Comments (49)

Anonymous wrote on August 27, 2007 2:52 PM:

Now that the Justice department is finished with it's house cleaning, The rest of the deal Bush made to spare himself impeachment will begin. The Cheney resignation will be forth coming within the time frame I estimated last week. There are three weeks left on that clock. If you look through obscure posts from three weeks ago until last week, you will see my original predictions about Rove (perfectly timed) and Gonzales (also one week prior as stated) Deny my accuracy and attribute it to coincedence or guessing if you like, but within three weeks from this day the dark one falls. The deal has been made and the substance of it is out. I am not a mystic and do not own a crystal ball. I do however own many devices that are able to communicate messages through the air. These have been put to great use.. Cheney is next, and you heard it here first. AS I STATED WITH MY OTHER POSTS MARK THIS ONE! Do not talk of it, Just mark it! It will be a great remebrance!

jak1 wrote on August 27, 2007 2:53 PM:

For the first time I agree with the president!

>>"It's sad that we live in a time that a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeding [sic] from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political purpose."<<

For political purposes. Yes Fredo was/is guilty of doing things strictly For political purposes. His good name was dragged through the mud.

Alberto Gonzales is a 'good' name. It rolls off the tongue smoothly. But other then that, it's not such a good thing to be named Alberto Gonzales.

Let the investigation of private citizen Alberto Gonzales begin.

drational wrote on August 27, 2007 3:02 PM:

Paul,
You and Josh and Spencer have brought down half of the DOJ.
Almost makes up for all of the Good Men and Women the rascals forced out.....

bryan Lamb wrote on August 27, 2007 3:28 PM:

The timing of the Rove / Gonzalez departures is curious. Rove's departure - almost a non-event - was soemwhat of a suprise. I think everyone, including me, (and what i could infer from the TPM stories, you and your team) assumed the administration would just drag their feet, not produce anything, not show up in congress to testify, and basically run out the clock, on the investigations and the presidency.

But then, about a month apart, two of the biggest players in this administration resign when the heat of the investigations seemed to be cooling. Its true there will be a show-down in Sept. on the contempt issues, but the coverage and (thus) the political fall out seemed to be waning. With all the tortured testimony the story was getting to mentally challenging to follow anymore. In my mind anyway, Gonzales' low point was about 3 months ago. Now,just when it looked like he had made it through the lowest times (and dragged Bush's approval ratings with him) he resigns?! Why not continue to be the road block he was hired to be for another 12 months; what could he possibly do wrong, now? What gives?

I am going to hypothesize (speculate) that there are two reasons that led to these two evildoers to resign now. First, the Reeps and Bush need to clean up the White House Image for the next election. Its true that nobody in the Bush adminstration is running for office -- but the Dems are going to be running against Bush/Rove/Gonzales. 12 months is a long time in politics. The Reeps and the WH are hoping that Rove and Gonzales will be distant memories come next summer. Without these two buffoons to kick around anymore, (they hope) the investigations will fizzle out. BTW, in the last couple months we have seen just about everyone who was a potential target in an investigation resign (miers, schlozman, win, gonzales, rove, Mcnulty, sampson, goodling, mercer, etc.) -- a list of the recent resignations - with a column citing their reasons -- and a column identifying what nefarious conduct they were connected to or accused of -- would be helpful.)

Second, it almost seems like Gonzales - who has been on the ropes for months - held out submitting his resignation papers to allow Rove to leave first. (Isn't that the key link in the attorney purge story?) Gonazales was ripe for departure about 3 months ago. So why now? I think Rove intended to leave the WH before teh next election was in full swing but after he had caused as much damage to the federal government as possible, but needed time to *tidy his room*, so to speak, before leaving. Since, Bush is incapable of trusting anyone but those who have sworn an oath to him and not the constitution, Gonzales had to stay until Rove left.

