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You Call That A Contradiction?
It's just become a routine of the U.S. attorney scandal -- pinpointing a contradiction between something Kyle Sampson wrote or said and something else Sampson wrote or said... and then watching him try to wriggle out of it.
Here for instance, is a mind-bending dodge from last month's hearing. He carefully explained why he wrote in an email last year that Timothy Griffin's appointment was "important to Karl" and then prepared a letter to Congress in February that said the department wasn't aware of Karl Rove having any role in Griffin's appointment. I'd summarize his answer here, but it's complicated.
And here we go again.
As I noted earlier, one of today's documents shows Kyle Sampson suggesting possible replacements for U.S. attorneys to be fired. And as Dan Eggen points out in The Washington Post....
During the March 29 hearing, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked Sampson whether he had specific replacements in mind for seven of the prosecutors before they were fired on Dec. 7."I personally did not," Sampson replied. "On December 7th, I did not have in mind any replacements for any of the seven who were asked to resign."
But, of course, there's an answer. From ABC News:
"There was some early brainstorming about possible replacements for one or more of the U.S. attorneys who were ultimately terminated. By the time they were let go in December 2006, no specific replacements had been identified or decided upon among any of the seven," one source with knowledge of the discussions about the firings told ABC News.
Nothing to see here.
Comments (29)
Off2xtremes wrote on April 13, 2007 3:12 PM:I'm an attorney and have always felt that in everyone's office there is a "brown hands file" that every time you touch it, it turns to s**t.
I'm thinking that the purge is now the White House's "brown hands file."
bordersmuggler wrote on April 13, 2007 3:26 PM:Let's hope Conyers, Leahy, and Waxman are not being distracted by these diversions but are instead working diligently with the preparation of articles of impeachment.
Beyond impeachment, if the source of the forged Niger documents can be tied to the White House, the focus may shift to the prosecution of war crimes.
skank wrote on April 13, 2007 3:27 PM:Hmmm. It's certainly interesting that Sampson looks like George Costanza from the Seinfeld show. Apparently has the same level of competence, too.
Jane wrote on April 13, 2007 3:31 PM:Kyle gave himself wiggle room with that I 'persononally' did not.
This is typical deceptive behavior. Qualifying where a person able to give a stright answer would simply say no.
An alert follow up would be you said you did not personally have replacements in mind. Who do you know who did?
Code: Rule -- As in the Publican Party position: the rules do not apply to us because our hearts are pure."
714Day wrote on April 13, 2007 3:31 PM:ABC news has been broadcasting from the Emerald City for so long they are a horse of a yellow color.
PrgrsvArchitect wrote on April 13, 2007 3:33 PM:More Sampson lies... (my comment in the doc dump thread)
Didn't Sampson testify that there was no documentation or charts or notes about the reasons potential USAs were to be fired? I believe Sen Schumer asked him this during his first round of testimony. From the comments above and the charts in the documents it seems somebody may have committed perjury.
Paul wrote on April 13, 2007 3:36 PM:Hey, let's leave George out of this. At least he knew he was a schmuck with no scruples. Sampson appears to be one of these zombie zealots on a mission, who believe the ends justify the means. I wish George was/is the Deputy or the AG. We would be a lot better off than we are now.
jdw wrote on April 13, 2007 3:49 PM:January 9, 2006 < December 7, 2006
Of course at least one of the names "brainstormed" actually got appointed Interim USAG. Not that Karl had anything to do with that appointment. ;)
Frederick wrote on April 13, 2007 3:52 PM:So many crimes so little time. They need to prioritize all
Anonymous wrote on April 13, 2007 3:58 PM:of them, and go after the ones that will bring the easiest
convictions, if not they will be spinning their wheels from now til Jan.20,2009.
Kyle left himself lots of wiggle room in his answer. Let's parse:
"I personally did not," Sampson replied. "On December 7th, I did not have in mind any replacements for any of the seven who were asked to resign."
