Comments (124)

HH wrote on April 1, 2007 12:21 PM:

The common theme is zealotry. These people are driven by fierce, consuming beliefs that crush anything in their path. They are dangerous cultists who should not be allowed anywhere near the levers of power. The Goodlings of the world would start a nuclear war rather than "surrender" their crazy good vs. evil view of the world.

Peter Principle wrote on April 1, 2007 12:23 PM:

I believe the most descriptive word for this woman, and her role in the Bush Justice Department,is "commissar" (комиссар). Every totalitarian or would-be totalitariaon party has them.

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 1, 2007 12:24 PM:

From Legal Times:

"...In September 2004, Goodling was dispatched to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia as part of a program to train department officials in the basics of prosecution. During her six-month rotation as a special assistant U.S. Attorney, Goodling spent much of her time handling misdemeanors before magistrate judges.

In spring 2005, Goodling returned to Main Justice, this time in the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys..."

"Program to train department officials in the basics of prosecution"?

Why and why was Goodling participating in this program in the middle of a presidential campaign?She was a highly regarded, experienced GOP operative.

I'd sure like to know the who, when and why of this program. I'd also like to know who participated in it and where and when they did their six-month stint.

What was prosecuting misdemeanors etc supposed to do for the careers of these "department officials"?

Sounds fishy to me.

Take a look at some of the details of Goodling's cases at my post in the TPM Cafe. Someone also posted some details about the career of Jane Cherry, one of Karl Rove's operatives mentioned in the emails.

fred dodsworth wrote on April 1, 2007 12:24 PM:

Revelation after revelation regarding the despicable conduct of this administration has nearly left me speechless. "Have you no decency?" was the final question that brought America to its sense when we last dealt with a politician (Sen. Joe Macarthy) who was so deeply and profoundly unAmerican. I lived through the Richard Nixon presidency and I assure you, in comparison to today's administration toadies, he had a moral core. Nixon was twisted and sick but in the end Nixon had ideals and an intellectual cant, GWB and his klan of America haters have no moral core, there is nothing they won't pervert to seize and maintain their illicit stranglehold on America. I fear for our country, I fear for our people, I fear for the world.

Arkansan wrote on April 1, 2007 12:40 PM:

First, isn't the the college yearbook Glamor Photo enough of an embarrassment that dear Ms. Buzz would want to release a professional head shot? As this image resonates, her credibility as anything more than a simpleton hack becomes more entrenched.

Second, does anyone know what movement on this issue will take place during the recess? Must the committee actually be in session to finally issue the subpoenas? Or can the Chair use his authority to issue them now? Based on her preemptive refusal to testify, the requirement for negotiation now seems moot. Is it necessary to further continue the charade that there is room for compromise, or can she be on the hot seat immediately when congress reconvenes?

Dean Alper wrote on April 1, 2007 12:41 PM:

It's remarkable to me that Goodling, Sampson, et al. were placed in these positions given how little legal experience they have. It further demonstrates that the only qualification necessary for Bush Administration jobs is blind loyalty.

Zach Edwards wrote on April 1, 2007 12:47 PM:

John Nowacki: Another Wingnut Political Operative in the DOJ:

The Justice Department officials who were selected to be interviewed hit merely the tip of this iceberg. It is extremely important that the House and Senate Judiciary Committee's interview John Nowacki, Principal Deputy Director as well as the Acting Counsel to the Director in the Executive Office of the Justice Department, in order to establish the links between the Justice Department officials, the US Attorney's in the field, and the political operatives who helped remove the targeted US Attorney's. I have gathered and organized every document released so far from the Justice Department relating to John Nowacki as well as background information on his relationship with the Free Congress Foundation. You will be shocked at how many key pieces of information he gives to Paul McNulty, William Moschella, Michael Elston, William Mercer, Monica Goodling, and former employees Michael Battle and Kyle Sampson.
This story on John Nowacki, including updates, can be found at: http://misterapologist.blogspot.com/

Bruce Mackay wrote on April 1, 2007 12:47 PM:

trea·son /ˈtrizən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[tree-zuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign.
2. a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state.
3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.

jim wrote on April 1, 2007 12:50 PM:

she drank the kool-aid

klyde wrote on April 1, 2007 12:54 PM:

What amazes me about these so called christians like golding is how they can square their alleged faith with unquestioning fealty to and almost worship of bush.

draftedin68 wrote on April 1, 2007 12:56 PM:

.

The more this disgrace unfolds, the more I wonder just who the hell the DOJ is most focused on - garden variety crooks or anyone who opposes the Duhhbya/Darth regime?

Now that I think about it, I guess I don't really wonder all that much.

.

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 12:57 PM:

Oddly she is a graduate of Messiah College, a college founded and run by the Brethren in Christ Church, a pacifist religion related to the Anabaptist and Amish movments. She seems to be pretty bloodthirsty for such a background.

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 1:00 PM:

Hitler youth in adulthood. Sparked by the Moral Majority in the 80s, the fact is these lock in step anglo fundamentalist cracker spawn march lock in step with the republican party because their boy scout screwing preachers tell them so. This gives Karl Rove a woodrow.

Several future generations of these moronic, brainwashed, completely oblivious to reason and independent thought jesus freak automatons have been created in Jesus camps and await their role in government.

The solution, declare war on Iran, draft these smug baptist fuckers and send them to Iran equipped with only a bible, King James version of course.

zk0sm0 wrote on April 1, 2007 1:04 PM:

goodling's interview style reminds me of HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson's penchant for interviewing potential HUD contractors to ferret out non-Bushies...

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/28/jackson-admitted-bias/

and also reminds me of the interview questions ('what are your views on abortion?') posed to potential employees of the iraq coalition provisional authority...

The Commissar wrote on April 1, 2007 1:05 PM:

Is there a sizeable chunk of Goodling emails in the document dump?

I slogged thru about half of the large March 20, then the links changed and I lost steam.

But in the first half, there were large sections of Elston emails, and Sampson emails, etc. A section for each main player. Is there one for Goodling?

If so, I'd like to look those over. If not, it raises an obvious question.

primigenius wrote on April 1, 2007 1:05 PM:

Maybe Griffin and Goodling will end up making the license plates in the war against unregistered motor vehicles.

roooth wrote on April 1, 2007 1:08 PM:

tbhull -

This is what extraordinary rendition was invented for - the re-education of GOP zealots.

br wrote on April 1, 2007 1:08 PM:

As I recall Mrs. P's earlier post (which I can't seem to find), there are records of only one or two misdemeanor cases that Monica Goodling prosecuted in Virginia. The article says she spent much of her time on these misdemeanor cases.

