Special Counsel Called To Investigate Dismissal Of Eight United States Attorneys

Letter

SPECIAL COUNSEL CALLED TO INVESTIGATE DISMISSAL Of EIGHT UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS

Expressing deep consternation over the release of eight U.S. Attorneys, Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) is calling on the Attorney General to
assign Special Counsel to examine what appears to be inappropriate dismissals.

Congressman Fattah is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science and intends question Attorney General on the matter next week when he appears before the subcommittee.

The following is the text of the Congressman's letter to the Attorney General:

March 9, 2007

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Gonzales:

A serious matter has come to my attention concerning the improper politically motivated dismissal of eight U.S. Attorneys that warrants immediate action from your office.

Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, along with five other former federal prosecutors, testified before House and Senate investigative committees that they were subjected to intense scrutiny and undue pressure from Republican Members of Congress and Department of Justice officials to quicken the pace of criminal investigations against prominent Democrats. Mr. Iglesias recounted two specific episodes of receiving phone calls from Republican Members inquiring to the status of his investigation against Democratic officials accused of participating in a kickback scheme. Mr. Iglesias, along with the other former prosecutors who testified, indicated that it was made quite clear their continued employment as U.S. Attorneys was dependent upon the timely issuance of federal indictments before the November elections in 2006.

Though DOJ officials, including yourself, dismiss the allegations as an "overblown personnel matter" from disgruntled former federal employees, almost all of the U.S. Attorneys dismissed by the Bush Administration had positive job evaluations. Moreover, most of the prosecutorial records of the dismissed U.S. Attorneys show that they had strong records of fighting crime, which is repeatedly emphasized by Administration officials as being one of the President's highest priorities.

I understand the President has the authority to terminate a U.S. attorney prior to the completion of a four year appointment. Nevertheless, excluding terminations due to a change of Presidential Administrations, only 54 U.S. attorneys appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate left office prior to the completion of a four-year term between 1981 and 2006. Seventeen of the 54 U.S. Attorneys left office to become federal judges, one left to become a federal magistrate judge, six left to serve in other positions in the executive branch, four sought elective office, two left to serve in state government, one died, and fifteen left to enter or return to private practice.

Given the fact only a small percentage of U.S. Attorneys are dismissed due to negative job performance, the forced resignation or firing of eight U.S. Attorneys with mostly positive job performance assessments over a very short period of time is considerably suspect. Former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, who served for nine years in the Southern District of New York for both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, also voiced misgivings and bewilderment over the Administration's actions. In an interview that appeared in the Washington Post, Ms. White stated that the "whole series of events has been remarkable and unprecedented." She further comments, "It's not a matter of whether they have the power to do it; it's a matter of the wisdom of the actions taken. It shows a total disregard for the institution of the U.S. attorney's offices and what they stand for."

Regrettably, these latest dismissals appear to be indicative of a pattern established by the Bush Administration to exert an extraordinary amount of political pressure utilizing all political resources to achieve decidedly partisan results that are favorable to the Administration's ideological philosophy and policy objectives. In light of the recent guilty verdict in the Scooter Libby trial, the Administration must answer to Congress and the American people concerning persistently damaging accusations from former Administration and federal agency officials of excessive White House interference in agency affairs, and the overt politicization and manipulation of data used to justify a questionable administrative agenda. Learning from the lessons of Watergate and the Iran-Contra scandal, it is the responsibility of Congress to prevent the nation's fundamental democratic principles to be systematically circumvented and unduly subverted in the name of national security.

As a Member on the Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, and Science of the House Committee on Appropriations, I intend to raise these issues to you when you testify before the subcommittee. Under the general authority granted to you by Congress to hire and appoint temporary personnel within the Department of Justice or reassign personnel within the Department to conduct investigations and prosecutions on behalf of the United States, I will call on you to hire a special counsel to investigate whether there is a pattern of excessive Administration interference in agency matters that threatens national security.

Thank you for reviewing this matter, and I look forward to your testimony.

Very truly yours,

Chaka Fattah
Member of Congress

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