New Indications Attorney Firings
May Be Linked to Voter-Fraud Probes

MARISA TAYLOR & MARGARET TALEV / McClatchy Newspapers
Seattle Times 17may2007

	Mindfully.org note: The Bush administration is built on a solid base of lies and deceptions, not to mention mass murder. It is plain that George should not even be sitting in the oval office because of the fraud involved in getting him there. But voter fraud is just the tip of the iceberg! I can tell you anything I want and you dummies believe it.
	[More on G. W. Bush]

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department last year considered firing two U.S. attorneys in Florida and Colorado, states where allegations of voter fraud and countercharges of voter intimidation have flown in recent years, according to sources familiar with documents not released to the public.

Gregory Miller, the U.S. attorney for the northern district of Florida in Tallahassee, and Bill Leone, the former acting U.S. attorney for Colorado, were among at least 26 of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys suggested for termination between February 2005 and December 2006, according to the sources. At least 13 of those are still in their posts.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified last week that the effort was limited to eight U.S. attorneys fired since June, and other administration officials have said only a few others were suggested for removal.

Florida and Colorado bring to nine the number of closely contested election states where the Bush administration set out to replace prosecutors. In Washington and at least six other states, it now appears, U.S. attorneys were fired or considered for firing as Republicans in those states urged investigations or prosecutions of alleged Democratic voter fraud.

Miller, of Tallahassee, appeared on multiple target lists for possible firing from early 2005 through November 2006, according to a senior congressional aide familiar with Justice Department documents. Miller kept his job.

The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the documents haven't been made public. The Justice Department is allowing congressional investigators to inspect the documents, but not make photocopies or take notes.

The Justice Department declined to discuss either case.

Miller said he had no inkling that he'd been considered for firing.

"You're telling me something I didn't know," Miller said. "I never heard of any concerns from the administration."

Miller, nominated to his job in early 2002, said the department never singled him out for his office's handling of any controversial case, including voter fraud. "I've never been given direction as to my handling of voter fraud," he added. "I've never heard anything from Washington about my performance in that regard."

He declined to comment on whether activists outside Washington had asked his office to look into controversial voter-fraud allegations, saying Justice Department policy prohibits prosecutors from commenting on closed or ongoing cases.

Leone, appointed the top prosecutor in Colorado on an interim basis in December 2004, left his job last August after he was passed over for the permanent post and the Senate confirmed his replacement. That was a few months before the Justice Department and the White House settled on a final list of prosecutors whose resignations were requested en masse.

Leone said he never was asked to step aside, nor did he know he was targeted for firing. He said he also never was told why he was passed over.

The Justice Department documents do not specify why prosecutors were moved on or off lists kept by Kyle Sampson, the former chief of staff to Gonzales, why their removals were contemplated or why some kept their jobs, sources said. Sampson has resigned over the firings controversy.

"We will not publicly confirm whether a particular U.S. attorney may or may not have been on one of Kyle Sampson's lists," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said. "Whether they are on any list or not, U.S. attorneys currently serving enjoy the full confidence and support of the attorney general and Department of Justice."

Democrats leading congressional inquiries into last year's ouster of at least nine U.S. attorneys increasingly are focusing on whether Republican pressure to bring voter-fraud prosecutions against Democrats influenced the firings. Lawmakers say pushing voter-fraud investigations before elections if such fraud doesn't exist can discredit candidates and intimidate voters, affecting results.

The White House and Gonzales have maintained that the firings were appropriate and not motivated by political pressure or retaliation.

Two fired U.S. attorneys — John McKay from Washington state and David Iglesias from New Mexico — have said local Republicans pressured them to prosecute voter-fraud cases, but they didn't believe the cases were solid.

Congress also has learned that The White House and Justice Department were pursuing voter-fraud inquiries only weeks before November's elections in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and were raising concerns about Nevada. A U.S. attorney in Wisconsin and another in Scranton, Pa., both of whom had the support of powerful Republican lawmakers, were considered for firing but were retained. Nevada's U.S. attorney was fired last year.

A U.S. attorney in Minnesota, who disagreed with the Justice Department on a case involving voting rolls, was asked to resign early last year.

Other fired U.S. attorneys served in Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan and California.

The Washington Post contributed to this report.

source: 17may2007