According to the Fridman memo, Carol Lam was fired because her office filed ONLY 130 immigration cases (many of which were felonies) for each attorney-work year devoted to immigration.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/lam-report/?resultpage=4&

I wonder how much time this legendary workaholic was spending at the US Attorney office when she was detailed there right before the election

zk0sm0 wrote on April 1, 2007 1:10 PM:

"Oddly she is a graduate of Messiah College, a college founded and run by the Brethren in Christ Church, a pacifist religion related to the Anabaptist and Amish movments. She seems to be pretty bloodthirsty for such a background."

but then of course she went on to law school at regent university whose motto is: "CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP TO CHANGE THE WORLD"

Peter Kohan wrote on April 1, 2007 1:19 PM:

Well, one thing is for sure - Goodling was certainly drinking the Administration's Kool-Aid. She might have been a relentless worker, but so are a lot of zealots.

I certainly hope she was partial to e-mail communication. :)

RB-Chicago wrote on April 1, 2007 1:25 PM:

HH has it right...This kind of blind zeal has NO PLACE in ANY institution of this country. Maybe they'll send her to Co. Springs to take over for Dobson when the whole farce vaporizes in their face!!

Buck Batard wrote on April 1, 2007 1:27 PM:

Seems to me this article might be making her look to have had more responsibility than she really did.
Makes it easier to place more blame on her and deflect attention from higher ups.

hibiscus wrote on April 1, 2007 1:29 PM:

so the question is now, what departments were immune from loyalty tests and dominion politics. how many congress critters had to pledge allegiance to get their business done by the president's pen. how many state politicos bent their knees for the money. what was threatened to build the coalition of the willing. on every axis the manure piles up.

steambomb wrote on April 1, 2007 1:30 PM:

34 years old and she is shuffling information between the DOJ and the WH. Wow talk about an upandcomer. (snark)

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 1:32 PM:

Posted by: steambomb
Date: April 1, 2007 01:30 PM

Are you stating she may have kneeled before the power?

Is this God's will?

Did her father watch?

JD21 wrote on April 1, 2007 1:39 PM:

It's time to clean house (the White House)

Those Republicans who impeached Clinton should be out in front calling for Bush's impeachment and removal. Just look at what Bush and Cheney have done: the massive illegal warrantless spying on Americans program, the torture, the outing a CIA agent as political payback, and the firing Attorneys General for Karl Rove's plan to take back Congress by pointing the scandal finger (rightly or wrongly aside) at the Democrats no matter what the evidence was. The Republican illegality makes what Clinton did look like a parking violation in comparison.

The fact that Republicans who were most vicious in calling for Clinton's impeachment are the biggest apologists for this Administration only proves that they place partisanship and the interests of the Republicans above the truth and the interests of America. Republicans today place politics above all. They have no credibility. Zero. And the fact that these jokers will whine if Bush and Cheney are actually held accountable under the standards they themselves so loudly endorsed (not lying, following the law etc.), in my mind is no impediment to doing the right thing. In fact, it is more reason to do so. They seem to be stuck in denial. Maybe it will wake them up to the fact that what Bush and Cheney have done is illegal and wrong.

Interesting op ed today in the New York Times, one of those papers who bought Bush's trumped up claims of WMD in Iraq hook line and sinker. They too have woken up:

"Turn over a scandal in Washington these days and the chances are you’ll find Karl Rove. His tracks are everywhere: whether it’s helping to purge United States attorneys, coaching bureaucrats on how to spend taxpayers’ money to promote Republican candidates, hijacking the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives for partisan politics, or helping to organize a hit on the character of one of the first people to publicly reveal the twisting of intelligence reports on Iraq.

Whatever the immediate objective, Mr. Rove seems focused on one overarching goal: creating a permanent Republican majority, even if that means politicizing every aspect of the White House and subverting the governmental functions of the executive branch. This is not the Clinton administration’s permanent campaign. The Clinton people had difficulty distinguishing between the spin cycle of a campaign and the tone of governing. That seems quaint compared with the Bush administration’s far more menacing failure to distinguish the Republican Party from the government, or the state itself."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/opinion/01sun1.html?hp (I urge everyone to buy a subscription to Times Select if they don't have one already so they can read the rest of this excellent editorial)

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 1:48 PM:

Nice post.

I can be overly, but this so blatantly appears to be an advertisement for the NY Times that I suspect your are paid by the NY Times. Time are tough for traditional media.

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 1:48 PM:

I can be overly cynical.

Grith wrote on April 1, 2007 1:59 PM:

www.bugmenot.com

Takes care of pesky "subscription required, it's FREE" places like NYTimes.

JSwift wrote on April 1, 2007 2:00 PM:

She's more of an apparatchik than a commissar I'd say, but that's an academic distinction I suppose.

As for her being a "good Christian," it means nothing. The history of our last century -- especially in Nazi Germany -- shows that people will adopt, or pretend to adopt, even repulsive values so has to maintain a role, keep that job.

If Bush endorsed something as repulsive as cannibalism, the Goodlings and Gonzos would endorse it, too, and find legal justification for it in our Constitution. The John Yoos and Orin Hatches would turn a blind eye.

And the Hannitys and Russerts would bring a practicing cannibal on their shows to provide "balance" and provide cover for Bush's endorsement. Just consider all the "experts" who came on these shows to explain why torture was now necessary in our "war on terror."

Straight Shooter wrote on April 1, 2007 2:01 PM:

Peter Principle, move over. We now have the Rove Principle: Everyone rises to their level of corruption.

Richard wrote on April 1, 2007 2:03 PM:

She didn't just drink the Kool-aid. She made it for her bosses.

These young GOP fanatics make me think of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, who used to employ children to act as informants and even executioners.

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 1, 2007 2:06 PM:

Monica was a College Republican just like Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed. She is and always has been a nasty, ruthless bitch willing to anything and everything including undermining our justice system to ensure a permanent GOP majority.

Yesterday, I started a thread about the Griles case at the TPM Cafe (link below) to make the case that the real purpose of McCain's famous 11/17/05 Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing was an exercise in GOP damage control of fallout from the Abramoff scandal.

Italia Federici, long time girlfriend of Griles and GOP operative, covered her rear end by making sure she got it into the Congressional record that McCain and every other senator on the committee knew beforehand that she and Griles had a romantic relationship.

Senator Dorgan: Ms. Federici, you are under oath and the chairman has asked you a question. You are suggesting that somehow someone was trying to smear you, and you have indicated----

Ms. Federici: I was told that there was a narrative of a very personal nature that was being put forward from committee staff. You know, it sort of fits with----

To make a long story short, whoever investigated Griles at the DOJ knew what Federici meant once they learned of the Griles-Federici romantic relationship.

So whoever investigated Griles knew McCain's committee had covered up the Griles-Federici romantic relationship and let the DOI Deputy Secretary perjure himself. Why?

Make no mistake about the importance of Griles lying about his romantic relationship with Federici to Congress.

From the Court summary of the Griles conviction:

'Section 10: During both the October 20, 2005 investigative interview and the November 2, 2005 public hearing, the defendant, JAMES STEVEN GRILES, was questoned about, among other things: the true nature and extent of the defendant GRILES' relationship with Person A, the person who introduced Abramoff to the defendant; how and why the defendant's relationship with Abramoff thereafter developed; and the nature and extent of Abramoff's access to the defendant. It was material to the Senate Committee's investigation that the Senators and the Senate investigators who questioned defendant GRILES learned the truth out these issues.'

