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Comey Was Cut out of Firing Process
When Kyle Sampson asked former Deputy Attorney General James Comey in late February of 2005 which U.S. attorneys he thought were "weak" and should be replaced, Comey replied with a list of names. But Comey testified today that his list was completely different from those who were ultimately fired -- save one name. That was Kevin Ryan, the former U.S. Attorney for San Francisco, who was the only of the fired U.S. attorneys to have indisputably had real performance issues.
There were a couple of other telling details in Comey's early remarks. Although Sampson told congressional investigators that he'd informed Comey that the idea to identify "weak" U.S. attorneys came from the White House, Comey testified today that he was "quite certain that [Sampson] didn't mention the White House."
Comey added that he didn't even know that this was a process -- he just thought that Sampson had made an offhand remark. And Comey was completely ignorant of Kyle Sampson's list of U.S. attorneys to be removed that Sampson drafted at around the same time. On Sampson's list, drafted in late February or very early March of that year, Kevin Ryan was rated as a "strong" U.S. attorney.
In other words, Sampson seems to have intentionally ignored all of Comey's recommendations as to who were the weak U.S. attorneys -- and kept Comey, the #2 at the DoJ, ignorant that Sampson and the White House were targeting certain U.S. attorneys with the goal of firing them.
Comments (38)
Crust wrote on May 3, 2007 10:58 AM:James Comey for AG. Well I can dream...
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on May 3, 2007 11:04 AM:James Comey for AG? I don't think so after the crap he pulled on Jose Padilla, an American citizen. Comey is one of the reasons that Padilla, an American citizen, was tortured by his own government for three fucking years.
Crust wrote on May 3, 2007 11:14 AM:Good point, Mrs. Panstreppon, I take that back.
mark wrote on May 3, 2007 11:15 AM:sad that that seems like a step up, no?
Peter Duffy wrote on May 3, 2007 11:19 AM:and lets not forget the treatment of Jessica Radack.
Is Kyle in the sausage grinder after Comey's testimony?.
KestrelBrighteyes wrote on May 3, 2007 11:20 AM:Patrick Fitzgerald for AG.
bobh wrote on May 3, 2007 11:21 AM:No pat fitz either...the bastard let rove walk.
JEP wrote on May 3, 2007 11:25 AM:"and kept Comey, the #2 at the DoJ, ignorant that Sampson and the White House were targeting certain U.S. attorneys with the goal of firing them."
read: "What he doesn't know won't hurt us!"
Anonymous wrote on May 3, 2007 11:25 AM:Why can't we do better than picking Comey, Hatch or Fitzgerald for AG? Isn't there any good quality people not connected to this mess?? Not that Bush would pick any.
One can only wish that that Federal Judge out in Montana that has it out for Mercer is selected as AG... That would REALLY be an interesting choice!!
KestrelBrighteyes wrote on May 3, 2007 11:26 AM:bobh - for now. I don't believe Fitz is done. Notice in his remarks on the steps of the courthouse after Libby's trial that he did not say the investigation is closed, just inactive, and that it will become active again "should new evidence come forth".
Like maybe Karl Rove's RNC emails? (Somebody confiscate that damned server, NOW!!)
thevineyard wrote on May 3, 2007 11:27 AM:This inquiry suggests two things that might have motivated Sampson to ask Comey for "weak" USA's. He was shopping. Shopping maybe for cover for a way to fire Fitzgerald or Lam by including others, shopping maybe for opportunities to put favorites in office.
Anonymous wrote on May 3, 2007 11:31 AM:RE: thevineyard
He may also have been testing Comey to see if he was a "true loyal Bushie" in deciding who to keep and get rid of.
If that was the motivation, I wonder if he inquired with others for a list, to test their true loyalties.
Anonymous wrote on May 3, 2007 11:32 AM:Speaking of Mercer:
Sen. Jon Tester calls for Mercer's Resignation
http://www.leftinthewest.com/frontPage.do
Sorry, I forget if html works or not here as there is no preview.
Today, Sen. Jon Tester issued the following statement:
"For months, I gave Bill Mercer the benefit of the doubt that he was shooting straight with me and with the people of Montana. Mr. Mercer has been given every opportunity to do right by the people he represents; he has passed on that chance too many times. Mr. Mercer was operating outside federal law, so he had the law changed. That might work in Alberto Gonzales' Justice Department, but it's not how we do business in Montana. He should resign his post as Montana's U.S. Attorney immediately."
bobh wrote on May 3, 2007 11:32 AM:Why are the democrats so quiet?
Especially about the DOJ investigations which effectively quash their attempt at offering immunity?
What strategy could they possibly use to move forward?
Uncle Montana wrote on May 3, 2007 11:33 AM:Speaking of Mercer:
Sen. Jon Tester calls for Mercer's Resignation
http://www.leftinthewest.com/frontPage.do
Sorry, I forget if html works or not here as there is no preview.
