Tim Griffin

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Rove Protege Tim Griffin Now On Judiciary Committee

Ryan J. Reilly | January 3, 2011, 1:45PM

A few years ago, Tim Griffin was a key figure in of the biggest scandals in the Bush administration. Democrats said -- and the Justice Department Inspector General later concluded -- that the Bush White House and Justice Department pushed out U.S. Attorney H.E. "Bud" Cummins III to give Griffin, a former aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove, a plum spot as interim U.S. attorney that would pad his resume.

Now Griffin, who was elected to Congress from Arkansas in November, has been named by House Republicans to be a member of the House Judiciary Committee -- the very same committee which took a close look at his own role in the scandal that ultimately lead to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

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Topics: Alberto Gonzales, Bud Cummins, Bush Administration, Guantanamo, House Judiciary, Justice Department, Karl Rove, Lamar Smith, Republicans, Tim Griffin, U.S. Attorneys

Fired U.S. Attorney: DOJ Decision Not An Exoneration of Griffin

Ryan J. Reilly | September 21, 2010, 10:18AM

Tim Griffin

One of the U.S. Attorneys who was fired in a scandal that lead to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales during the Bush administration remains critical of the man who replaced him -- and who is now running for Congress.

"He had a role [in the attorney firings scandal], and I think its been documented in the investigations," Bud Cummins said of Tim Griffin, the former Karl Rove aide who replaced Cummins and is now running for Congress in Arkansas 2nd District.

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Topics: Bud Cummins, Tim Griffin, U.S. Attorneys

Tim Griffin

Split Decision Tuesday For U.S. Attorney Scandal Figures Turned Congressional Hopefuls

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 8:46AM

Tim Griffin

Two Republicans with roles in the Bush-era U.S. attorney firings scandal were fighting for congressional nominations Tuesday, and the result is a split decision:

Mary Beth Buchanan, who was head of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys when the firing list was being drawn up in 2005, was, in the words of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, was "trounced" in Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional District primary, getting just 33 percent of the vote. The winner was attorney Keith Rothfus.

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Topics: 2010 Elections, Karl Rove, Mary Beth Buchanan, Tim Griffin, U.S. Attorneys

U.S. Attorneys

Figures In U.S. Attorney Firings Now Running For Office

Zachary Roth | January 7, 2010, 2:02PM

Tim Griffin

Who ever said there are no second acts in American life never met some of the Republicans who played roles in the U.S. attorney firings.

Three figures from the Bush Justice Department scandal of 2006 are back in the limelight, running for office under the GOP banner in 2010.

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Topics: Allen Weh, Bud Cummins, David Iglesias, Justice Department, Karl Rove, Mary Beth Buchanan, Tim Griffin, U.S. Attorneys

Karl Rove

Griffin to Rove: We're Thinking Of Calling Our Baby "Karl"

Zachary Roth | August 11, 2009, 5:43PM

How big of a suckup is Tim Griffin, the Rove protege who the White House was trying to muscle into a U.S. attorney post after firing the previous occupant?

In a January 2007 email, Griffin wrote to Rove:

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Topics: Karl Rove, Tim Griffin, U.S. Attorneys

U.S. Attorneys

Email: Rich Lowry Offered To Help White House Spin Firings

Zachary Roth | August 11, 2009, 4:09PM

Here's a fun nugget from the U.S. attorney documents (h/t reader B.M.):

It looks like Rich Lowry of National Review offered the White House his services in doing some positive P.R. on behalf of Rove protege Tim Griffin, who the administration had sought to muscle into the U.S. attorney job in Arkansas as a replacement for the fired Bud Cummins.

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Topics: Bud Cummins, Media, Tim Griffin, U.S. Attorneys

Karl Rove

Rove Protege Griffin Mulling Senate Bid

Zachary Roth | December 15, 2008, 4:48PM

Karl Rove may be relegated to Fox News appearances and hoping to avoid prosecution once President Bush leaves office -- but the political career of one of his proteges, Tim Griffin, may just be getting started.

The Associated Press reports that Griffin, a former White House and RNC staffer, is mulling a run for the US Senate from Arkansas against Democrat Blanche Lincoln in 2010.

"I am certainly thinking about it," Griffin told the AP. "I'm going to spend some time going around the state and talking to folks and getting an idea of the interest level. ... I'm going to try and hit all 75 counties as soon as possible and I know that's a tall order trying to hit all of those in the next few months."

A DOJ report released this fall found that the department improperly fired Bud Cummins as US Attorney for the eastern district of Arkansas in order to make room for Griffin, thanks in part to pressure from the White House political office. Wrote Kyle Sampson, the DOJ point man for the round of politically motivated firings of which Cummins' was a part: "Getting [Griffin] appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc."

Griffin served six months as interim US Attorney but was never confirmed by the Senate.

Griffin has a long trck record as a partisan political knife-fighter. He has been accused of participating in a scheme to cage black voters in Florida in 2004, and was paid by the RNC to dig up dirt on both John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama this year.

After leaving the interim U.S. Attorney job last year, a tearful Griffin said public service was "not worth it" and that he had no plans to return to politics.

He appears to have reconsidered. And as someone who, the evidence suggests, consistently puts partisan advantage over the public interest, Griffin should fit right in with his Senate GOP colleagues if he wins the seat.