Why would Griles and Federici lie in the first place? Both Federici and Griles were single and had no reason to hide the fact they were dating for several years. I'm sure they attended government, political and social events as a couple and Griles, as the #2 at the DOI, was a high profile public figure.

Once the DOJ investigators knew McCain's hearing was fixed, they should have questioned everything else McCain said about the senate investigation including the fact that DOI Secretary Gale Norton was not involved in the scandal.

McCain publicly blew off Norton's involvement by summarily announcing her innocence in the Senate Indian Affairs Committe hearings despite the fact that Abramoff had told Todd Boulanger that he got to Norton through Federici:

'Todd, did we not request money for CREA from them? That is our access to Norton. We need money for them more than many of the others.'

Gale Norton knew that Federici and Griles had a romantic relationship. Norton had been friends with Federici since at least 1996 and Federici worked on Norton's 1996 senate campaign and then worked for Norton's Coalition of Republican Environmental Advocates, the predecessor of CREA, and Norton's Republican Patrons of the Arts. Norton brought Federici to Washington DC in 1998.

DOI Secretary Gale Norton met with Federici officially on at least two occasions in 2004 and earlier, had a scheduled phone call with Federici.

Based on CREA's 990s, Abramoff wasn't the only one paying Fedrici and I think CREA's 2003 990 may have been amended to so that it looked like CREA's only source of revenue was from Abramoff's Indian clients.

But after a 14-month investigation by the DOJ, all the DOJ came up with is yes, Griles lied about his affair with Federici to Congress, something everyone in the GOP knew in November 2005.

Someone in charge should review the DOJ's conclusion as to why Griles and Federici lied to Congress when both Griles and Federici knew before they testified that the Senate Indian Affairs Committe already knew about their romantic relationship. That ought to be good for a laugh.

AK wrote on April 1, 2007 2:18 PM:

Perhaps someone already has raised this, but hearing Monica Goodling's name always brings "Quisling" to my mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidkun_Quisling

What an unfortunate coincidence.

SS wrote on April 1, 2007 2:19 PM:

Ms. Goodling's Email Signature included these Inspired words:

"There were many chances to lose our heart, our nerve, or our way. But Americans have always held firm, because we have always believed in certain truths. ... And we know that when the work is hard, the proper response is not retreat; it is courage."
GW Bush July 4th 2005.

I personally have never thought of pre-emptively taking the 5th before being questioned as an act of courage.

Another example of the vast lessons to be learned in citizenship in our post-democracy America.

djcrow22 wrote on April 1, 2007 2:19 PM:

Dear Monica,
Seeing as TPM is the hotspot on this scandal,I am quite sure you have been keeping up with the firestorm you are in the center of. I would venture to say you have a few problems. This oversight thing is a real bummer,eh? Orrin "No Evidence" Hatch just showed the country on MTP what a feckless,unethical liar he is with Hatchet Man Tim Russert actually having the gall to suggest Orrin might be the next Attorney General.No chance. Your career at Justice is over, no matter how much you pray for a miracle. Your friend Tim "I make the Bullets" Griffin will be history as well. Buzzsaw Goodling has a nice ring to it. You might as well change your name because I think this moniker(pun intended)will stick. I can only imagine the horror of having your quiet little corner of unethical and immoral activity splayed out in public for the world to see. An upside to this nightmare is that you will have plenty of time to polish your Playstation skills. You must be a bit tired of takeout at this point. Don't worry too much. By the time you can go out in public again and not feel like Britney Spears breaking out of rehab, there will be a democratic president and congress in power. And a job with the public defenders office in Bumfuck, Arkansas with Tim Griffin will probably look like gold. Perhaps you, Lurita Doan, Tim Griffin, Kyle Sampson, Mike Battle, Sara Taylor, Orrin Hatch, Darrell Issa, Robert Mueller, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers,Scott Jennings and players to be named later could start up your own political "shop." I'm going to ask my fellow TPM posters to help with the title. How about RHRUS (Republican Hacks R'Us)? We'll work on it. In the meantime, I would like to donate a Netflix account for you to help pass what must be really slow days. "All the President's Men" might kick things off. Maybe "Mean Girls" in the afternoon. Call me with your address and phone number(for the Netflix). I'll bring the popcorn, kleenex, beer and extra batteries for the remote.
Can't wait, Buzzsaw and I, in a really dark room,shades drawn with Bob Redford. Priceless...

Rich wrote on April 1, 2007 2:22 PM:

I love the descriptions from Goodling's cronies: "idealistic", "Christian" "walked the walk", etc. Obviously, she learned little from history and her Christianity came from some Cliff Notes version of the Bible. Communications is rarely a tough major and much of the content is watered down social psychology--I doubt that she was cracking the books as much as people in the usual pre-law fields. It's nice to see that it's unlikely that she's taking the fifth gratuitously. I doubt that she'll wind up at the license plate academy, but hopefully she'll be disbarred. She probably has a future at some second string counterpart to "Focus on the Family".

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 1, 2007 2:26 PM:

br@April 1, 2007 01:08 PM

Click on the link below. I posted the info I found on Monica's court cases at the TPM Cafe. Someone else added a lot of other details about one of the cases and some info about GOP operative, Jane Cherry.

BTW, the SJC might want to consider requesting all of the DOJ emails about the Griles case. It would be interesting to know if Goodling had a hand in the timing of the announcement of the Griles conviction etc etc etc

GWN wrote on April 1, 2007 2:29 PM:

but then of course she went on to law school at regent university whose motto is: "CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP TO CHANGE THE WORLD"

Posted by: zk0sm0

What right do the American people have to interfere with God's work?

If one is a Bushie, the answer is obvious... NONE.

code: Sound.... as in- can't you hear the alarm bells

DiFi Fan wrote on April 1, 2007 2:29 PM:

I'd say Goodling's "Chuck Schumer might look at me crosseyed and make me cry" defense for taking the Fifth has pretty much been obliterated by the news that she is a GOP operative and was a College Republican.

bcg wrote on April 1, 2007 2:34 PM:

In the Legal Times article cited above, Michele Roberts, "a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, the same firm where Goodling's attorneys, John Dowd and Jeffrey King, work," provided comments on Goodling's decision to announce her intention to take the 5th. She said, "There's a beauty in knowing 'I can't be prosecuted for something I didn't say'; there's some solace knowing 'they aren't going to hang me up to dry based on something I said that they thought was false.'"
As she claims, she may not have discussed this case with Goodling's attorneys; but she is certainly trying to furthering their spin tactics. A partner at a major law firm has to know that this Congress isn't going to try someone solely on the basis of "'...something I said that they thought was false.'" Like McKay and Iglesias, they won't issue indictments without strong supporting evidence.
This statement is nothing but an attempt to reinforce Goodling's attorney's claims that their client wants to avoid a hostile investigating committee, a privilege which is not granted in the constitution. It's an attempt to shift attention away from her implicit admission of guilt, prop up the story that Congress's is on a "witch hunt." and build public sympathy for the defendant. This is PR, not commentary.

