 3:46 PM:

i've given up believing that specter is anything at this point but all bark and no bite. he's been talking tough for a couple of years now, then laying down and doing the white house's bidding when the chips were down.

Redshift wrote on March 8, 2007 3:46 PM:

If Sen. Specter calls for Gonzales' resignation, and initiates impeachment proceedings against him if he refuses, I think I could forgive him for the Patriot Act shenanigans that allowed the US Attorney purge.

NCBlueneck wrote on March 8, 2007 3:47 PM:

Arlen "Warren Commission" Specter's staff wrote the damn legislation that let Torture Boy do his dirty deeds. Boy, talk about the the pot calling the kettle black! STFU Arlen! Or do the noble thing and resign. Any semblance of integrity has long since turned into a sick, sad caricature.

Anonymous wrote on March 8, 2007 3:48 PM:

What about Specter's Patriot act provision which enabled this whole stinking scandal?

He still can't seem to find which if his staffers slipped the provision in, supposedly without his knowledge right?

Wasn't one of the first replacements an inexperienced Rove stooge, which they hoped to get past without confirmation hearings, made possible exactly because of Specter's Patriot provision?

Look at the way Specter harangued Iglacias. Yeah, he really wants to investigate down to himself at the root of this scandal.

Here's some ideas:

1) Question Specter's involvemtn in all of this.
2) Demand he find out who the hell on his staff put the enabling provision in.
3) get that person to testify under oath whether specter knew about it and has been lying this whole time. (obvious yes)
4) remove Specter's name from the provision correcting the malfeasant provision. Covering one's ass after malfeasance shouldn't be so easy.
5) stop Specter from stonewalling investigation and force him to virtually recuse himself for conflict of interest.

It's time to put an end to this stuff. No more half measures and letting the worst transgressions slide.

We need ethics reform, now.

drew wrote on March 8, 2007 3:51 PM:

C'mon... how many times have we heard this paper tiger roar? Methinks you doth protest too much sir! Specter is the master at churning frothing press hype into tepid obfiscation and then cold irrelvance. I am not impressed by his feigned dissappointment AT ALL. He has done this so very many times in the last 6 years, and it is time for it to stop. The fact that his (Specter's) office inserted this amendment to the Patriot Act reeks the designs of AG, Rove, Cheney and other sycophants of this criminal regime. Just ask yourself - Why isn't Specter explaining himself? How did it get there? Who put it in? Why did they do it? Whyt are they not testifying in front of Congress? This guy is one of the world champion liars, lets hope our press chor doesn't believe him yet again.

Legalize wrote on March 8, 2007 3:58 PM:

Yeah, thanks, Arlen.

slb wrote on March 8, 2007 4:01 PM:

The proof is in the pudding: How many of these Senate Republicans who are making noises about their displeasure over the USAtty purge are willing to sign on to a measure to revoke the provision that allowed Gonzalez to appoint permanent interims in the first place, and to lean on enough of their Republican colleagues to do the same to come up with a veto-proof majority?

If they're not willing to do that, I'm not impressed with their "displeasure" -- that would make it clear that what they were displeased with was not the purge per se, but the bungled implementation of it that forced it into the public eye.

EasyRider wrote on March 8, 2007 4:01 PM:

Specter and Sound Bite Tom Davis are the masters of creating sound bites then doing nothing.

Specter and PATRIOT wrote on March 8, 2007 4:02 PM:

"i've given up believing that specter is anything at this point but all bark and no bite. he's been talking tough for a couple of years now, then laying down and doing the white house's bidding when the chips were down."

Right. Every time he rolls over for the WH and then goes the extra mile to ingratiate himself the next time. The guy is a complete phony.

This time it was the PATRIOT act provision to indefinitely postpone conformation hearings, which is unethical on the face of it, and prompted this whole purge and the appointment of tools like the inexperienced Rove stooge.

He's since been denying he even knows what aide from his office put the provision in. Could he be any more full of shit?

Enough already!

Specter can't continue having it both ways, playing the independent while consistently doing the dirty work for the WH in DoJ related matters.

Now he's essentially investigating himself in the USA scandal, while patting himself on the back for offering a bill to remove the stink he put in the PATRIOT act, which he still denies, after the damage is already done.

Could the guy be any more the hypocrite and tool of the WH? Enough already!

Noam Sane wrote on March 8, 2007 4:09 PM:

Specter: in like a lion, out like a lamb.

Seen this too many times to count.

Don't put stock in any "outrage" from Specter. It will be gone tomorrow.

daCascadian wrote on March 8, 2007 4:12 PM:

ccinnc >"It's like every day is Christmas this week..."