Congress must not let the resignations be the endgame -- they need to go forward with the investigations, and probably begin new investigations on what these ne'er-do-wells were doing in the 60 days before they left office. (i.e. putting big magnets next to their computers, shredding documents, etc.)

Oh yeah -- and a request for your site --- a list of recent resignations really would be helpful -- especially with a column identifying the character's connection to suspected illegal activities. (i.e. Scholzman - Reason given for leaving: none -- scandal: pressing bogus voter fraud cases with DOJ.)

Molly Ivins wrote on August 27, 2007 3:31 PM:

I told you bout Rove, I told you bout Gonzales. each one I predicted a week before they went .I also told you within a month Cheney will step down. There are three weeks remaining. Impeachment is off the table because of the deal that was made. Democrats are getting the guts of this administration and Bush gets spared. You people hard it from me a week in advance. The deals are mad an Cheney is next. Bush will be spared.

david silver wrote on August 27, 2007 3:34 PM:

it's an incredible list. i've been trying to keep a gone gallery of my own.

thanks to TPM for helping all of us keep up with it.

EH wrote on August 27, 2007 3:37 PM:

Cheney stepping down. OK. Got anything to back that up besides chicken bones and bongs?

Alguien wrote on August 27, 2007 3:42 PM:

I am still not clear about Alberto's departure.
He resigned because..."his good name was dragged through the mud"...?
I thought he served "at the pleasure of the President" and, as long as Bush had "full confidence", he had no intention to resign.
Besides, his "good name" has been undergoing extensive dragging through the mud for many months but, until now, Bush still stood by his pal without reservations.
So what happened this week?
Did anybody in Texas ask for his head?
Anyway, Freddo should be spending more time with his (own) familiy...
By the way...is anybody left to turn off the lights at the DoJ?
Talk about "ethnic cleansing"..!!!!

Jake D. wrote on August 27, 2007 3:45 PM:

More top officials resigned during Clinton's second term.

Anonymous wrote on August 27, 2007 3:47 PM:

Dick has no reason to resign.

Anonymous wrote on August 27, 2007 3:48 PM:

Dick has no reason to resign.

TheraP wrote on August 27, 2007 3:49 PM:

What strikes me is the absence of a joint news conference with bush. The absence of what we saw when rove left.

Goez-on - alone. NO pat on the back. No hug. He leaves the stage alone....

That to me says it all. He's so toxic, that bush can't even be seen with him!

POed Lib wrote on August 27, 2007 3:54 PM:

The question that remains is, who was hired as a Repukeliscum mole by Brad Schlozman? Who will keep track of the political hires made by this toad? How will they be identified and eliminated under the upcoming Democratic administration?

Jake Off wrote on August 27, 2007 3:55 PM:

Clinton did it too!!!!

Whaaaaah whaaaaah whaaaaaah cries baby jake d.

great job, josh!

EH wrote on August 27, 2007 4:06 PM:

TheraP: It's another example of white Southern privilege. Rove gets the going away party and the brown person gets booted out the back door.

totallynext wrote on August 27, 2007 4:14 PM:

Now that the Justice department is finished with it's house cleaning, The rest of the deal Bush made to spare himself impeachment will begin. The Cheney resignation will be forth coming within the time frame I estimated last week. There are three weeks left on that clock. If you look through obscure posts from three weeks ago until last week, you will see my original predictions about Rove (perfectly timed) and Gonzales (also one week prior as stated) Deny my accuracy and attribute it to coincedence or guessing if you like, but within three weeks from this day the dark one falls. The deal has been made and the substance of it is out. I am not a mystic and do not own a crystal ball. I do however own many devices that are able to communicate messages through the air. These have been put to great use.. Cheney is next, and you heard it here first. AS I STATED WITH MY OTHER POSTS MARK THIS ONE! Do not talk of it, Just mark it! It will be a great remebrance!

Posted by:
Date: August 27, 2007 2:52 PM

Who is your Cheney replacement?