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 2:35 PM:

But who empowered this extreme zealot with such mediocre credentials? She wasn't only asking such questions for her own amusement.

Imagine the effort whomever does empower such people gets in return. Imagine how their feelings of being wronged and inferior collide with those they think have wronged them of their "Rightful" place.

Let's hope Congress now "island hops" Goodling in its investigations, let's her enjoy her lack of immunity, and then works on her directly when it has more hard facts. She won't regret her hardline stance - she's a zealot - but it will leave her more fully exposed to the consequences of her behavior.

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 2:40 PM:

Does the "R" next to the names on those prodigious supercomputer lists compiled by Ken Mehlman stand for "Republican" or "Rovian".

ChiTom wrote on April 1, 2007 2:47 PM:

Take another look at her laweyer's letter about the 5th: another tactic of the Religious Right is playing the martyr. Ironically, the pleading of the 5th is couched as a last defense of this virtuous, young faithful against the ravening, partisan wolves of the SJC.

The fact that it's all a lie is only par for the course.

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 2:59 PM:

Her 5th Amendment claim is easily extinguished by the Senate Judiciary Committee granting her immunity for any PRIOR statements/acts that prove to be false/criminal as a result of the testimony she will give. Of course, once she gives sworn testimony she would subject to perjury if she lies.

If immunity is offered for past conduct, one cannot claim the 5th Amendment on the basis that one may lie in the future under oath and then be subject to a perjury charge.

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 1, 2007 3:12 PM:

Subpeona Goodling's calendar, emails and case records for the six-month she was assigned to the USA-EDVA's office.

Whoever heard of a highly regarded, experienced GOP operative handling low-level criminal cases in the middle of a presidential election? It makes no sense.

jeffgee wrote on April 1, 2007 3:19 PM:

Goodling taking the fifth is like Bush's signing statements: Rule of law is for the little people

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 3:23 PM:

Why didn't Kyle Sampson take out a mortgage when he bought his $425k house in Arlington VA in June 2004?

SteinL wrote on April 1, 2007 3:44 PM:

@ Fred Dodsworth

I'm with you on Nixon - yet I actually understand what he was up to. The US (and Europe) in the late 60s and early 70s was in turmoil, with established values being challenged to their core.
Nixon shared those values, and believed he had to fight hard to protect them, including bending the law.

This president, and his enablers, have created a pretend threat against the polity, in order to be able to enforce special laws and ordinances, for the sole purpose of assisting them with looting the treasury and federal property. They have turned the US military into their own private army for commercial gain, launching a colonial war for profit that will resonate with disgrace for decades.
Nixon was a brilliant man brought down by a paranoia that was unwarranted, but yet there.
Bush is the consummate idiot, completely out of his league, near braindead as far as understanding the nuances and art of governance. Incredibly, while Nixon had surrounded himself with some dunces, there were also very capable men in his crew.
Bush, however, has thrown out every single person in his "entourage" capable of rational thought, and has instead kept the blind followers.
Goodling is just one of many, many who, unwittingly or with malice aforethought, are taking an axe to the core of everything that made America great, bringing her down.

Should we be surprised? Bush is a third generation shirker, riding the crest of what his grandfather and father achieved. Whenever he was in trouble with the law, his father's enablers showed up, paying hush money, distributing favors, hiding proof and removing paper trails. Driving under the influence? Drug abuse? Shady financial deals? Questionable ethics? Going AWOL?

"No problem, Mr. Bush, we'll take care of it."

We'd be idiots ourselves to think that such a man would have any respect for the law. We would, likewise, be fools to believe he had any understanding of how the law, as an instrument, works.
So this idiot stacks the Supreme Court, finds hangers-on to install as USAttys, pisses on the Geneva Convention, establishes secret courts, restricts habeas corpus, establishes prison camps outside the survey of international and national law -- and uses private armies to carry out dirty work through acts from extraordinary rendition to murdering tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

And he calls his Attorney General Fredo.

When will the US wake up, and remove this criminal and his cohorts from power?

nellieh wrote on April 1, 2007 3:46 PM:

I keep seeing her described as MS. Is she married? If not someone is nailing her. Male or female. She needs some dirt thrown at her like the same sh*t they throw at Democrats. Of course she may have taken an abstinance pledge at her Daddy-Daughter Prom. It is the first time, although I'm sure it has been called that before by a guilty or something to hide witness, that I've heard a Congressional hearing called "hostile." She still is an employee even though she is on a leave of absence. I hope to hell she isn't getting paid. Why she isn't fired is beyond me. Hearing members are only hostile when their bullsh*t meter pegs.

kimik wrote on April 1, 2007 3:50 PM:

I read the whole article...I loved the part about Ashcroft having a special fondnest for her brownies. That is just creepy. I am imagining them praying over them before chowing down...

These fanatics are like a lice infestation in the Government - starts with the Political appointee, then they make sure they hire in their friends. OPM has made special rules so they can have "exception hires' at different salary rates then career executives, with 4 year contracts, extra vacation time and all the civil service benefits - yes, it's true.

Django wrote on April 1, 2007 3:52 PM:

I want to know one thing - OK, three - what does she have, whom does she have it on, and what kind of deal will it take to flip her?

Rick B wrote on April 1, 2007 4:02 PM:

"I can be overly cynical.
Posted by: tbhull"

TB, being "overly cynical" about this conservative movement crew of social conservatives will still very much underestimate how dangerous they really are to America.

These are the same kinds of people who dove deepest into the waters of the John Birch Society in the '50's combined with some of the worst of the '60's and '70's religious cults. It's just that in those days they were still relegated to the fringes, not building law schools and populating the highest reachs of the Federal and State government administrations.

When the Democrats take back the White House there is going to have to be an almost equally obsessive program to go through the civil service and weed them out again. The "Goodlings" in our government are a real threat that exceeds the imaginary "Communists in government" that McCarthy became famous for attempting to purge.

A real danger is that action will not be taken to remove them because McCarthy was projecting an alcoholic fantasy of danger. This one is real, and it will really need to be dealt with.

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 4:11 PM:

These "people" are friggin commisars, already, goddamnit. Goodling would have made Khruschev proud at Stalingrad, putting a bullet in the brain of any troops considered "politically untrustworthy."

All hail the suit-and-tie fascists.

dum spiro spero wrote on April 1, 2007 4:40 PM:

kimik:

Got a link on that?

Jason Shapiro wrote on April 1, 2007 4:42 PM:

Monica Goodling appears to have modeled her life after Reese Witherspoon's scary little manipulator of a character in "Election," even down to the making of brownies to "brown up" to John Ashcroft (OK, in the movie it was cupcakes). Life imitates art once again.