Does seem like that doesn`t it ?

I`m really hoping for a very, very extended Christmas, say oh through 2010 or so

"All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out." - I.F. Stone

AmIDreaming wrote on March 8, 2007 4:13 PM:

Never forget: Specter is the inventor of the Magic Bullet. What a fraud.

Mooser wrote on March 8, 2007 4:21 PM:

Why shouldn't Gonzales "spend more time with his family". He's certainly done all that can be expected of one man.
He can go soon and be proud of the mess he made, and apply for wing-nut welfare after a decent interval.

EH wrote on March 8, 2007 4:28 PM:

I agree with those above, I'll believe Specter is taking action when I see it.

Traditionally, what stage of an administration crisis is indicated by Specter rolling out his platitudes?

Ian wrote on March 8, 2007 4:28 PM:

While publicly decrying the demise of civil liberties, judicial independence, blah, blah, Arlen is working behind the scenes to dismantle the very system his bluster says he's protecting.

Very clear he's got a huge conflict of interest here. He should NOT be investigating this. (Just look at his questioning of Iglesias if you want to see where his sympathies really lie.) He is responsible for the whole mess--either indirectly or directly.

He needs to be made accountable. Instead of reporting his bluster, news agencies need to start putting him on the spot. Ask him questions. Make him recuse himself from this investigation.

EasyRider wrote on March 8, 2007 4:33 PM:

Impeach the criminals, even those in Congress who empowered the criminals in the White House. Vote the censure and remove them from office.

lol security code, how would you finish this?

mother

answer:

xxxxxxx

cevrero wrote on March 8, 2007 4:40 PM:

Headline:
SPECTOR BLAMES DOJ FOR USING A PROVISION HE UNKNOWINGLY SNEAKED INTO LAW.

now thats politics!!!

Chesire11 wrote on March 8, 2007 4:45 PM:

Talk is cheap, Arlen, especially yours.

Anonymous wrote on March 8, 2007 4:49 PM:

"SPECTOR BLAMES DOJ FOR USING A PROVISION HE UNKNOWINGLY SNEAKED INTO LAW."

Yeah, except you've got to put "unknowingly" in quotes, for the ludicrous claim it is.

How about a staffer slips the "All Citizens Free to Legally Tar and Feather Specter's Lying Ass" provision into PATRIOT? Somehow I suspect that's a mistake not going to happen. Erosions of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances though, sure, no problem.

This whole thing is a farce. Specter investigating himself.

Ad Absurdum wrote on March 8, 2007 4:58 PM:

I understand Specter's not investigating himself. However, it's inexcusable that Democratic senators have not demanded any form of investigation of Specter or even an explanation from him. Our outrage must also be directed at the silent Democrats.

Dennis wrote on March 8, 2007 4:59 PM:

Let's see, Gonzales is going to be the scapegoat for Specter's discovered agenda on the so-called Patriot Act(s)? Does anyone really believe that there wasn't any prior understanding between Specter and the White House on that little "slipped in" agenda?

You don't have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

Say it Ain't So! wrote on March 8, 2007 5:07 PM:

I'm reminded by all of this of the baseball scandals of the gilded age for some reason.

It's all a farce to investigate trivia while the real crooks sit in offices, in government and the private sector.

We're headed for another depression probably, with the housing sector in shambles, the consumer economy leveraged on mortgage refinancing, and the Chinese and others ready to dump the dollar if things get much worse. They've already signaled small sell offs.

Meanwhile government is in corporate pockets again, labor and the middle class are hurting while the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Nobody is looking out for the good of the country, it's all about grabbing all one can before the wheels fall off.

Government ethics are a bad joke. Everything is being deregulated. Tax cuts for the wealthy can't pass quick enough. The environment is going to hell. We're mired in war. All just like the Gilded Age right before the collapse.

And once again Congress rushes to investigate baseball scandals, while stonewalling the most important issues of ethics, corruption, reform and and good governance.

lordpie wrote on March 8, 2007 5:08 PM:

an investigation? maybe the Dems should have read the bill in the first place

justintime wrote on March 8, 2007 5:08 PM:

1. We demand the impeachment of Alberto Gonzales.

2. We demand those fired prosecutors be placed back in their offices.
We need them to followup on their investigations.

3. We demand that Arlen Spector spearhead the repeal of that secret provision his office slipped into the Patriot Act. "Arlen, your office screwed this up.
You fix it. If you fail, just resign."

