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Specter Questions Sampson on Avoiding the Senate
Under questioning from Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Sampson testifies about his "bad idea" to circumvent Senate confirmation for the appointment of Tim Griffin as the U.S. Attorney in Eastern Arkansas.
"I did not think the White House would consider doing that in 92 districts," he said, meaning that he only intended to use it for Griffin. "In my discussions at the staff level with folks at the White House, I believe it was a consideration then... at the staff level, we discussed it." But he says it wasn't adopted by "the principals" (meaning Harriet Miers).
Upon further questioning by Specter, he admits that he spoke with Gonzales about the idea. "I don't think he liked the idea very much," Sampson says. He's then asked whether Gonzales specifically rejected it and says that he did after speaking with Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) about the appointment of Griffin. But it's unclear when that conversation was.
Sampson says it could have been in late December or early January. When Specter asks whether that was after Sampson wrote in a December 19, 2007 email that they should use the provision, Sampson says it was.
He says he has no recollection of Harriet Miers rejecting the idea.
Comments (9)
Anonymous wrote on March 29, 2007 5:44 PM:Considering that it was Specter's staff that made that provision possible, I'd hope that he'd want to get to the bottom of it!!
Gotta Know wrote on March 29, 2007 5:44 PM:A couple of question that keep screeming at me are:
Who added the AG amendment to the patriot act?
Who's idea was it?
Another thought along this vein is, if the lawmakers who passed the thing didn't even know it was in there, how were Sampson,et al so up on how to take advantage of it? Surely they knew about it beforehand and waited gleefully while it was passed so that they could use it, or they happily recieved a tip off for the new play!
Deb wrote on March 29, 2007 6:07 PM:Breaking: Chastized head of local FBI office anounces retirement
nal wrote on March 29, 2007 6:30 PM:http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070329-1206-bn29fbi.html
San Diego FBI chief Dan Dzwilewski, who was rebuked by superiors for publicly defending ousted U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, has announced his retirement.
Security Code: screw...No kidding!
That was probably a "December 19, 2006 email".
Richard L. Adlof wrote on March 29, 2007 7:09 PM:The 'I wanted to be trully farging slimy once' defense.
I guess the other seven were bonus or lucky cover.
angryvietnamvet wrote on March 29, 2007 10:24 PM:It was the height of hypocracy for Specter to berate Sampson for gladly usurping the Senate's role of consent to USA nominations, when it was he (or his staff)who inserted the provision in question, at the behest of some assistant deputy AG, as I understand it, who got the idea most probably from somebody in Machiavelli Karl's office. In another question period,I found it ironic to hear Specter expressing disbelief that a staffer like Sampson had the authority (or audacity) to engage in important decision-making without the knowledge of his boss, Gonzales, although it is now quite clear that Specter's staff also kept him uniformed (or did they?...I would love to put his staff in front of the Judiciary committee to get to the bottom of that little mystery)of important decisions. Of course, Specter is pure slime,just like Rove, in my opinion. Disgusting individuals who pollute the political process.
guyermo wrote on March 30, 2007 12:47 AM:nal, perhaps the Bush Administration started post-dating all of their documents so that no one really knows when they were sent/received.
h keller wrote on March 30, 2007 10:10 AM:Bush is a impish thug.
epenisa wrote on January 11, 2008 3:25 AM:It's embarrassing that with so many great people in this country we end up with 8 years of such turd leadership.
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