Hmmmmmm wrote on April 1, 2007 4:42 PM:

If she is afraid she will expose a crime, she is confessing, by implication, some crime. It isn't enough to convict her, but it is reason enough to fire her. If they put her back to work, her boss should be fired.

spirospero wrote on April 1, 2007 4:43 PM:

Anyone know how to alert Paul or Josh about barrelhse?

Back under your rock, barrelhse - no republican bullshit here.

Arkansan wrote on April 1, 2007 4:56 PM:

The "Clinton did it too. It's OK because they served at the pleasure of the President!!" spam has been replaced with a despicable new form of spam, no doubt planted by Ms. Buzz's supporters to discredit this site.

Just wait, the next "Breaking News" story on Fox will be the "story" that TPM supports sexist violence against female administration officials. The Faux planted spam will be used as their evidence. It's obnoxiously predictable. The sorry part is that the people who are fooled all the time by these tricks will be fooled yet again.

foggylady wrote on April 1, 2007 4:59 PM:

In Think Progress article/photos of Bush Admin. folks,
I notice 2 things..( link below)
1. Most of them all have big balding heads , huge forehead, which supports my theory someone has cloned Rove.. unless he is not huyman...hmmmm...
( remember those space alient movies from teh 50's??)

2. Dan Barlett ( bout halfway down the page ) looks like another Kyle Sampson twin..so far this makes the 3rd person to look like mini-me and Rove.
ahhhh...the lighter side of this nightmare....

http://thinkprogress.org/the-architects-where-are-they-now/

chuckles wrote on April 1, 2007 5:12 PM:

Another Happy God-Squadder...so sad...chuckle chuckle

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 5:13 PM:

Posted by: foggylady
Date: April 1, 2007 04:59 PM

I would agree that the White House staff closely resemble each other, all doing their best to portray the chicken fried steak lovin' good christian doughboy soldier.

The only way they could more closely resemble each other is if each wore a white hood.

Christian rock is not that bad.

TexasEllen wrote on April 1, 2007 5:19 PM:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54882

Well, if the World Net Daily has snapped to the fact that USAttorney Johnny Sutton and AG Alberto Gonzales, the Wade County DA, and the Texas AG, (all Republicans) refused to take the Texas Youth Commission sexual abuse scandal when presented with evidence from a Texas Ranger and cite his appearance before a Texas Legislative Committee, we may have a smoking gun that may prove political obstruction of justice. About the damn time.

Swoosh wrote on April 1, 2007 5:21 PM:

The Russians had a term for people like Goodling: "zampolit." These were the "political officers" embedded in the military and the civil bureaucracy who made sure everyone toed the party line.

Obviously Bush and Rove have seeded the Federal bureaucracy with their own "zampolits."

Can we assume similar "Chief of Staff" positions are filled with true believers across the government? How can they be rooted out?

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 5:39 PM:

When did Monica pass the bar? cleve

LimaBN wrote on April 1, 2007 5:43 PM:

If we lefties had only had the gonads to get our butts down to the Miami-Dade Courthouse during the Brooks Brothers Riots in 2000.

Confronting these goons in the hallways would have been a lot easier then than retrieving our Constitution now.

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 5:54 PM:

No need to pass the bar, as God ordained her as a lawyer.

Michael Stevens wrote on April 1, 2007 6:00 PM:

spirospero, you are correct. That outrageous comment from "barrelhse" does need to be reported and deleted. In fact, this commenting system could really use an upgrade which would allow us to easily report such posts.

An upgrade of the current commenting system to a full-blown message forum would be very welcomed. A standard message forum would make it far easier to track these stories and reduce repetition. For instance, we could have a separate threads on each of the major players. Goodling, Sampson, McNulty, with links to stories and sticky updates.

/we can but dream

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 1, 2007 6:04 PM:

Re: Filthy comment by barrelhse@April 1, 2007 04:38 PM

I just emailed Josh and Paul and asked them to delete it pronto!

FMArouet wrote on April 1, 2007 6:29 PM:

Mrs Panstreppon,

Glad you handled the creepy troll post by barrelhse ASAP.

Michael Stevens is right. This site is becoming too important to be allowed to remain so clunky.

Josh and the crew may want to check out the comment interfaces used by Daily Kos and Raising Kaine. Both are smooth and allow sub-threads. Daily Kos is about to make a major upgrade, so they would be sure to have some good advice. If you need some help to make the software purchase, I'll bet that a lot of your readers would kick in a contribution.

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 6:47 PM:

Posted by: Michael Stevens
Date: April 1, 2007 06:00 PM

Why don't you circulate a memo and/or flowchart to implement your anal retentive plan?

You need to relax as you sound too much like a corporate sycophant that is bombarded with guilt and a feeling of uselessness every day unless you come up with some inance and ridiculous procedure like the one you just suggested.

By the way, I am no supporter of "barrelhse".

monicawatch wrote on April 1, 2007 6:56 PM:

Monica passed the bar in '99 - according to info from Virginia newspaper.

Details of that at Mrs. P's blog.

It is crucial to keep the discourse at a civil level. We may disagree with how this young woman behaved - but there's no need to stoop to gutter level. No need at all.

The truth with out.

monica watch wrote on April 1, 2007 6:58 PM:

sorry. The truth WILL out (not without)

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 6:59 PM:

"she was working directly underneath Tim Griffin,"

umm, exactly what kind of 'work' was that?

djcrow22 wrote on April 1, 2007 7:16 PM:

Buzzsaw did pass the bar. Click on mrs panstreppon link further up the comments. She has the cases she worked on listed there...

On March 31, 2007 - 12:37am mrs panstreppon said:

As krempasky from Redstate pointed out in a comment below, the Richmond Times Dispatch reported on 11/1/99 that Monica Marie Goodling of York Haven PA passed the Virginia bar in July.

Mark wrote on April 1, 2007 7:31 PM:

My father was interviewed for a judgeship in the Nixon era, and says it was the same then.

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 7:33 PM:

It's not hard to recognize an authoritarian follower. I'll bet there are similar stories from 1930's Germany. It's disgusting.

Security Code:
blood

convict wrote on April 1, 2007 7:35 PM:

"Hitler youth in adulthood", ..exacty, and her bosses have already taken the US to the dark(er) side.

Just like many of you, the rest of the world is watching all of this in (almost) total amazment.

Michael Stevens wrote on April 1, 2007 7:41 PM:

tbhull

Wow, I suggested an upgrade to a very standard, plain vanilla, message forum and your response is to call me names?

One of two things comes to mind. You're either an especially grumpy person or you're just here to stir up trouble.

I feel the community research effort which is the foundation of TPM MuckRaker would be better served with the features present in a message forum. If you honestly disagree with my assessment, perhaps you could share your reasons why. Unless that is, you're just here to troll...

Mason wrote on April 1, 2007 8:07 PM:

Hey, I think you need to look at Mary Beth Buchanan, USA in Pittsburgh, Western District of PA. A former assistant USA in Pittsburgh called for her resignation a few weeks ago here

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07079/770820-109.stm

And this is from a fairly recent Pittsburgh Post Gazette story about her getting a second Justice Department post

"This is Ms. Buchanan's second appointment to a national Justice Department position. She served as director of the Executive Office of United States Attorneys from June 2004 to June 2005.