Ian wrote on March 8, 2007 5:10 PM:

It would be really interesting if someone would chart times when Arlen has tough-talked an issue, only to back down or completely work at odds to his words behind the scenes. This certainly isn't the first example.

His mock-rage is galling.

some day? How about yesterday! wrote on March 8, 2007 5:13 PM:

" Gonzales is going to be the scapegoat for Specter's discovered agenda on the so-called Patriot Act "

He's not going to be the scapegoat at all. If anything he's a distraction at most.

Gonzalez is obviously a bald faced liar and unqualified for the job anyways. Nobody likes Gonzalez to begin with. So it's no big loss to say he won't be around "some day."

Some day? So what?

We're supposed to take that empty platitude as the needed retribution for this miscarriage of justice and blatant plot to rig the offices of USA?

What a joke specter is. Dems can only be more a joke if they lay down and let this travesty roll over them.

Anonymous wrote on March 8, 2007 5:18 PM:

"an investigation? maybe the Dems should have read the bill in the first place"

True, but to be fair it's been absurd how Republicans have made a habit of pulling these kind of stunts, slipping shit in in the dead of night without telling anyone, passing it with their majority, and as a bonus calling Democrats obstructionist for even asking that all provisions be locked well before the vote.

Republicans were making the rules, and while Dems should have done better, the vast majority of the blame rests with Republicans who rigged the system thusly. It really is shameful and against the spirit of the Constitution.

Specter and PATRIOT wrote on March 8, 2007 5:25 PM:

And let's not forget Specter slipped the PATRIOT provision in, and then later denied he knew which of his staffers put it in, and never bothered to look.

The guy is so full of shit.

That he managed to get over by helping rig the rules while Republicans were in the majority, it just shows the extent to which they'll abuse power.

It's not clever what Republicans did or some achievement. It's stupidly simple. Just sneak a provision in during the dead of night.

It's totally immoral and against the spirit of the Constitution and Congressional ethics, but obviously no barrier to Republican congress members.

Uncle Don wrote on March 8, 2007 5:28 PM:

The provision in question was put into the Patriot Act Renewal Bill by Michael O'Neill, former Chief Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

It is difficult to believe that O'Neill did this without Senator Specter's knowledge or consent.

Search "Specter Patriot Act US Attorneys" and see what comes up.

The security code for this post is "school."

Uncle Don wrote on March 8, 2007 5:36 PM:

From Slate.com:

On Feb. 6, when the Senate held hearings on the issue of prosecutorial independence, former judiciary committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., proudly claimed to have been as clueless as the rest of us. Denying New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer's claim that he or his staff had "slipped the new provision into the Patriot Act in the dead of night," Specter asserted, "The first I found out about the change in the Patriot Act occurred a few weeks ago when Sen. [Dianne] Feinstein approached me on the floor."

Specter added that he only looked into how the provision was altered after Feinstein told him about it. As he explained, "I then contacted my very able chief counsel, Michael O'Neill, to find out exactly what had happened. And Mr. O'Neill advised me that the requested change had come from the Department of Justice, that it had been handled by Brett Tolman, who is now the U.S. attorney for Utah, and that the change had been requested by the Department of Justice because there had been difficulty with the replacement of a U.S. attorney in South Dakota."

Thus, at least according to Specter, O'Neill had merely been following orders from the Department of Justice when he snuck new language into the Patriot Act that would consolidate executive branch authority.

Anonymous wrote on March 8, 2007 5:42 PM:

Specter talks a good game, puts out all the right sound bites, but has rolled on every issue so far, including the provision that is at issue here. Until he actually votes he is all strut and no substance.

mbbsdphil wrote on March 8, 2007 5:47 PM:

A hoary attempt by Specter to exonerate himself from liability. It was Specter's staff that inserted the language into the Patriot [sic] Act II, which allowed interim USA appointments to continue without Senate confirmation.

Specter also attempts to exonerate those who orchestrated these firings. That excludes Mr. Gonzales. Like Ms. Miers, he does not make policy or personnel decisions, or take controversial steps without authorization. Personnel decisions, in particulary, are usually under the tight control of Mr. Cheney or Mr. Rove and their meticulous vetting teams.

If Specter means it, he should co-sponsor legislation to repeal the offending language, and make sure that there are enough Republic votes in the Senate to override a veto. If he doesn't mean it, he should shut up.

