Domenici giveth, Domenici taketh away
Power Line
I've just emerged after a few intense days of lawyer work, and I'm happy to see that Alberto Gonzales is still the A.G. It's not that I'm a fan of Gonzales, but the public record as it stands does not contain evidence that warrants his ouster. If such evidence exists, or if Gonzales botches what is likely to be a difficult appearance before the Senate, then he'll probably go. But anyone who thinks President Bush is going to be rolled by Congress and the MSM, especially when it comes to a friend in his inner circle, hasn't been paying attention for the past six years.
But the MSM keeps trying. Yesterday, the New York Times turned the floor over to fired, and plainly disgruntled, prosecutor David Iglesias of New Mexico. His dismissal has come the closest to bothering me because the state's Republican politicians seem to have been involved and it may be that they were unhappy because he wasn't prosecuting voter fraud cases in which they arguably had an indirect political interest. However, as Ed Whelan explains, Igiesias fails to show that the White House acted improperly when it dismissed him. I can't improve on Ed's analysis, so I'll simply quote key paragraph:
Understood in a very broad sense, "politics" probably
played the same role in Iglesias's ouster that it had
played in his initial selection. For better or worse,
same-party senators have extraordinary influence in the
selection of U.S. attorneys for their home districts.
Domenici was largely responsible for Iglesias's
appointment. Once he made the fact of his dissatisfaction
with Iglesias clear to the Administration, it would hardly
be surprising that the Administration would look to
replace him at an appropriate time. . . . Giving a home-
state senator so much clout may not be the best practice
(though there are around 100 senators who like that
clout), and it's understandable that Iglesias would feel
aggrieved by it, but it would not be improper, much less
scandalous.
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/017114.php
nytimes.com
bench.nationalreview.com |