Ms. Buchanan was appointed U.S. attorney in 2001. She began working in the office as an assistant prosecutor in 1988."

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 1, 2007 8:21 PM:

Duh, it only took me all day to figure it out. T.R. Goldman and Emma Schwartz did everything
but spell it out.

Monica is or was having an affair with John Ashcroft. The travel, the brownies, the request from his office for her services - hint, hint, hint.

No f--king way can the Bush administraton keep this one under wraps. Too many people already know about it.

paul lukasiak wrote on April 1, 2007 8:41 PM:

"...In September 2004, Goodling was dispatched to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia as part of a program to train department officials in the basics of prosecution....Why and why was Goodling participating in this program in the middle of a presidential campaign?She was a highly regarded, experienced GOP operative

you've answered your own question. I'd bet that she was spending most of her time working on the Bush campaign (and after the election, for the RNC), while getting paid by Justice... the dearth of any evidence of actual work at the USA office certainly suggests that.

(and great job of digging stuff up, Mrs. P!!!)

MedallionOfFerret wrote on April 1, 2007 8:55 PM:

Convicted before she's even charged, or any substantive evidence is known. Bush's DOJ has no apparent advantage over you people at all; and Bush's True Believers aren't any more fanatical,or any more into wishful thinking.

regular lurker wrote on April 1, 2007 9:24 PM:

Is Ms. Goodling proud of her accomplishments at the DOJ? Pleading the fifth certainly insinuates that, in hindsight, she views her own judgment as seriously flawed. Pity she couldn't see it at the time.

Arkansan wrote on April 1, 2007 9:25 PM:

Convicted?!?! She's at home sleeping in her comfortable bed.

She claims that if she testifies honestly she will incriminate herself. In a criminal prosecution that couldn't be used against her, but we're talking outside a courtroom here. In this, the real world, when someone says a honest answer will put them in jail, it's perfectly acceptable to speculate that that individual doesn't wish to admit to a crime.

The Oracle wrote on April 1, 2007 9:46 PM:

What a strange coincidence.

While reading all the excellent posts here, I've been watching the movie "Silent Hill," and could not help but think of Monica "true believer" Goodling in the David Koresh/Jim Jones role played by Alice Krige.

And the rabid followers of Alice Krige in the movie "Silent Hill"?

All the Christian fundamentalists planted throughout our federal government by the likes of Monica "true believer" Goodling, but especially the 400+ planted in the Justice Department, which means the Justice Department can no longer be trusted to be fair and impartial in enforcing the "rule of law" in our Constitutional Democracy, because these 400+ implants only answer to a "higher law," just as Osama bin Laden answers only to a "higher law."

And the children in "Silent Hill"?

These "Silent Hill" children represent the House pages stalked by Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), a Republican protected by "true believer" officials in the Bush administration as well as members of the "true believer" House Republican leadership, and protected over many years apparently.

These "Silent Hill" children also represent the victims in the Texas Youth Commission, with Gov. Rick Perry's office and hand-picked TYC commissioners, covering up the sexual abuses, that span many years, just like in the Mark Foley sex scandal case.

These "Silent Hill" children also represent all the young Catholic boys and girls sexually abused by Catholic "true believer" priests over the centuries. (No one believes these abuses just started fifty years ago, do they?)

So, I understand why Monica "true believer" Goodling is afraid to testify under oath and tell the truth. She is one of the "born again" spiders at the center of the Republican web, with the poisonous intent of turning our Constitutional Democracy into a theocratic, conservative hell, where child abusers can operate freely without any accountability.

(re: barrelhse comment: great snark. although it may have been more appropriate at Jesus' General's blog, since he just posted a snarky communique to William Donahue, the Catholic apologist, over the Chocolate Jesus controversy. I understood what barrelhse was alluding to...didn't you? which is why I'm glad barrelhse' comment hasn't been deleted. I laughed. While a conservative troll wouldn't find it funny at all.)

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 1, 2007 9:51 PM:

paul lukasiak@April 1, 2007 08:41 PM

Thanks. I have a big smile on my face thinking about Monica having an affair with Ashcroft. I, of course, don't know for sure that it is true but, boy, oh, boy, I hope it is.

On the other hand, what is definitely true is that no one in the press was providing any info about Monica at all until the folks here at the TPM MR including me starting asking questions.

Is the fact that a highly regarded, experienced political operative supposedly spent six months prosecuting crappy little plea bargains durng a presidential election proof of crime? No but it sure needs to be investigated.

Why would the DOJ implement a program for DOJ officials to spend six months prosecuting crappy little plea bargains at all? If the Bush administration was going to place these DOJ officals in USA slots based on six-month stints as special assistant attorneys, AG Gonzales ought to own up to it.

On the other hand, if these DOJ officals were up to something else while they were supposedly prosecuting crappy little plea bargains, AG Gonzales still should own up to it.

LOL - Monica and Ashcroft sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 10:14 PM:

Posted by: Michael Stevens
Date: April 1, 2007 07:41 PM

I am an exceptionally grumpy person and detest unnecessary blog efficiency and planning.

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 10:57 PM:

I appreciate the information. Fundamental question: OK, our government isn't doing much about this other than waving hands.

What are we going to do about this? She needs to be prosecuted for supporting an illegal circumvention of the Senate with the direct appointments.

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 11:01 PM:

Let's get her disbarred: She supported efforts to circumvent the Constution with the direct appointments: They violate teh Constution, and her attorney oath of office. Let's stop playing around with the American legal community, especially the lazy dogs on the DOJ Staff counsel. They need legal consequneces, not hidden, backroom deals.

Who's going to file the disbarment comlaint with her state attorney disciplinary board and make this happen? Time to stop messing around with these goods and get something done. Congress isn't doing it's job.

casam wrote on April 1, 2007 11:11 PM:

I agree The Oracle(09:46 PM) I thought it was funny and understood barrelhse was alluding to the chocolate Jesus.
Lighten up folks.

JD21 wrote on April 1, 2007 11:35 PM:

If you didn't catch 60 Minutes this week you have to watch the lead story on how the drug companies co-opted our government to get the ultimate deal in the new Medicaid bill. They made a mockery of the Congressional procedure. The Republicans threatened a government official not to reveal before the vote in the House that the bill would cost $500 billion, not substantially less as originally projected. And now the drug companies are charging seniors and our government a ton more than they should because our government agreed that it cannot negotiate - drug companies name their price. By the way, the leading politicians and bureaucrats promptly took fat cat jobs with the drug industry right after they passed the bill. What a pay off, in addition to the hundred million in campaign donations by drug companies that year. Bush says if Democrats overturn the provision which ties the government's hands from negotiating with the drug companies he will veto the bill. (This from the President who actually campaigned on untying our government's hands from negotiating with the drug companies).

