Comments (25)

br wrote on May 1, 2007 4:47 PM:

Iraq has its own Karl Rove. (Thanks to War & Piece for flagging this one.)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/01/iraq.office/index.html

Rebel wrote on May 1, 2007 5:12 PM:

Another one bites the dust. They are dropping like the flys they attract.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070501/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/interior_resignation

Richard L. Adlof wrote on May 1, 2007 5:36 PM:

At least outwardly, Comey appears to be willing to retain his honor and pretend to do the right thing (although no one can accuse him of not displaying partisan thinking). This could be ugly for the Attorney's General's Office . . . BUT the administration might have ran this crap mostly behind his back because of his marked tendancy to do the right thing.

Glenn wrote on May 1, 2007 5:38 PM:

Why the subpoena if he's already planning to testify?

Anonymous wrote on May 1, 2007 5:40 PM:

Rebel,

the web site all ready has taken her off the list

Vacant - Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Wow, there fast! When they want to be!

PeeJ wrote on May 1, 2007 5:46 PM:

Man, wouldn't it be something if she too was involved in "Hookergate"? Geesh, I wouldn't put anything past these repugnicans.

Peace!

Com-n-sense wrote on May 1, 2007 7:32 PM:

Where's Goodling?

Com-n-sense wrote on May 1, 2007 7:35 PM:

Where's Goodling? Where's anyone? Are they just going to let Gonezo walk? You can go in front of these so-called accountability people basically tell them to kiss your ass and go about your business?

All of this is moving way too slow. After Gonezo gave his song and dance they should of jumped on this the very next day.

obsessed wrote on May 1, 2007 7:37 PM:

>Why the subpoena if he's already planning to testify?

It allows him more leeway in his testimony - I don't remember the exact legal reason, but it's something like that - it lets him spill more guts - it's a good thing (all this presumes that Comey is a friendly witness which we think he is, based on his behavior in the Fitz investigation)

Weasel Watch! wrote on May 1, 2007 7:53 PM:

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Mailing Address:
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Type: LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY

Status: ACTIVE

Status Date: 3/22/2007

Filing Date: 3/22/2007

Duration: PERPETUAL

State or Country of Incorporation: VIRGINIA

Registered Agent:
D KYLE SAMPSON

Status: ACTIVE

Creation Date: 3/22/2007

Registered Office:
4927 25TH ST
SOUTH ARLINGTON, VA 22206

SqueakyRat wrote on May 1, 2007 9:15 PM:

OK, I like Josh's new video thing, but I have a couple of worries. First of all, he seems to have taken up daily shaving. What the hell is up with that? And then, he used to have a lava lamp on the bookshelf behind him. Now it's gone! This is very disappointing.

EdNSted wrote on May 1, 2007 9:51 PM:

Does anyone have a link to any article that explains/speculates what Comey will be asked about or what answers he's expected to provide.

Are we going to learn anything we don't already know? Major witness or minor witness? Since I haven't a great deal of buzz, I'm guessing minor witness...

Buck wrote on May 1, 2007 10:29 PM:

You've made excellent progress on the AG scandal and everything seems to falling in line for a nice timetable.

The Homeland Security Department, which doesn't have civil service, is a suggestion for the next department to be on your long list of targeted agencies.

Anonymous wrote on May 2, 2007 1:35 AM:

And then, he used to have a lava lamp on the bookshelf behind him. Now it's gone! This is very disappointing.
Posted by: SqueakyRat
I definitely am missing the lava lamp. Saw him on some Bill Moyers show tonight. He did a GREAT job!

Nancy wrote on May 2, 2007 3:15 AM:

Yeah, Josh...bring back the lava lamp! It's relaxing and comforting, in a strange sort of way. Makes the crap easier to digest...almost like watching the Watergate hearings, with incense burning, and a nice buzz waning.....

Love my Talkingpointsmemo...thanks for all you do.

Nosybody wrote on May 2, 2007 7:06 AM:

I wondered where the lava lamp went, too.

Weasel Watch! wrote on May 2, 2007 8:15 AM:

I liked the truck noise in yesterday's clip. Very NYC.

BTW, on his bio, Tim Griffin omitted a stint as a consultant from Jan 2005 to April 2005 at an annual rate of $180k but the consulting stint was mentioned in a WH email.

I think Griffin should disclose the name(s) of his client(s)to make sure he has no conflict of interests.

Weasel Watch! wrote on May 2, 2007 8:19 AM:

James Comey was DAG in the fall of 2004 when Monica Goodling was supposedly prosecuting low-level criminal cases out of the USA-EDVA's office.

Will the HJC ask Comey what he knows about Goodling?

If something untoward was going on between AG Ashcroft and Goodling, Comey knows about it. It is just the way office affairs work.