Paul In SF wrote on August 27, 2007 4:22 PM:

Well, there are still a lot more Justice Department folks that we still need to see resign. I'm thinking specifically of all those graduates of that religious college, you remember, one of the lowest ranked law schools in the nation...

tikkun wrote on August 27, 2007 4:24 PM:

I wonder if Reid had a long talk with the Bush 1 office. They wanted these people out almost as badly as we did. I can imagine them telling Bush 2, at this point, that if he didn't do go with the deal worked out for him, they would help hold him under this time.

liberalpercy wrote on August 27, 2007 4:26 PM:

Jake D - After 8 years of witch-hunting hearings and special prosecutors, one guy got caught not telling the FBI about his mistress and I think somebody else got a few football tickets he shouldn't have. Oh yes - and Bill lied about a BJ. Earth-shattering crimes, all of them.

After 7 months of Democrats being stiffed by the White House, nearly the entire top staff of the Justice Department has resigned in disgrace, not to mention quite a few White House and OVP staff.

We still are in that awful war Bush started in Iraq under false pretenses, we still don't have habeas corpus rights, we still are running huge deficits despite Bush's fantasies, and the average worker's wages are still below where they were when Bill Clinton left office.

Jake D - just keep crying "Clinton did it too" as if that justifies wrongdoing, until you are the last whiny voice talking to yourself. It won't be long.

The rest of us will be busy cleaning up this cesspool that is the Bush administration and returning this nation to its former high standing in the world.

jak1 wrote on August 27, 2007 4:32 PM:

Why is it that these clowns always seem to resign whenever the Daily Show, and Colbert Report go on vacation??

or is it the Daily Show, and Colbert Report go on vacation when something juicy happens??

Now we have to wait another week for their point of view.

Jon and Stephen, you have a week to prepare. It better good.............

Threegoal wrote on August 27, 2007 4:36 PM:

TPM, you have served America well.

Pat yourself on the back, and spend up to one hour reading the plaudits on the Daily Kos site.

Now back to work! There's that much more to do.

[Code = "poison", like what Bush / Gonzo and the various creatures they found at Regent and elsewhere have done to Justice in this country.]

jak1 wrote on August 27, 2007 4:37 PM:

Now the medal of freedom for Fredo!

Lisa wrote on August 27, 2007 4:42 PM:

What about all of the 150+ graduates of that fine, upstanding law school at Regent University who have infiltrated the Justice Department like Manchurian Candidates? If they are not expunged, they will be allowed to continue their goal of bringing Christian-based laws into reality.

newspaperbrat wrote on August 27, 2007 4:44 PM:

ReElect President Gore & VP Edwards 2008!

Imagine the possibilities of 16 years of a Democratic administration.

On the Clock wrote on August 27, 2007 4:48 PM:

Next up is Cheney? Have to agree with no-name at the top of the thread -- this is playing out quite symphonically.

Meanwhile, Condi hasn't been seen in months, and has launched no diplomatic initiatives that would invite a whit of news coverage.

Sounds like the October Surprise is Condi's promotion to Veep, and entry into the GOP race the minute Hillary locks up her first delegates.

newspaperbrat wrote on August 27, 2007 4:48 PM:

ReElect President Gore & VP Edwards 2008!

Imagine 16 years of competent Democratic leadership!

kovie wrote on August 27, 2007 4:52 PM:

Add Tim Griffin and Sarah Taylor to the list. And Harriet Miers while you're at it, since even though she wasn't at DoJ, she was clearly part of this whole justice fixing scheme. I'm sure that I'm forgetting a few others not on the list. It's so long.

And while it's obviously never going to happen, I nominate any of the following to replace Gonzo:

Pat Fitzgerald
Carol Lam
John McKay
David Iglesias
Ken Starr

Just kidding about that last one!!!

kovie wrote on August 27, 2007 4:53 PM:

Add Tim Griffin and Sarah Taylor to the list. And Harriet Miers while you're at it, since even though she wasn't at DoJ, she was clearly part of this whole justice fixing scheme. I'm sure that I'm forgetting a few others not on the list. It's so long.