Today, Sen. Jon Tester issued the following statement:
"For months, I gave Bill Mercer the benefit of the doubt that he was shooting straight with me and with the people of Montana. Mr. Mercer has been given every opportunity to do right by the people he represents; he has passed on that chance too many times. Mr. Mercer was operating outside federal law, so he had the law changed. That might work in Alberto Gonzales' Justice Department, but it's not how we do business in Montana. He should resign his post as Montana's U.S. Attorney immediately."
JEP wrote on May 3, 2007 11:33 AM:"Like maybe Karl Rove's RNC emails? (Somebody confiscate that damned server, NOW!!)"
Nina wrote on May 3, 2007 11:35 AM:Kestrel,it may be too late for some of those digits, that server was mysteriously disabled for a day, and since the Scientologists' software underlings owned it, there's no telling what occurred in that dark time.
Guess who for AG???... nobody. As Josh put it so well on TPMtv yesterday, Bush has made a political calculation, and determined that AGAG can NEVER be fired.. too many worms out of the can. And the confirmation hearings would be a 3-ring circus. Better to make Alberto look like an amnestic, blithering idiot than to shine light on Bush atrocities and the almost complete politicization of the DOJ.
JEP wrote on May 3, 2007 11:35 AM:BTW, I can't believe that there is anyone left on the planet that believes that AG isn't stonewalling. He's actually doing a masterful job at it. If you think he's incompetent, you're wrong. He has just stepped aside to let the WH run things.
'Especially about the DOJ investigations which effectively quash their attempt at offering immunity?'
Surely they wouldn't use the DOJ investigation to intimidate goodgirl Goodling? Why that would be cownright Rovish!
KestrelBrighteyes wrote on May 3, 2007 11:35 AM:My understanding is that Comey's friendship with Patrick Fitzgerald was very well known. Also, wasn't it common knowledge that he didn't go along with the White House's domestic spying program, therefore he was definitely NOT in the "loyal Bushie" camp? I'm truly surprised Sampson talked to Comey AT ALL about ANY of this. And wasn't there a conversation even later in the timeline, where Sampson contacted Comey re: attorneys?
Was Sampson being stupid, careless, or...?
JEP wrote on May 3, 2007 11:43 AM:Gonzales and Mercer clearly committed an act of conspiracy, between inserting devious language into bills and emailing the Montana judge on the same day, how much more proof do we need that there was overt, and on-the-record conspiracy to defraud the American people?
After all the smoking Gonzaled guns, this one might just be shooting something other than blanks.
JEP wrote on May 3, 2007 11:47 AM:The common citizen's appeal to Congress?
IMPEACH GONZALES, NOW!
Open up that can of worms with immediate impeachment, if Bush continues to put his own tainted image above the public good, no other power will crack this case.
IMPEACH GONZALES...NOW!!!
Stormwatcher wrote on May 3, 2007 11:48 AM:Sad commentary. Bush and Rove have destroyed the credibility of the Justice Department. We don't feel we can trust Fitz and Comey. If given a chance, they'll shade the truth and let Republican misdeeds slide if not obviously illegal.
JEP wrote on May 3, 2007 11:49 AM:The Umpire was hired by the home team, so the home team always gets the close calls. Sad , because this is not a game.
Dennis, just save Cheney for the second round...
JEP wrote on May 3, 2007 11:52 AM:Last post, (I promise).
The Gonzales/Mercer intrugue should be more than enough grounds for impeaching Gonzales.
IMPEACH GONZALES, NOW! And do it quickly, a dozen subpoenas should be more than enough to busy these crooks in their own manure.
The timing is perfect.
KestrelBrighteyes wrote on May 3, 2007 11:58 AM:Rove's a MASTER at playing the "plausible deniability" game - remember, he got hi start as the College Director of the RNC under Richard Nixon.
(Rove working for Nixon - Rove appears at 4 minutes into the clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM0zJl9Bxk8 )
My guess is, AGAG was told to delegate authority, then cover his eyes and ears until everything fell into place. He knows more than he's admitting to, but there's probably a lot more that was purposely kept from him.
One thing you can always count on - people who are arrogant eventually start believing in their own infallibility. Rove, and especially those Regent graduates who were working for him to make the DOJ just another tool of the GOP, never counted on the kind of scrutiny they're receiving right now, or they'd have all been more careful.
Richard L. Adlof wrote on May 3, 2007 12:12 PM:Henry Waxman for Attorney's General.
thomas wrote on May 3, 2007 12:15 PM:Gonzo will not fire or retire. The Cheney/Bush administration will not allow either. If he leaves they will not be able to get another syncophant thru the Senate Judicary Committee.
The only way Gonzo leaves is impeachment.
domga wrote on May 3, 2007 12:20 PM:Sandra Day O'Connor for AG
Woodhall Hollow wrote on May 3, 2007 12:28 PM:That Rove clip is priceless!