We've got greed and corruption galore with our taxpayer dollars. It's a disgrace. And it's emblematic of everything that's wrong with Republicans these days. Please read it if you care. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/29/60minutes/main2625305.shtml

""They're suppose to have 15 minutes to leave the voting machines open and it was open for almost three hours," Burton explains. "The votes were there to defeat the bill for two hours and 45 minutes and we had leaders going around and gathering around individuals, trying to twist their arms to get them to change their votes."

Jones says the arm-twisting was horrible.

"We had a good friend from Michigan, Nick Smith, and they threatened to work against his son who wanted to run for his seat when he retired," he recalls. "I saw a woman, a member of the House, a lady, crying when they came around her, trying to get her to change her votes. It was —it was ugly."

When the prescription drug bill finally passed shortly before dawn, in the longest roll call in the history of the House of Representatives, much of the credit went to former Congressman Billy Tauzin, R-La., who steered it through the house.

"It's just a messy process," Tauzin says. "I mean, the old adage about if you like sausage or laws, you should not watch either one of them being made is true. It's a messy process."

Tauzin says that the voting machines were open for three hours "because the vote wasn't finished."

As for arms being twisted? "People were being talked to," he says."

Anonymous wrote on April 1, 2007 11:35 PM:

As I read the article and skimmed the comments something that I saw today came to mind. I happened to be in a Barnes and Noble in Lynchburg, VA–across the street from Jerry Falwell's Liberty U. I was drinking a coffee and taking notes from a book. The coffee shop section was filled from students from Liberty U. I happened to glance at what the kid next to me had on his table. A copy of "Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys" and Newt Gingrich's latest "Winning The Future: A 21st Century Contract with America". All I can say is that even though it appears that the treachery (and I mean that sincerely) of this group in Washington has been exposed–this is no time to relax.

Loney wrote on April 1, 2007 11:38 PM:

How could Monica evaluate expericened U S Attorneys, when she had little experience in many federal litigation matters. Rove/ Bush/ White House did not want anybody with experience in that area. That is the point.
But, why:
Here is WHY: Rove wanted to hold U S assets hostage to a PAC kick back scheme, why do you think Monica is taking the 5th, it is not because
she is Perry Masonesque.

tbhull wrote on April 1, 2007 11:45 PM:

Posted by:
Date: April 1, 2007 11:01 PM

No apologist for Goodling, however, what the Bush adminstration did was perfectly legal (assuming they did not in fact do this to block an ongoing investigation) given that Specter allowed the provision to slip into the Patriot Act.

Goodling is only currently only guilty of being a white trash dumb ass pentacostal like stupid jesus freak stupid thanks to the teachins' of her son of a KKK member cracker pimpled fat crackr ass father. Not to despair, she has a law degree from Regents.

Thirty years ago she would not be an attorney, rather she she would be wearing a bee-hive hairdo Marge Simpson style and would be a world class dulcimer player with a penchant for chicken fried steak, bisquits and gravy.

dkm wrote on April 1, 2007 11:46 PM:

I grew up just across the Susquehanna from where she was born and raised. It has been said that PA is Philadelphia on the east and Pittsburg on the west with Alabama in the middle, and York County certainly fits that description. Society in this area is so controlled by the right wing churches that it is sickening. A real Christian who wants to follow the tenets of Jesus is regarded as some sort of left wing freak, traitor even. This woman should have known better, and probably did, but was able to persuade herself that the evil she was doing was for a greater good. Now that it is obvious that it was still evil, she is trying to escape.

bobh wrote on April 1, 2007 11:57 PM:

"No apologist for Goodling, however, what the Bush adminstration did was perfectly legal (assuming they did not in fact do this to block an ongoing investigation) given that Specter allowed the provision to slip into the Patriot Act."

Okay Karl you can go back to ruining the country now.

Also possible is that since 7 of the 8 are in swing states it fits into a pattern of voter suppression that also turned up. Fit this with the voter scandals coming out of the gsa and doj and add K Rove and youve got a massive political scandal the likes of which will make watergate look like a kids accident in the bed.

Luck yo you Rove but the end is night.

tbhull wrote on April 2, 2007 12:16 AM:

Posted by: bobh
Date: April 1, 2007 11:57 PM

Not an apologist for Karl Rove either. However, the current state of the evidence does not reveal any wrongdoing in replacing the US Attorneys. All of Gonzo's problems stem from the cover up.

You can run but you cannot hide from the fact that the flaccid Senate led by limp-dicked Arlen Specter granted the executive the power to replace US attorneys in this fashion. No questions the actions were exceptionally political, however, hard evidence is needed to prove these actions were illegal. The Senate is too blame to some degree for passing this law.

This does not excuse the illegality, namely potential obstruction of justice/perjury/false statements that has occurred in the cover up.

Maybe the SJC or the House can uncover the smoking that shows what is strongly suspected; namely, that the BushCo replaced Lam to keep her office from getting to clear a smell of the stinch emanating from Cheney's shorts.

Time will tell, however, we are not there yet. Diligence and patience. A premature ejaculation pleases no one. Keep the hammer down.

webdemx wrote on April 2, 2007 12:58 AM:

To Henry Waxman: Subpoena any and all communications between Monica Goodling and Barbara Comstock, her mentor at RNC and DoJ.

donmyers wrote on April 2, 2007 3:04 AM:

No reason why she can claim the 5th - if there is they can give her immunity and force her to answer - if she doesn't, then off to jail she goes. I don't think she thinks that she should be held to the same standards as the rest of us.

Robin wrote on April 2, 2007 3:35 AM:

Arkansan wrote, in part:

First, isn't the the college yearbook Glamor Photo enough of an embarrassment that dear Ms. Buzz would want to release a professional head shot?

*****

Look where this picture comes from. It's a cut out from some college picnic pic:http://www.regent.edu/alumni/chapters/washington_dc/DCPicnicPhotos.htm

search monica, and it will be the 3rd one found

William Gardner wrote on April 2, 2007 6:03 AM:

Whoa. What happened to bringing the witness to Congress and asking them questions, pointed rhetorical questions, only to have them plead the 5th?

Haven't I seen this before to make a political statement?

Plus it makes great T.V.

If Congress isn't doing this then something is terribly wrong in Government.

Dr. Wu wrote on April 2, 2007 8:34 AM:

I'm not sure which will be more fun to watch in 2008: Bush scuttling off to Paraguay, or Goodling and ten thousand of her fellow alumni of our nation's diploma-mills-for-Jesus rediscovering the joy of ramen noodles.

SquarePeg wrote on April 2, 2007 8:36 AM:

With these types of "Christians" I can only wonder what they had in mind for the rest of us, once their plans had come to fruition.

Mark F. wrote on April 2, 2007 8:49 AM:

I can't know if things are playing out as expected, but I believe we're seeing evidence of what the
Republicans had hoped would be their end game. The goal is to wipe out the Democrats. They want a one-party system of government (leaving, perhaps, a Ralph Nader or two around to lend the illusion of "choice"). The Republicans must be defeated so badly, and on every front, that they never dare to attempt this again. The Bush presidency was a coup attempt. And they've very nearly pulled it off.

