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A Guide to Firing Cookie Krongard
It's late Friday afternoon, and yet, Howard "Cookie" Krongard still appears to be in office as the State Department inspector general. (His voice is still on his office voicemail, at least.) His spokeswoman says he has no intention of resigning, even as the likelihood of a congressional perjury investigation increases. So if he won't resign, who can fire Krongard?
In the final analysis, it would be up to President George W. Bush. Only a handful of federal inspectors-general can be fired by their agency chiefs, and State's is not among them. That's a good-government measure: after all, it's probably not conducive to integrity in governance if top officials can dismiss their internal watchdogs. (Only top U.S. allies can do that.) Savor the irony: by not firing a supposedly-independent public servant, President Bush is helping the cause of transforming the U.S. into a banana republic.
There are, however, procedures to be followed for cashiering Cookie. The first is to refer a complaint to the Inspector Generals' inspector -- Kenneth Kaiser of the FBI, who runs the integrity committee of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency. His committee is presumably the one State Department spokesman Sean McCormack meant when he said yesterday that State has "asked the overseer board of inspectors general to look into the work of the State Department Inspector General Office." However, when I called the State Department to confirm that, and to find out when the referral occurred, a charming State flack told me that it was after 5 p.m. on Friday and he had "a million things to do." I left a message with Kaiser's spokeswoman, and I'll bring you more as soon as I have more to report.
However, in the event that Kaiser thinks Cookie's gone a bit stale, Kaiser's boss might be more sympathetic. That would be famed Bush crony Clay Johnson III, who vetted such Bush administration luminaries as Mike Brown and David Safavian. If Krongard wants to fight on to the bitter end, he might have a friend in a very convenient place.
Comments (11)
Bushie wrote on November 16, 2007 6:29 PM:One would think Mr Waxmam could recommend impeachment proceedings to the House, in an effort to help Cookie to the door. Nah
Tennessee Tuxedo wrote on November 16, 2007 8:04 PM:Ya know, its gotten so the immortal question 'how many angels can dance on the head of a pin' can be rewritted to 'if you lift up a rock, how many corrupt republicans will you find cowering underneath'.
One for the ages, thats for sure.
mls wrote on November 16, 2007 8:44 PM:I dont know what powers PCIE has, but I seriously doubt they include removing a Senate-confirmed IG from office. Only the President or the Congress (through impeachment) can do that.
bob wrote on November 16, 2007 8:48 PM:kl2buy hi good site thx http://peace.com see you
The Confidence Man wrote on November 16, 2007 8:49 PM:Has anyone made the obvious joke yet that Cookie provides a nice, secure Cronyguard for Bush?
S Lyons wrote on November 16, 2007 9:00 PM:Looks like Buzzy quit Blackwater. Don't think that will help much at this point. Maybe mr. prince didn't want the negative attention.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-11-16-state-blackwater-fraud_N.htm
Don wrote on November 17, 2007 9:14 AM:He's one tough cookie!
just joe wrote on November 17, 2007 5:26 PM:That is exactly the tactic. Gumming it to death means making it a dump truck full of impeachments to remove these corrupt inept Bushies from all our federal agencies. Bush won't fire anyone, nor will he replace anyone except with an exact copy of who we have managed to get 'resigned'. The corruption of our government will continue until we go for the head by impeaching Bush/Cheney. Kronguard has been 'promised' and well rewarded for his efforts. Bush cannot keep him on as IG in the state department if he is convicted of perjury and put in jail can he? Can he?
Roberta wrote on November 18, 2007 1:14 AM:I'm not sure why I saved this, but it might be timely to put in here. Remember this, folks?
"Posted by:
"Date: August 30, 2007 12:43 PM
"They will be picking a new VP soon. I have told you all that Rove was going, then he went. I told you all Gonzales was going and he went. I am now telling you Cheney is going. 2 and 1/2 weeks is the time frame. Cheney is next. The deal has been made, Bush has to chop off his "right arms" to spare himself. This is how Impeachment came off the table. Washington backroom politics are at work here and I feel it is my responsibility to "turn on the lights". This horrible dirty deal protects democrats from backlash and protects Bush from ever being held accountable. It is a win-win for politicians and as usual a great big loss for America as a whole. Watch it unfold people, Then remember these posts. They will be the only glimpse I ever give you. While exposing this crooked deal here with no name is a risk I can take, I will never let myself be known. It is not safe or wise to go against these people."
He was wrong about Cheney (sadly), but his statement "This horrible dirty deal protects democrats from backlash and protects Bush from ever being held accountable" pretty much seems to apply to all of these offenses that are revealed and then never punished.
Ah, me.
BimBeau wrote on November 18, 2007 4:49 PM:There's just too much work to do to impeach everybody.
taxpayer wrote on November 19, 2007 6:05 PM:Why not just impeach Cheney, since he's the 'Poster BOY', and refuse to fund operations that have, or receive in the future, recess appointments - or officials that refuse to testify honestly or completely.
Don't abridge their rights. If they wish to take the fifth, merely sequester their agency funds until resignation. That way they won't even get paid.
Seems to me I remeber something from the beginnig of the Republican revolution that one of the newcomers said about payrolls not being fungible accounts. Hence maynot transfer payroll funds from one account to another.
The President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency... I'm sure that countil is one of Bush's priorities.