As noted previously, we have the 'personally' in there. Also note that he narrows down his answer to one specific day. Maybe on December 7th he was under general anaethesia or drunk or something... Or maybe on that day he had something else in his mind.
We cannot rule out the possibility that he can have only one thing in his mind at a time!
br wrote on April 13, 2007 4:06 PM:NYTimes is on this big time - at the top of their home page:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/washington/13cnd-Attorneys.html
StClair wrote on April 13, 2007 4:24 PM:What a small, incestuous group this is all turning out to be.
I suppose to effect this kind of change, so dependent upon personal loyalties and hidden agendas, a small group of insiders would be necessary.
Has anyone put together a chart showing the personalities and their roles?
code: narrow. speaks for itself.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 13, 2007 4:47 PM:O.T. - I think it would be worthwhile to get Tim Griffin to fill in the four-month gap between 12/04 and 4/05 on his resume.
Griffin had just come off a big win in 11/04 and no way was he paying his own way. The fact that the WH wants to keep Griffin's benefactor secret is reason enough to ask about the gap.
I know that Griffin married Elizabeth Ann Crain in Little Rock on 4/2/05:
"4/17/05 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:
Griffin-Crain
Elizabeth Ann Crain and John Timothy Griffin were united in marriage April 2 in First Presbyterian Church. The father of the bridegroom officiated.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Alan Crain of Camden are the parents of the bride. The bridegroom is the son of Lavonia Beasley Griffin of Magnolia and the Rev. Daniel Wade Griffin of Charlotte, N.C.
Honor attendants were Katherine Amanda Crain, Scott Morgan Morris and Jeffrey Westbrook Nolan.
After a honeymoon on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, the couple will live in Little Rock and Alexandria, Va."
I'd like to know if Elizabeth Ann Crain Griffin has a bullshit government job which is really a supplement to Griffin's USA income.
Note that the Griffins expected to live in Little Rock and Alexandria VA after their honeymoon.
We know Griffin went to England with Crain in December 2004 [Who footed the bill for the trip?]because he wrote about it in an English college newsletter (Google "Elizabeth Ann Crain"):
"...During the hectic 2004 presidential campaign, I was engaged to marry Elizabeth Ann Crain. She and I grew up 30 miles from each other but never met until we were introduced in Washington, D.C. in 2003 [I doubt it.] Elizabeth and I visited Pembroke in December 2004 and attended the Christmas Concert in the Damon Wells Chapel. We married in April 2005. Some of my friends from Pembroke made the trek from London to Arkansas for the wedding, including James C.F. Hanham (1990) and Eric Lonergan (1990).
Shortly after our wedding, in April 2005, I began serving President George W. Bush as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director, Office of Political Affairs at the White House. The highlight of my tenure at the White House was organising and coordinating political support for the confirmation of Judge John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
My duties at the White House were unfortunately cut short due to military service. In September 2005, I was mobilised to active duty in the U.S. Army for one year as a Captain. I am currently serving as an Army Prosecutor and legal advisor. I have been an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, U.S. Army Reserve, for almost ten years but have never before been activated. I am on military leave from the White House until September 2006.
My time at Pembroke College was special and nothing short of life changing: I made enduring friendships and learned much about the world and myself. For this and more, I am eternally grateful. My time at Pembroke College was special and nothing short of life changing.”
BTW, Griffin's online bio appears to be overstated. He exaggerated and may have even lied about his Iraq "service" which was 85 days max.
Jason wrote on April 13, 2007 5:02 PM:Code Glass as in its plain what the neocon agenda is and the liberal agenda as well.
DCB wrote on April 13, 2007 5:07 PM:I see the Karl Rove Jr. look to Sampson, but actually he looks more like Radar O'Reilly to me. The question is, does he have the foresight Radar did, or is he as stupid as he comes across in his testimony.
T2 wrote on April 13, 2007 5:17 PM:and George Costanza prided himself on being an excellent liar.