Anonymous wrote on March 8, 2007 5:53 PM:

" Thus, at least according to Specter, O'Neill had merely been following orders from the Department of Justice when he snuck new language into the Patriot Act that would consolidate executive branch authority. "

Which makes perfect sense because our government and Constitution were founded on several High Principles I beleive Specter is citing:

a) Unaccountable Middlemen and Stooges Generally Shall be the Arbiters of All Legislation.

b) Laws Shall be Written by the Executive and Passed Through a Back Door to Congress for Merely Ceremonial Ratification.

c) No Member of Congress Shall be Responsible for the Actions of Their Staff.

My personal favorite:

d) All Citizens Shall Be Held in Great Contempt by Lawmakers and Treated as Complete Idiots.

Yes, Specter is a real patriot all right.

Cuzco wrote on March 8, 2007 6:16 PM:

lordpipe: an investigation? maybe the Specter should have read the bill in the first place.

Fixed your typo

gbheron wrote on March 8, 2007 6:18 PM:

It's like the lighting flash and the thunderclap: count the seconds between Spector's tough talk and his grovelling recant to measure the importance an issue has for the White House.

The only question is how it will be phrased (e.g., "When I said 'One day there will be a new attorney general' I only meant that since he is not immortal, the excellent job that AG Gonzales is doing will sadly have to end some day.").

lordpie wrote on March 8, 2007 6:44 PM:

Cuzco, oh snap.

Specter may be responsible for putting the language in the bill, but the entire body voted on it. I won't justifiying Specter's actions, but lets not let everyone else off the hook.

cjop wrote on March 8, 2007 7:32 PM:

To bad there is not a shot clock. The Specter stall begins now.

parrot wrote on March 8, 2007 7:40 PM:

Let's give kudos to those who actually voted against the so-called Patriot Act revision. I mean, that is more positive than dwelling on all the stumps that voted for it!

Geoff B wrote on March 8, 2007 8:27 PM:

Atypical Specter response. Sputter out some words to pariody indignation but when push comes to shove, Arlie always goes back to toting the Administration's water.

phil james wrote on March 8, 2007 10:58 PM:

However this gets resolved do we still not have USA slots either not filled or with "temps" working on behalf of Rove's agenda with aborted Republican corruption investigations in their wake and isn't that the whole point of this exercise? Bushco will be gone before any of that gets fixed.

Duckman GR wrote on March 8, 2007 11:09 PM:

Thus, at least according to Specter, O'Neill had merely been following orders from the Department of Justice when he snuck new language into the Patriot Act that would consolidate executive branch authority.

At which point Specter should have fired his able counsel for forgetting that the Congress does not follow orders from the Executive.

Specter and PATRIOT wrote on March 9, 2007 3:34 AM:

"At which point Specter should have fired his able counsel for forgetting that the Congress does not follow orders from the Executive."

And it should have been immediately reversed with Specter issuing a major mea culpa, then leading the charge to corect his error with no excuses.

In reality, his "not repsonsible for the actions of my staff" excuse has got to be the lamest ever. He's dragged ass on correcting PATRIOT, giving the WH the window to pull this stunt.

Only problem is they got busted because Dems took Congress.

Imagine if Republicans still ran Congress. They'd have followed the plan to stack USA offices with political stooges unvetted by Congress under the PATRIOT provision.

Rat bastards.

malcontent wrote on March 9, 2007 9:49 AM:

Is it really viable to believe that some Senate staffer can simply insert toxic language into a bill without the knowledge and/or explicit approval of the Senator for whom said staffer ostensibly works?

It seems to me that if this measure were actually the result of a nefarious act like this, then there would have to be some mechanism within the Senate to rectify the situation. How can someone who wasn't elected to the Senate be inserting language into laws?

david inkey wrote on March 9, 2007 11:28 AM:

re atty generals... the haunts of johnny ash....

Santa's Treason? Why Johnny Is A Non-believer!

Oh, how greatly i wanted a sled for my 9th birthday
that last birthday before my father
became an Army Chaplain
and the peace-filled world of Sunnyside
was buried in time
We moved from the little community
and never again would we live
where I might use my sled.
In 1942 my playmate benny was
incarcerated for being "yellow."

Today, evening thoughts and prayers
for my imminent anniversary of 70 solar revolutions
I wonder
I wonder as i have wandered thru years
decades, and scores
how innocently i have abhorred war
and become a sainted peacelet.

Today i had a letter from a filosopher friend
email is a miracle of modernity
it moves us from ages of struggle for simple survival
to a new epoch, struggle for complex survival.
Yet, ever, still, since, now
as the childness in me wonders and wanders
thru memories long past, present presence, and future fullness
ever to awe and audacity.

In the higher echelons of the government of the usa
the very faith of decency and difference are being challenged
being smeared with fears of full and unmitigated "treason".