Party first--American second. It's the Republican way.

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 9:30 AM:

I think we should frame the Goodling-Ashcroft relationship on that of Charles Mansons' followers. Although in this case Ascroft was just a figurehead and Rove was pulling all the strings.

bordersmuggler wrote on April 2, 2007 9:39 AM:

"Is the fact that a highly regarded, experienced political operative supposedly spent six months prosecuting crappy little plea bargains durng a presidential election proof of crime? No but it sure needs to be investigated."

The staff at Senator Leahy's office has been asked to look into this issue which Mrs. P. raises.

PTF wrote on April 2, 2007 10:20 AM:

Between Monica:

Sleeping on couches at DOJ after Ascroft's team asked to "borrow her;"

Ashcroft's appetite for Monica's brownies;

Monica's frequent travel with Ashcroft on tours promoting neighborhood safety;

And that fact that Monica quotes Ashcroft lovingly on her 1997-era college website:
http://web.archive.org/web/19990221141646/home.regent.edu/monigoo/

"...
Real leadership isn't finding out what the polls say, getting there first, and then pretending you were the leader. Leadership is dreaming great dreams, discerning noble objectives, and being willing to pay the price to see them come true.
~Senator John Ascroft ..."

I think we're lookin at an affair.

bordersmuggler wrote on April 2, 2007 10:38 AM:

Affair, six month disappearance. Could there possibly be a baby Ashcroft hidden somewhere?

SeeDee wrote on April 2, 2007 12:54 PM:

JD21:
RE your mention of CBS '60-Minutes' expose' of the drug/insurance/medical industry's prostituting of our law-makers with the 'Medicare Plan B Prescription Drug' law:

Every time the cheap-ass little whore, Billy Tauzin, appeared on the screen, I had the mental picture of watching a sewer rat dressed up in a shirt and tie.

Come to think of it, making that comparison is probably un-fair to sewer rats.

Arkansan wrote on April 2, 2007 1:07 PM:

Conspicuous in its absence is any mention of her mother on her "family addictions" page. Her step dad and poodle made the cut, but no mention of dear old mama.

Isn't there a Commandment that addresses how children should revere their parents?

http://web.archive.org/web/19991117170423/home.regent.edu/monigoo/family.htm

US8 wrote on April 2, 2007 1:42 PM:

Johnny attends an ice cream social at Regent Law in January. He even lent his "Let The Eagles Soar" pipes to a rousing take on "Friends in Low Places."

"I've got grades in low places,
'Cause I didn't brief any of my cases
C's mean I stay, so I'll be okay.
Well I'm not big on writing papers,
Oh, I've got grades in low places."

http://www.regent.edu/acad/schlaw/news/home.cfm#IceCream

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 3:48 PM:

She proudly publishes a sad little graduate school paper. It shows a serious lack of original thought, excessive use of quotes, and broad generalizations lacking citation of evidence. A C would be generous.

http://web.archive.org/web/19991008231257/home.regent.edu/monigoo/negkids.htm

Ralph Davis wrote on April 3, 2007 11:21 PM:

I'm not an attorney, nor even an inside the beltway politico, and I can't say I've followed this story closely, however, I have one question for all the sharks sniffing for blood here:

Why does the Executive Branch (be it in either party's camp) owe any explanation at all to the Legislature for firing or hiring U.S. Attorneys?

No hearings were held, that I recall, after President Clinton fired 128 U. S. Attorneys, even though many were appalled by that action--and the GOP could have pushed for hearings.

I realize that it is part of barrister nature to be wrapped in technicalities and to know no fairness, or real justice, but hey guys, your artificially inflated fees will greatly help, more now than forced Union dues, Hillary to be there in less than 2 years.

The bald faced religious bigotry evident in many posts above is extremely disturbing to this lover of liberty. It genuinely appears that the Democratic party's vaunted tolerance is available to all, except the utterly despised evangelical Christian.

Arkansan wrote on April 4, 2007 9:33 AM:

Ralph, if you’d followed this at all and were willing to learn you’d know that the issues are abuse of process and obstruction of justice. It is wrong and illegal for an USA to use his office to harass opponents for political gain, such the pressure to investigate “vote fraud” when there was none. Other examples of abuse of power in the firings were pressure to empanel a grand jury were there was not a crime. Let’s not forget the crowning jewel, the dismissal of AG’s who had the audacity to prosecute Republicans who were corrupt to the core.

As for religious bigotry, at this juncture your feigned indignation is laughable. It’s the hypocrisy of those who claim to possess pious superiority with the empty claim of Christianity that is ridiculed. The people in the administration aren’t Christian, that’s the point. They are amoral authoritarian creeps who hope to continue to fool those who sincere in their faith with their cynical claims of religious devotion.

Their claim of faith is as fake as your claim not to understand the central issues at hand, and justifiably subject to ridicule.

code: poison

Arkansan wrote on April 4, 2007 9:34 AM:

Ralph, if you’d followed this at all and were willing to learn you’d know that the issues are abuse of process and obstruction of justice. It is wrong and illegal for an USA to use his office to harass opponents for political gain, such the pressure to investigate “vote fraud” when there was none. Other examples of abuse of power in the firings were pressure to empanel a grand jury were there was not a crime. Let’s not forget the crowning jewel, the dismissal of AG’s who had the audacity to prosecute Republicans who were corrupt to the core.

As for religious bigotry, at this juncture your feigned indignation is laughable. It’s the hypocrisy of those who claim to possess pious superiority with the empty claim of Christianity that is ridiculed. The people in the administration aren’t Christian, that’s the point. They are amoral authoritarian creeps who hope to continue to fool those who sincere in their faith with their cynical claims of religious devotion.

Their claim of faith is as fake as your claim not to understand the central issues at hand, and justifiably subject to ridicule.

code: poison

monyka@gmail.com wrote on May 5, 2007 8:54 PM:

hello

yellow@aol.com wrote on May 23, 2007 3:36 AM:

buy cialis

kilka wrote on July 31, 2007 12:51 PM:

gmc trucks here www.gmctruck.fora.pl
gmc from america www.gmctruck.fora.pl
real gmc www.gmctruck.fora.pl

and www.emeraldring.fora.pl rings

Alesha wrote on September 29, 2007 4:42 AM:

Hi, nice page.!
look on my pages:
dedicated organization policy profit public

ok.. bitte

free music download wrote on September 30, 2007 3:28 AM:

Hi, there!..690489e0d23adba7e7824d1a379f377e

Sasha wrote on September 30, 2007 5:09 AM:

Hi, nice page.!
look on my pages:
conservation dedicated organization profit

ok.. bitte

Sasha wrote on September 30, 2007 5:09 AM:

Hi, nice page.!
look on my pages:
conservation dedicated organization profit

ok.. bitte

Gopi wrote on January 4, 2008 5:10 PM:

"What right do the American people have to interfere with God's work?"

If the likes of Goodling and Bush are the result of God's work, then Americans (with a capital "A") have every right to interfere.