Karen Johnson wrote on April 13, 2007 5:27 PM:"Has anyone put together a chart showing the personalities and their roles?"
Yes!:
tbhull wrote on April 13, 2007 5:40 PM:http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051114/delavega/2
Staring at his image above from the hills of western Arkansas, I can't help but notice that Kyle Sampson sure does have a pretty mouth.
Mixed Metaphor wrote on April 13, 2007 6:13 PM:I suppose we could just call him Karl's Jr.
litigatormom wrote on April 13, 2007 6:25 PM:The real Sampson explanation:
On December 6, 2006, Karl Rove and I engaged in a Vulcan mind meld, during which all of my thoughts and memories concerning the replacements for the prosecutors to be fired were transferred to Karl. In return, Karl transferred to me the empty, vapid thoughts of George W. Bush, which had been transferred to Karl during a previous mind meld between Karl and the President.
Therefore, I did not personally have in my mind the names of any replacements for the prosecutors to be fired on December 7, 2006.
On December 8, 2006, Karl told me the names of the replacements, which I heard as if for the first time. I am still waiting to give back President Bush's empty vapid thoughts, but no one seems to want them.
Richard L. Adlof wrote on April 13, 2007 8:10 PM:Why do I get the feeling at the Chimp-in-Charge and other human-animal hybrids in the White House are using the 'baffle them with bullshit' principle to run out the clock.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 14, 2007 10:55 AM:Anyone ever come across any Florida cases handled by Kyle Sampson when he supposedly was a Special AUSA? I'm not sure but I think I remember reading that Sampson was in FL and SC but not much as been said about that part of his DOJ career.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 14, 2007 11:08 AM:@ April 14, 2007 10:55 AM
I found one case listing D. Kyle Sampson as SAUSA:
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Michael F. KIMBLE, Sr., Defendant-Appellant.
No. 03-4096.
Submitted July 10, 2003.
Decided July 17, 2003
Defendant pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Claude M. Hilton, Chief Judge, to identification theft. Defendant appealed. The Court of Appeals held that: (1) defendant was subject to upward sentence adjustment for abuse of position of trust, and (2) claim that district court abused its discretion in failing to grant downward departure from Sentencing Guidelines range was not subject to appellate review.
Affirmed in part; dismissed in part.
Defendant who pleaded guilty to identification theft was subject to upward adjustment, under Sentencing Guidelines, for abuse of position of trust, given that defendant held position of trust with respect to recruits who gave confidential and identifying information to Army recruiting station that defendant commanded and with respect to enlisted personnel who served under defendant, that defendant was in charge of station's records and their confidentiality, and that defendant misled postal inspector investigating identity thefts, failed to report investigation to proper Army authorities, and attempted to conceal his crime by paying debts he created anonymously. 18 U.S.C.A. § 1028(a)(7), (b)(1)(D); U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3, 18 U.S.C.A.
Claim that district court abused its discretion in failing to grant defendant downward departure from Sentencing Guidelines range was not subject to appellate review, necessitating dismissal of portion of appeal raising such claim, when there was nothing in the record to suggest that district court was unaware of its authority to grant departure. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.1 et seq., 18 U.S.C.A.
*114
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Claude M. Hilton, Chief District Judge. (CR-02-549).
William B. Moffitt, L. Barrett Boss, Peter B. Paris, Asbill, MOffitt & Boss, Chtd., Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Paul J. McNulty, United States Attorney, Michael J. Elston, Assistant United States Attorney, D. Kyle Sampson, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before WILKINSON, MOTZ, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 14, 2007 12:00 PM:@April 14, 2007 11:08 AM
Again, we have another b.s. case listing a high-level DOJ official as a SAUSA. I checked PACER for the original case docket and Michael Elston appears to have screwed the defendant all by himself.
I posted details of Monica Goodling's b.s. cases at the TPM Cafe (link below).