A mystical 13 years ago, i was confounded
quickly compromised, conscripted, registered
and to be committed
to endless, profoundly subversive, devious, secret, covert work.
I was identified as that most incredible thief of children's affections
... I was called santa ...
I was burdened with unaccustomed labors
and asked to breach the locked security
of the homes and treasured institutions
of friends, neighbors, relatives and strangers.
I was to labor under the ruse of knowing everyone's name
and to feign knowledge when I was ignorant
I was to bear false witness -- covering up
for naughtiness and badness
and i was to keep secret records.
I was allowed to collect any kind of information i wanted
on anyone
and expected to keep total biofiles.
Not even my most trusted colleagues
were to be taken into my confidence.

J. Edgar Hoover was a paragon of power in his daze
yet in the daze, weaks, months, years, decades and decadence
scores and scoring of my global travel and work
I was unchecked in power, prestige
and most criminally of all, in the popular culture
I was assigned the task of convincing billions of human beings
that i was a chubby old man who worked rarely
and did not care for people beyond the age of my having them duped.

All in all, that was bad enuf, but worse
parents like the likes of Johnny would deprecate my goodness,
counter treason, i believe
by threatening kidlets with the idea that i was a disciplinarian
"better watch out, better not cry, for i am telling you why ..."
heresy confronts my reason!

So ... even if I light but one candle
fill but one hope or keep faith with only one dying child
I am treasonous

For hundreds and hundreds of years, almost two thousand years
people have known that my magic is not cruel
So, if my dissent from the common current of "fighting terrorism" is treason
please bring me to trial
by a jury of my peers
secretly, like keeping a Santa's list
I doubt that Johnny can find a jury of peers

I appear like a bearded old man
with a bag full of gifts
spreading joy and peace.
Johnny and his peers may sum day learn that
to the question, "Santa, are you real?"
I always reply without any fear of false witness
"Johnny, Virginia, YES, I am real ..."
guilty as charged, overcharged ...

peace,
santa

and also, if you can help me get
a gift i have longed for
for millennia ...

a gift for santa?

I want to live in a world where the past tense, the present tense,
and the future tense--all avoid pre-tense.
I want to live in a world where the future protects the past...
and where, without question or doubt, the past protects the future ...
this may be the greatest present we may ask for.

I want all of the best dreams of all ages
to be the 'ourstory' of the future.
I want all the horrors of all our pasts to be forgiven,
miscellaneous errors of ignorance
miserably multiplied by unmitigated arrogance.

I want to live in a world where no child will ever ask
why did you save my life?

I do not want to live in a world where children ask us
the well-fed, the educated, the healthy, the rich, the powerful
'innocent questions' for which i have no innocent answers.

Martha Deane wrote on March 9, 2007 1:08 PM:

If Senator Specter would call for the impeachment of the President and Vice President before the end of summer 2007, perhaps the American electorate could once again have faith in the senator and his legal knowledge. Let's not forget that Senator Specter had a significant hand in the "sneaky adjustment" to the Patriot Act that enabled the Justice Department to purge US attorneys. The senator has much to answer for in his ongoing contempt for American citizens.

GMan wrote on March 9, 2007 4:09 PM:

That really carries a lot of weight coming from Arlen, and he really means it this time. Sorry, I couldn't keep a straight face.

Dave wrote on March 11, 2007 1:15 AM:

Let's see, Arlen condemns Gonzales for the attorney purge, but he orchestrated putting the language in the Un-Patriot Act to allow it.

That's kind of like Hillary voting to rid Saddam of his WMDs when she knew during her husband's second term there were no WMDs, and now she's apologizing for her vote!

CUTE!

jeff spicolli wrote on March 12, 2007 5:05 AM:

The provision of mysterious origin in the Patriot Act is a BIG RED FLAG that says, the replacemnt of the US Attorneys is a deliberate attempt by Bush and Gonzalez and Specter to politicize the offices of the US Attorneys to illegally influence elections.

The provision allows replacement candidatees to be appointed without Senate advice and consent and thus avoid scrutiny. That is all is does. Now why would BushCo want these candidates to avoid the scrutiny of the Senate? Becuase they would not have survived it. One of the candidates was an aide for Rove.
curious because it didn't specifically enable the termination of these US Attorney's it merely allowed the appointment of their

US Atttorney's have always served at the pleasure of the President. Traditionaly, they had job security for the duration of the president's term. The termination and reappointment of new US Attorneys could have been accomplished w/o the new Patriot Act clause of mysterious origin. The clause simply allows the President to avoid advice and consent of the Senate for the new candidates not for the decision to terminate the old ones.

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