And while it's obviously never going to happen, I nominate any of the following to replace Gonzo:

Pat Fitzgerald
Carol Lam
John McKay
David Iglesias
Ken Starr

Just kidding about that last one!!!

kovie wrote on August 27, 2007 4:54 PM:

Add Tim Griffin and Sarah Taylor to the list. And Harriet Miers while you're at it, since even though she wasn't at DoJ, she was clearly part of this whole justice fixing scheme. I'm sure that I'm forgetting a few others not on the list. It's so long.

And while it's obviously never going to happen, I nominate any of the following to replace Gonzo:

Pat Fitzgerald
Carol Lam
John McKay
David Iglesias
Ken Starr

Just kidding about that last one!!!

kovie wrote on August 27, 2007 4:56 PM:

Sorry about the duplicate comments. It took forever to post and I hit Post more than once.

Anonymous wrote on August 27, 2007 5:17 PM:

Who is your Cheney replacement?

Posted by: totallynext
Date: August 27, 2007 4:14 PM

There are a few likely replacements. However if you read the news and notice which likely candidates are softly distancing themselves from Bush's Iraq policies you would come to the right group. The candidates are not to critical of Bush, but have in fact distanced themselves from the Iraq war policies in a quiet yet noticable way. This ensures approval from both sides of the fence. Go look through the last few weeks of headlines and read who is positioning themselves in a different way on the war.

lib4 wrote on August 27, 2007 6:10 PM:

Poor Bush has ahad a rough week.

Two more resignations (think Laura and Barney) and we could remake:

FOUR FUNERALS and a WEDDING

Stuart Eugene Thiel wrote on August 27, 2007 6:38 PM:

Don't forget all the career lawyers who were illegally hired because they're Christianists but are not protected by the civil service system. It'll take ten years to root them out.

RWN wrote on August 27, 2007 6:41 PM:

If the grand scheme has legs than it is Lugar he has a GOP Governor... Tret Lott, he has a GOP Governor, Mitch McConnell of Ky, or Orin Hatch of Utah.

Lugar would offer the easiest path of confirmation and smoothness for the party and WH. If the back room was really working I can see the senior Bush circles cleansing the road and getting rid of the posse and its hulligans like Rove and Freddo and finally the Billy the Cheney for the clean Lugar to come in and try to manage Iraq for the boy.

jdw wrote on August 27, 2007 7:18 PM:

Those guys all left because "Congress is really politicizing the Justice Department, unfairly so and dangerously so."

Well... at least that's how Ari Fleischer spins it. ;)

Gil wrote on August 27, 2007 7:55 PM:

?Why is it that these clowns always seem to resign whenever the Daily Show, and Colbert Report go on vacation??

or is it the Daily Show, and Colbert Report go on vacation when something juicy happens??

Now we have to wait another week for their point of view.

Jon and Stephen, you have a week to prepare. It better good.............

Posted by: jak1
Date: August 27, 2007 4:32 PM"

TDS and TCR are both on two week vacations, but Keith returns to Countdown on MSNBC tonight. He should have something to say about Fredo being gonzo!

olo wrote on August 27, 2007 10:50 PM:

Will the last prick out the door please turn off the lights.

blt wrote on August 27, 2007 11:08 PM:

Cheers to Josh and TPM for putting some justice back in Justice. Shame on the Justice employees who let it get this far.

hey there wrote on August 27, 2007 11:38 PM:

bill was an excellent president. he actually tried to make a positive difference in the world. he even believed his job was to work for the people. i know he got a bj and was to embarassed to admit to it. i think i would have denied it myself. regardless, it's not that bill got a bj that is the real crime. the real crime is that the rethugs were so made so insane by his competence and good cheer and hopefullness that they drug the thing into public view and made a spectacle of it. repubs are a very sick breed of humanity. speaking of repubs, i hear another one, a senator today was revealed to have been arrested this summer for trying to give a bj in an airport. are there any repubs who aren't gay?

