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Comey Details U.S. Attorney Firings
If there was one major revelation during the hearing today, it was that James Comey had been involved in the firing of two U.S. attorneys when he was deputy attorney general.
But these firings were worlds away from the firing of the eight U.S. attorneys last December. First, they were individual cases -- and in each case, Comey said, there was "serious misconduct... these were not close calls, as soon as you read about it, you said, 'this guy's got to go.'" Second, Comey said that there was extensive discussion with the U.S. attorneys about what the problem was. And third, Comey had discussions with senior staff and the attorney general about the problem before asking the U.S. attorneys to resign.
Comey didn't identify either of the U.S. attorneys, and only said that one of the firings was during John Ashcroft's tenure as attorney general, and the other was during Gonzales'. One of the U.S. attorneys voluntarily resigned, and the other refused to resign and was fired by the president "by letter," Comey said.
Comments (20)
jdw wrote on May 3, 2007 12:55 PM:I suspect some Muck-Readers can piece together who those two are, and some stories about their offices having issues.
It's a rather sharp contrast to the Gonzo 8. One is getting the feeling that Chairman Conyers' staff, along with those of some of the other Reps, did a rather good of interviewing Comey in advance of these hearings and knew where to zero in on.
Atlantan wrote on May 3, 2007 1:22 PM:One was probably Rick Thompson, U.S. attorney for Savannah, Ga., who resigned in January 2004. In October 2002, Thompson had called a press conference announcing he had opened an investigation of a Democratic state legislator.
That legislator happened to be running for re-election against a GOP friend of Thompson.
mechanosm wrote on May 3, 2007 1:23 PM:For those of us who are not long-time Muck-Readers, can someone who is a devoted Mucker be little more explicit about who those two fired USAs are?
Nina wrote on May 3, 2007 1:26 PM:His involvement in questionable tactics in re Padilla not withstanding, Mr. Comey is quite a reassuring figure, and his testimony is both compelling and refreshing. I would almost describe it as "a breath of fresh air;" that is, his words, and actions as he describes them, and are exactly what one would expect of a high-ranking official in th Department of Justice.
It is frightening that the policies, procedures and ethical standards by which Mr. Comey appears to have functioned have been so thoroughly trashed by this administration. It will be a long time coming before Justice regains even the tatters of its former reputation.
Ken wrote on May 3, 2007 1:34 PM:How can he possibly remember those two firings with such detail and clarity? They were years ago! Simply inconceivable that details survive in his mind to this day.
Code word: sharp, as in "sharpen your pitchforks, angry mob."
RandyR wrote on May 3, 2007 1:39 PM:It's interesting in contrast how much Comey remembers and the Gonzolas crew can't. I only saw the end of the hearing but I don't recall hearing any questions he refused to answer.
Refreshing to hear it straight
Astrid wrote on May 3, 2007 1:47 PM:DiBiaggio
Steve5117 wrote on May 3, 2007 1:49 PM:D.C. Law Firm Suspends Woman Who Worked as Escort
nathaniel wrote on May 3, 2007 2:02 PM:http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/dc_law_firm_sus.html
yet gonzales can't remember a meeting from nov.
milo wrote on May 3, 2007 3:15 PM:I only wish that Rep. Watts had asked Mr. Comey if documents were generated during the process to fire these two USAs. If they were, the more recent firings should have generated similar documents which have been withheld. If not, legislation is required for future personnel decisions to create a document trail.
jdw wrote on May 3, 2007 3:49 PM:milo's comment is a solid one. The Committee should follow up with him on it, and then request them from the DOJ to comp with what was done my Sampson and Monica did.
Books Alive wrote on May 3, 2007 4:11 PM:To address the question on how Mr Comey retained those full memories of the two USAs fired during his two years at the DoJ, my inclination would be that a) he *does* have a good memory and b) I think that the rarity of firing 2 out of 93 or 94 would be meaningful and memorable.
You also have the buffer of discussions with colleagues, which he stated clearly. What would surprise *me* is if he could still remember his colleagues' names beyond Mr. Margolis, but it's possible that could be the case!
TheraP wrote on May 3, 2007 4:55 PM:Here's a guess:
For those with a conscience, firing someone would be very memorable.
For those with no conscience, just another day.
My dad, 90 this summer, well recalls people he had to fire 50 years ago!
Ken wrote on May 3, 2007 6:07 PM:Not sure if my sarcasm came through, Books Alive and TheraP. I have no doubt that AG AG has a very clear memory of this process, and simply does not want (or has been told not to) give a straight forward explanation. Even if his memory of specific events was legitimately cloudy back in January when he said "I would never, ever make a change in a United States attorney for political reasons" it is *genuinely* inconceivable that he had forgotten the entire process, or didn't understand its political underpinnings.
mg wrote on May 3, 2007 6:12 PM:Steve5117 at 1:49 said
D.C. Law Firm Suspends Woman Who Worked as Escort
The law firm is Monica Goodling's attorney's law firm, Akin Gump.
bob wrote on May 3, 2007 6:19 PM:I think they should hold Gonzales in contempt for lying and make him prove in court that his memory is really that bad. It's just not credible.
charlestonreader wrote on May 12, 2007 3:05 PM:Kasey Warner was fired because of an e-mail he sent to a Republican candidate for local county prosecutor agreeing to have a family member make a contribution for Kasey because Warner believed he could not. Warner knows full well why he was fired as does much of Charleston. There were articles in the local paper anticipating his firing. The FBI reviewed the hard drive of the computer on which the e-mail was found and the FBI reported the e-mail to main justice.
sailmaker wrote on May 12, 2007 3:55 PM:I still want to know what happened to Fred Black USA Guam - demoted and ordered not to cover public corruption while working on Abramoff/CC Marianas cases. I think he was basically fired in 2002, and deserves an investigation.
SouthernYankee wrote on May 12, 2007 7:28 PM:I have been watching Gonzo in front of the committee. He is such a liar and the republicans are giving him a free pass. If this was a democrat they surely would be screeming bloody murder. They think people aren't watching these meetings. Don't they realize that the Justice Dept should be neutral. I find it very sad how this administration is tearing down freedom and speech in this country. I think it will be a very long time before people will have republicans in the majority. Their loyalty is to the president and not the people. They are allowing this president to continue his war. Blood is on the republicans and the presidents hands.
Bush LIPS sink ships. wrote on May 13, 2007 5:54 PM:I still want to know what happened to Fred Black USA Guam - demoted and ordered not to cover public corruption while working on Abramoff/CC Marianas cases. I think he was basically fired in 2002, and deserves an investigation.
Posted by: sailmaker
Date: May 12, 2007 03:55 PM
I 2nd that. This is potentially explosive