Anonymous wrote on May 2, 2007 9:05 AM:

Weasel Watch!- best MuckRaker name ever. LOL!

Englischlehrer wrote on May 2, 2007 9:15 AM:

Seriously, it's hard to keep up to date on all of this, I feel I am totally up on the US Attorney scandal but there's always new angles.

We need to do some research on EVERY US Attorney to see when they were appointed, who/what they have investigated. 7:1 ratio investiagating Democrats can't be a mistake.

Weasel Watch! wrote on May 2, 2007 9:46 AM:

This morning, Weasel Watch puts the spotlight on Jane Wilson Cherry, GOP operative.

Cherry has worked for Karl Rove at the WH for almost two years. She has been in the USA8 email loop, according to DOJ docs, and probably knows a lot about what has been going on at the DOJ and why.

Cherry, a native of Little Rock AR, has an impeccable GOP pedigree. Dating back to 1989, her parents, Jack and Sandra Cherry, were two of only fifty guests invited to a private party in Little Rock to hear then RNC chairman, Lee Atwater, speak.

Jane's mother, Sandra Wilson Cherry, was an AUSA with the USA-EDAR's office for thirty years. She died in August 2006.

Jane's father, John S. (Jack) Cherry is an attorney with Little Rock law firm, Barber, McCaskill, Jones & Hale, P.A. According to the AR corp reg, Cherry is the firm's treasurer. Other officers are Glenn W. Jones Jr., Michael E. Hale and Robert L. Henry III.

Prior to joining Karl Rove's hit squad, Jane Cherry worked for the RNC in Little Rock from 8/03 and 9/04, according to FEC records. She then worked for the RNC in DC from 9/04 to 6/05.

Cherry's last known address in DC is 3913 Benton St, NW Washington, DC 20007.

Weasel Watch! would appreciate hearing from anyone with any other information about Jane Cherry, GOP operative.

Weasel Watch! wrote on May 2, 2007 9:47 AM:

This morning, Weasel Watch! puts the spotlight on Jane Wilson Cherry, GOP operative.

Cherry has worked for Karl Rove at the WH for almost two years. She has been in the USA8 email loop, according to DOJ docs, and probably knows a lot about what has been going on at the DOJ and why.

Cherry, a native of Little Rock AR, has an impeccable GOP pedigree. Dating back to 1989, her parents, Jack and Sandra Cherry, were two of only fifty guests invited to a private party in Little Rock to hear then RNC chairman, Lee Atwater, speak.

Jane's mother, Sandra Wilson Cherry, was an AUSA with the USA-EDAR's office for thirty years. She died in August 2006.

Jane's father, John S. (Jack) Cherry is an attorney with Little Rock law firm, Barber, McCaskill, Jones & Hale, P.A. According to the AR corp reg, Cherry is the firm's treasurer. Other officers are Glenn W. Jones Jr., Michael E. Hale and Robert L. Henry III.

Prior to joining Karl Rove's hit squad, Jane Cherry worked for the RNC in Little Rock from 8/03 and 9/04, according to FEC records. She then worked for the RNC in DC from 9/04 to 6/05.

Cherry's last known address in DC is 3913 Benton St, NW Washington, DC 20007.

Weasel Watch! would appreciate hearing from anyone with any other information about Jane Cherry, GOP operative.

Weasel Watch! wrote on May 2, 2007 9:49 AM:

Oops! The only difference between the first and second post is an exclamation point after Weasel Watch in the first sentence.

Maybe Paul or one of the other MRs can delete Cherry post #1.

Kat wrote on May 2, 2007 11:14 AM:

Is this another I can't remember, can't recall crap that has kept the President to have confidence in his bipatisan cronies. I don't know how they can sleep at night or look in the mirror. It's their own nightmare of their own doing and this Congress needs to do the will of the people and Impreach them all.

Weasel Watch! wrote on May 2, 2007 1:16 PM:

Here at Weasel Watch!, we are convinced renowned GOP operative, Tim Griffin, was appointed Interim USA-EDAR to manage a full-scale GOP assault on the Clintons in '08.

For example, Griffin could open a criminal investigation into the Arkansas prison blood scandal, based on research conducted by Arkansas investigative reporter, Kelly Duda, for his recent documentary, 'Factor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal.'

From Wikipedia:

"'Factor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal' is a feature length documentary by Arkansas filmmaker and investigative journalist Kelly Duda. Through interviews and presentation of documents and footage, Duda alleges that for more than two decades, the Arkansas prison system profited from selling blood plasma from inmates infected with viral hepatitis and AIDS. The documentary contends that thousands of victims who received transfusions of a blood product derived from these plasma products, "Factor 8", died as a result.