I read that the DOJ was running a program for high-level DOJ officials to get practical field experience but if the Kimble case is an example of it, the program was fake. Sampson didn't gain any experience from the Kimble case whatsoever.
Are we sure that the WH wasn't going to send out Sampson, Goodling et al as emergency USAs during the '08 campaign?
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 14, 2007 12:26 PM:Anyone ever figure out why D. Kyle Sampson and his wife, Noelle, did not take out a mortgage on their $425k Arlington VA house when they bought it in June 2004?
br wrote on April 14, 2007 2:10 PM:Mrs P - Google gives an address for both Kyle and Noelle Sampson. However, there is discrepant information about that house. The Washington Post reported a sale at that address in late 2004 to a real estate company for $500,000. The Arlington real estate assessment records say there is a single-family house there that sold in late 2005 to someone other than Kyle Sampson for $947,000.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1616-2004Dec15_3.html
http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/RealEstate/reassessments/scripts/Inquiry.asp?Action=View&lrsn=60407
This is interesting but there is either confusion or misinformation (similar to Copix photo?) here. Is this address that Google gives the same address that you have for D. Kyle Sampson in Arlington?
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 14, 2007 2:41 PM:br@April 14, 2007 02:10 PM
I'm not sure what address you are referring to.
11/25/04 WaPo:
25TH ST. S., 4927-Ramiro L. Morgana and Maritza G. Defoor to Noelle L. and D.Kyle Sampson, $425,000
No mortgage was listed in Lexis-Nexis records for the 25th St. property at the time of sale but L-N could be wrong.
You can also check the Sampson property records here:
http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/RealEstate/reassessments/scripts/Inquiry.asp?action=view&lrsn=44893
br wrote on April 14, 2007 4:58 PM:If you google Kyle Sampson Arlington you'll get the address I'm talking about. Same if you replace Kyle with Noelle. The two houses are less than half a mile apart.
The owner is a Kreg J Schmidt, who is a 41-year-old partner in Accenture's Reston, VA main office. (They have 2800 people working there.) He's in the Communications & High Tech part of Accenture. His name pops up in an SEC filing on a list of what appear to be Accenture partners who own shares via an overseas entity; the remaining info is from a myspace page cafelekreg. Otherwise he seems to keep a very low profile. The Kreg J Schmidt who's a civil engineer in Minnesota is someone else. There is no sign I can find of any other Kreg Schmidt anywhere in the country.
I don't know what we've got here. It could be anything from a short-term rental while the Schmidts were away (or the Sampsons renting a small old house before they bought their house - the Schmidt house appears to be a 2005 mansionization) to misinformation either deliberate or accidental to something else.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on April 16, 2007 8:12 AM:br@April 14, 2007 04:58 PM
LOL - I wasn't at the top of my game yesterday. I must have googled "Kyle Sampson Arlington" four or five times before I noticed the Greenbrier St address.
I did a reverse search on the tel # at WhitePages.com and Sampson's 25th St address came back. You might be right about the Sampsons renting the Greenbrier St house before buying the 25th St one.
I don't have the resources to go any further with this avenue of inquiry but I wish someone would check it out. Again, I'm not saying Kyle Sampson did anything wrong but Sampson has been in a position over the years to make some decisions that would greatly benefit certain parties.
Doing a background check on Kyle Sampson's finances is a fairly routine thing to do if you are investigating public corruption but a lot of these so-called investigations seem to skip over the basics.
Yesterday, I took another swipe at Tom DeLay at the TPM Cafe (link below). I haven't finished posting in the thread but I did bring up some questions I've had about his "charities" that I have never seen asked anywhere else.
Maybe there is nothing to the issues I raised but I'd still like to know how Celebrations For Children could be raise $354k in contributions and not donate one dime to children or anyone else.
LOL - Seeing DeLay on television is like waving a red flag in front of my face. Makes me even more determined to nail everyone in the GOP to the wall!