hey there wrote on August 27, 2007 11:39 PM:

bill was an excellent president. he actually tried to make a positive difference in the world. he even believed his job was to work for the people. i know he got a bj and was too embarassed to admit to it. i think i would have denied it myself. regardless, it's not that bill got a bj that is the real crime. the real crime is that the rethugs were so made so insane by his competence and good cheer and hopefullness that they drug the thing into public view and made a spectacle of it. repubs are a very sick breed of humanity. speaking of repubs, i hear another one, a senator today was revealed to have been arrested this summer for trying to give a bj in an airport. are there any repubs who aren't gay?

tekel wrote on August 28, 2007 12:54 AM:

Lisa: What about all of the 150+ graduates of that fine, upstanding law school at Regent University who have infiltrated the Justice Department like Manchurian Candidates?

one word: rapture.

wistful wrote on August 28, 2007 5:10 AM:

I can't sleep I can't eat, I'm shaky....I think Cheney is getting ready to doom US. Georgie has made the complete trip to delusionville, and he's not coming back. Condi is definitely shining her spikes and getting ready to blind side the nation, as a "kinder gentler compassionate conservative" another "uniter not a divider"

The idiot Repub's are soooo transparent when they are desperate...they are scared to death of Hillary and Barack. So in their feeble attempt to garner moderate voters looking for "change" they'll try to get in their own version of hope and ethnicity. But what do you think their crazicommie base will say when they see Ms Rice at a debate along side her Whitbread opponents? They'll have plenty of racist negative comments, I'm sure.

It will be too much for some, and the last straw for some others. But no matter what they feel or think, they will still get out and vote, and vote GOP. They are incapable of anything else.

The Democrats cannot relax, and we have got to stop encouraging the press and everyone else to insist the Democratic Congress is no better than the last....They've done more, passed more legislation, challenged Monkey boy and his spawn in more ways in 7 mths, than the GOP Congress did in 7 years!

We have to stop whining and get behind our party's leaders to insist and encourage that they take our country back. Make them earn the prize. I think they are on the right track, and I applaud them! And I can't wait for the next act!!!

me wrote on August 28, 2007 9:02 AM:

If you're listing Wan Kim (unrelated to the firing scandal), you should also toss in Rachel Brand, the former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy (OLP).

Although she showed up briefly in one story line -- having been offered the US Attorney slot in Minn (where Tom Heffelfinger was sacked & Rachel Paulose installed) -- Brand didn't show up much in the damning email traffic. She also had a legit reason to bail (expected birth of first child).

Politicsasusual wrote on August 28, 2007 11:19 AM:

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the executive branch still retains limitless powers, oh so easily wrested from a compliant congress. The constitution is still a gutted smoldering wreck and congress doesn't have the will to even restore habeas corpus.

People cheer the demise of the bad cop, can't wait to install the good cop, and then prepare to sleep for another 4-8 years as the bill of rights gives way to creeping fascism.

This is all a charade; indeed a fun and interesting act, but the economic system is still in complete control of all of us. Politicians are simply the puppets on the stage, put there to amuse and entertain.

The only way you fight this monster is to stop consuming and starve the beast. Money is power, now use it to their disadvantage.

Papagato wrote on August 28, 2007 11:33 AM:

bryan lamb makes some good points about why the resignations now! But this strategy will only work if the Demos let it by not linking the scandals and wrong doing of this administration with the Republican Party's quest for decades long total political power of the executive,legislative and judical branches of government! Their cause is to control power and finish the task of dismantiling the gains and programs of the "New Deal". The fight is one for a more humane and compassionate government or that of one that says "greed is good" and the market is "GOD"! We must not let the Demos back down from this fight! The future of our democracy depends on it and compels all who understand this to make a stand!