Factor 8 uses in-depth interviews and key documents as well as never-before-seen footage, to allege wrongdoing at the Arkansas state government under Governor Bill Clinton's leadership, and at the United States federal level.

Through in-depth interviews with a number of players, including victims in Canada who contracted the diseases, US state prison officials, former employees, high-ranking Arkansas politicians and inmate donors, Factor 8 examines a prison blood-harvesting scheme run by prisoners to earn them an income; the blood was then sold by blood companies for millions. The harvested plasma was then shipped around the world, where it has been reported to have infected thousands of haemophilia patients..."

Key phrase: "Through in-depth interviews with a number of players, including ...US state prison officials, former employees, high-ranking Arkansas politicians..."

Weasel Watch! is interested in learning whether the 20% increase in the number of AUSAs prosecuting criminal cases in the USA-EDAR's Little Rock office in Little Rock corresponds with similar percentage increase in other USA offices nationwide.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)
BYLINE: LINDA SATTER
March 20, 2002, Wednesday

"U.S. attorney shifts personnel in office Veteran prosecutor Cherry named to serve as Cummins' chief deputy"

U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins has shuffled several key staff positions in his Little Rock office, resulting in the appointment of veteran prosecutor Sandra Cherry as his top deputy...

As first assistant U.S. attorney, Cherry replaces Michael Johnson, who held the position throughout the seven-year tenure of former U.S. Attorney Paula Casey. Casey was a Clinton appointee and resigned Dec. 31, 2000, when Clinton's term as president ended. Johnson then served as acting U.S. attorney until Cummins, a Bush appointee, took over last December.

Like Cummins, Cherry is a Republican. Asked if that played a role in her promotion, Cummins said, "No, not really...

Johnson's job is now senior litigation counsel, which will require trying and supervising difficult cases and training young assistant U.S. attorneys.

Bob Govar, 51, a federal prosecutor for 22 years, was previously the office's senior litigator. He has been promoted to chief of the criminal division.

Cummins said Tuesday that the reorganization, effective last week, was "mainly stimulated by the Justice Department's authorization" for the new supervisory position that Govar now holds...In addition to Cummins, there are 21 assistant U.S. attorneys, and soon there will be 26.

Although the office hasn't previously had a separate position for criminal division chief, it has always had a civil division chief. Cummins said Richard Pence will retain that title.

The new criminal supervisory position was needed because the office soon will add four prosecutor positions, thanks to a U.S. Department of Justice initiative and anti-terrorism legislation that followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Cummins said..."

Here is the DOJ current roster of key personnel in the USA-EDAR's office. Note that Michael Johnson has gone from being FAUSA to Senior Litigation Counsel to Immigration Coordinator.

USA-EDAR:

USA Tim Griffin
First AUSA Jane Duke
Criminal Chief Robert J. Govar***
Civil Chief Richard M. Pence
ATAC Coordinator Joe Volpe
Immigration Coordinator Michael Johnson
DOSM Scott Hendriks
Chief, FLU Stacey McCord
Admin Officer Elaine Dawson
Intelligence Research Specialist Scott Hendriks
Systems Manager Elaine Dawson
VW Coordinator Leslie Hollingsworth
LECC Coordinator Amanda Warford
Senior Litigation Counsel Kevin Alexander

A couple of days ago, USA Tim Griffin replaced Robert J. "Bob" Govar as Criminal Chief with Pat Harris after Govar sent a threatening email to editor and publisher of the Arkansas Leader, Garrick Feldman, using his DOJ email account and signing the email as "Criminal Chief". Link below.

Govar was upset because Feldman was skeptical about Govar’s testimony that he wasn’t aware he was the beneficiary of prohibited inmate labor on a work crew that former Lonoke police chief, Jay Campbell, had provided for labor on Govar’s property.

The Campbell corruption case is a doozy involving "public corruption, drugs, thefts, misuse of prisoners — a law-enforcement system that was totally out of control as former Lonoke Police Chief Jay Campbell broke the law more often than the criminals he was supposed to be holding in the city jail, while his wife joined him in the crime spree and dated some of those prisoners."

There is a lot of speculation in Arkansas as to why former USA Bud Cummins refused to prosecute the Campbells. Garrick Feldman speculated as to whether AUSA Robert J. "Bob" Govar influenced his decision. Local prosecutor Lona McCastlain ended up successfully prosecuting the difficult and politcally sensitive case.

Lona McCastlain for USA-EDAR!

Someone here told me that Robert J. "Bob" Govar was heavily involved in the investigation of Bill and Hillary Clinton in the '90s but I haven't found any evidence to that effect.

If anyone knows anything about AUSA Robert J. "Bob" Govar playing a role in the investigation of the Clintons, Weasel Watch! would love to hear from you. So would Josh Marshall, I bet.