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Documents shed new light on Griffin appointment Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007 By Aaron Sadler Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Bush administration e-mail exchanges made public Tuesday revealed plans to bypass the Senate confirmation process to install a new U.S. attorney in Arkansas, and Democrats ratcheted up pressure on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for his handling of a spate of prosecutor firings last year. A Dec. 19 e-mail by Gonzales' chief of staff called the appointment of Tim Griffin as prosecutor in Little Rock a "test drive" of new Justice Department authority to name interim U.S. attorneys for indefinite terms. That contrasts with what Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said Gonzales told him, which is that the administration would push for Senate approval of Griffin, a former White House aide, to replace fired prosecutor H.E. "Bud" Cummins III. "I just feel very misled throughout this process," Pryor said. "I think we now have an interim U.S. attorney who they never intended to send through the (confirmation) process, and I just think that's wrong." Gonzales is under fire for what Democrats see as politically motivated ousters of eight U.S. attorneys last year, including Cummins of the Eastern District of Arkansas. Gonzales has told lawmakers the firings were related to performance issues, although e-mails dating back to February 2005 outline plans to remove Cummins and some other attorneys. Former White House Counsel Harriet Miers was also involved, proposing in one e-mail to remove all 93 U.S. attorneys. Even though a 2005 Justice Department e-mail identified Cummins as a "weak" prosecutor who should be removed, Justice officials have said Cummins firing in June 2006 was to make room for Griffin. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called for the attorney general's resignation. Schumer is leading the Senate Judiciary Committee's inquiry into the firings and as to whether some of the prosecutors were unfairly pressured by Republicans over pending cases. Pryor and Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said Gonzales has taken a credibility hit. They did not press for his resignation. Gonzales acknowledged Tuesday mistakes in the handling of the U.S. attorney firings, but said he would remain on the job. His chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, abruptly resigned today, as the House Judiciary Committee released the hundreds of Justice Department and White House e-mails related to the firings. "Unfortunately, all of what's come out in this issue reflects that there's a real lack of respect for the process that needs to exist to insure integrity in the system and transparency for the American people," Lincoln said. "I think it's a disservice to the people of this country and ultimately to the administration itself." A provision of the Patriot Act gave the attorney general appointment authority, which was used to install Griffin on Dec. 20. Griffin, a Magnolia native, was a deputy to White House political adviser Karl Rove and served as research director for the Republican National Committee. His legal experience includes time in the U.S. attorney's office and as a judge advocate general in the Army Reserve. Sampson's Dec. 19 e-mail to White House Associate Counsel Christopher Oprison said appointing Griffin was "important to Harriet, Karl, etc." Schumer said he was concerned that the firings might have been orchestrated at the highest levels of the Bush administration. Schumer publicly asked the president to clarify his role in the matter and said he would seek testimony from Rove and Miers. Cummins learned that Griffin would replace him last June, though documents Tuesday indicated Griffin was the only replacement candidate as early as January of last year. On Aug. 18, Justice Department officials warned that Griffin faced "a senator prob," or problem, that could derail his confirmation. Pryor confirmed Tuesday that he would have been the roadblock. As a result, Sampson's Dec. 19 message suggested the administration "gum this to death" by seeking out possible successors to Griffin and "otherwise run out the clock" with interviews and evaluations. "All of this should be in 'good faith' of course," the e-mail states. Pryor said the e-mail was the administration's play book for circumventing Senate confirmation. "I believe when they put 'good faith' what they're really saying is they're proceeding in bad faith and they're giving the appearance of good faith," he said. "They never intended to send Tim Griffin through the normal confirmation process, and that's been my concern the whole time." Pryor is a co-sponsor of legislation to revoke the Patriot Act measure and limit the time an attorney general-appointed prosecutor may serve to 120 days. The Senate is expected to take up the bill today. Griffin's appointment would also be limited if the measure is enacted. Griffin said last month that he would not pursue an appointment on a permanent basis, because of a lack of Pryor's support and the "circus" that his appointment had become. Tuesday, he said he would continue on the job until asked to leave by the White House. Meanwhile, Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, said his office is developing a list of three candidates to recommend to the president as possible replacements for Griffin. Boozman, the state's only Republican in Congress, said the next U.S. attorney would go through the confirmation process in a transparent manner. He criticized the use of the Patriot Act to install prosecutors. "Using the situation that was designed for emergency use, I think that's very inappropriate," said Boozman, adding that critics of the firings should understand that U.S. attorneys serve at the will of the president. On Tuesday, Cummins said he and other ousted prosecutors understood the president could hire and fire at will. But he said the Justice Department should apologize to colleagues for unfairly criticizing their work. "Whether it was a good idea to replace me in the way they did with the person they did is really not for me to say," Cummins said. "The big issue at stake here is that the department has to maintain its credibility, and when you let politics into the decision-making of the department ... then you lose your credibility," he added. |