Papagato wrote on August 28, 2007 11:34 AM:

bryan lamb makes some good points about why the resignations now! But this strategy will only work if the Demos let it by not linking the scandals and wrong doing of this administration with the Republican Party's quest for decades long total political power of the executive,legislative and judical branches of government! Their cause is to control power and finish the task of dismantiling the gains and programs of the "New Deal". The fight is one for a more humane and compassionate government or that of one that says "greed is good" and the market is "GOD"! We must not let the Demos back down from this fight! The future of our democracy depends on it and compels all who understand this to make a stand!

Anonymous wrote on August 28, 2007 12:24 PM:

32 C.F.R. PART 2800—SECURITY PROCEDURES

"All personnel of the Office of the Vice President are responsible individually for complying with the provisions of these regulations are in all respects. The provisions of these regulations applicable to all personnel assigned or detailed to the Office of the Vice President."

The Vice President is a "person" for purposes of 32 CFR 2800 enforcement. He shall comply with the CFR, which is the governing requirement; and shall be audited per Statement on Accounting Standard 74, to ensure compliance with the 32 CFR requirements applicable to the Vice President, OVP staff, and all OVP legal counsel.

# When did AG learn OVP was not complying with the 32 CFR 2800?

A plain reading of the Code of Federal Regulations puts the OVP, Vice President, and OVP legal counsel on the wrong side of the law. DOJ AG, DOJ OPR, and other legal counsel affiliated with the DC Bar need to decide whether you want to maintain public confidence in your legal profession; or whether you require outside supervision, as is required with law enforcement, to publicly oversee and monitor what appears to be an increasingly reckless, out of control, and unresponsive legal profession.

Why, despite clearly promulgated 32 CFR 2800 requirements on OVP for security issues, is the Department of Justice not swiftly moving to ensure the facts related to the obstruction of the auditors has been known, understood, and forwarded to the US Atty for prosecution;

Why hasn't this information been provided by DOJ OPR and DOJ Staff to the Grand Jury for their review?

OPR investigation was going to examine how two senior DOJ lawyers had repeatedly warned Gonzales that the NSA program was not legal. After meeting with Gonzales to discuss the matter, Bush, in a highly unusual move, blocked the security clearances that OPR investigators needed to conduct the internal probe. It remains unknown whether Bush knew at the time he denied the security clearances that Gonzales was going to be a focus of the OPR probe or whether Gonzales concealed the fact that he would be under investigation but worked to convince Bush to shut down the probe anyway.

"The severity of this situation cannot be overstated. This article makes it clear that Attorney General Gonzales acted to save himself from an internal Justice Department investigation by having President Bush shut it down," Hinchey said. "We are talking about some very serious ethical and quite possibly criminal violations committed by Attorney General Gonzales and maybe President Bush if he was aware of OPR's intentions when he blocked that investigation. This country cannot tolerate anyone, let alone its top law enforcement official, operating above the law. Attorney General Gonzales and President Bush must step forward and explain their actions here."

The USDOJ OPR answers to AG Gonzales. Even if he has recused himself in this matter, internal investigators aren't going to sacrifice their careers ( because there are always pay-backs ) by going after the boss or the President. Look what they have done in the past.

American needs to be screaming for a special prosecutor! The only thing which will inspire any attention in the DOJ Staff counsel, White House political office, VP, EOP, or the President's office is one thing: The prospect of jail time without possibility of pardon.

Anonymous wrote on August 31, 2007 1:41 AM:

Posted by:
Date: August 27, 2007 2:52 PM

You write, "Now that the Justice department is finished with it's house cleaning ..."

Don't the Rs wish!

Read the post above, by another nameless poster.

Anonymous wrote on August 31, 2007 1:51 AM:

"Mystery Poster" DEEP MODEM Demystified.
SOURCE Found at CREW

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1692772

Trolls are posting on TPM without using a name, then claiming those posts are by the so-called Deep Modem on other fora.