Hence Sampson and Delilah and pals! LOL.
parrot wrote on May 3, 2007 12:33 PM:Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed the decide of lack of interest in this scandal in most of the nations newspapers? It seems to me that most of the editorial boards on what used to be decent papers have basically given up on informing their readership about the daily and growing scandals in Washington. Why is that? Pay off to the neo-Republicans for allowing consolidation of the nations newspapers by a handful of corporations?
fear as in yeah.
Anonymous wrote on May 3, 2007 1:08 PM:a. orin hatch?
b. mitch mconnell?
c. sam brownback?
d. harriett myers?
Spud wrote on May 3, 2007 1:40 PM:People keep in mind, that Repuglicans are incapable of telling the truth, I think they just like making the rich richer, not supporting veterans or the military or any social services or victims of Hurricane Katrina.
(Most Republicans never served in the military by the way).
Bushs' support stand at 30 percent of Americans. A breakdown of the thirty percent is as follows: one percent ulta rich and 29 percent rednecks.
Wake up thinking America and demand IMPEACHMENT of Bush to stop the madness.
Jay K. wrote on May 3, 2007 1:41 PM:People keep in mind, that Repuglicans are incapable of telling the truth, I think they just like making the rich richer, not supporting veterans or the military or any social services or victims of Hurricane Katrina.
(Most Republicans never served in the military by the way).
Bushs' support stand at 30 percent of Americans. A breakdown of the thirty percent is as follows: one percent ulta rich and 29 percent rednecks.
Wake up thinking America and demand IMPEACHMENT of Bush to stop the madness.
Jay wrote on May 3, 2007 1:43 PM:People keep in mind, that Repuglicans are incapable of telling the truth, I think they just like making the rich richer, not supporting veterans or the military or any social services or victims of Hurricane Katrina.
(Most Republicans never served in the military by the way).
Bushs' support stand at 30 percent of Americans. A breakdown of the thirty percent is as follows: one percent ulta rich and 29 percent rednecks.
Wake up thinking America and demand IMPEACHMENT of Bush to stop the madness.
TheraP wrote on May 3, 2007 3:10 PM:"cut out of the firing process"
Just imagine. These folks have sunk so low that the reward is getting the power to do skullduggery. And punishment is being cut out of the skullduggery circle!
Everything has been turned on its head.
Code word is "fear" and yes!
boo wrote on May 3, 2007 3:25 PM:Mrs. Panstreppon and bobh,
Traditionally, most prosecutors are Republicans and most defense attorneys (including Rove's and Tom Delay's) are Democrats. That's sort of intrinsic to the jobs. I don't know of Comey's history with the Padilla case, but prosecutors tend to want the harshest possible sentence and Comey, no doubt, leans right.
Nonetheless, Comey is reported to have done four things for which we can all be grateful:
1. He is alleged to have been in the group at the DOJ that forced Ashcroft to recuse himself from the Plame investigation when it became apparent that his friend Rove was implicated and when Ashcroft started asking, inappropriately, for updates on the investigation.
2. He picked Patrick Fitzgerald to be the special prosecutor and set him up to have a broad mandate and guaranteed that he would be sheltered from interference.
3. He refused to reauthorize the NSA eavesdropping program when Ashcroft was in the hospital and his reluctance actually seems to have made Ashcroft hesitant about overriding him.
4. (Most important to me) in the few weeks between Ashcroft and Gonzales when Comey was the acting AG, he put out a memo forcefully rescinding the Gonzales torture memo; saying we are going to use the old standard for torture as it's commonly understood; and directing that the OLC was to give objective analysis of the law, not to advise the president on how to avoid prosecution for activities that would otherwise be illegal.
I would much rather have a Republican AG with the guts to stand up to people in his own party when they cross the line than a Democrat partisan who would "get Rove" even if there were insufficient evidence to prove that he had broken the law.
Codeword: bent, but broken would be more accurate.
mesquite wrote on May 3, 2007 7:12 PM:I don't know all the details, but I've heard Comey defended on Padilla issues by bloggers in the know because he was lied to by other DOJ personnel. Kinda similar to this situation, where he was deliberately cut out. Which smacks of conspiracy.
The reason to impeach Gonzales will be to stop the stonewalling and document withholding. He deserves it, and US vs Nixon precedent will destroy any claims of executive privelege. And maybe enough will come out to destroy Rove and make Bush toxic enough where he gets in impeachment trouble.
py wrote on May 4, 2007 12:48 AM:the ag cannot be effective. can you imagine what the conversation must be in the oval office?
43: comey's not playing ball. harriet's pissed.
kkkarl: i'll take care of it, i'll . . .
darth: no, boy, it's time for plan xm.
43: what did k say?
kkkarl: harriet's not gonna like that one.
darth: get on it, boy, this IS karen's plan.
43 and kkkarl scurry out of the room.