Maybe I missed the outrage about this around here, as I only drop in occasionally, but can Bush get any more brazen?:
Washington/NYT — The investigation into Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a provocative new turn Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush.
The prosecutor, Noel Hillman, is chief of the department’s Office of Public Integrity, and the move ends his involvement in an investigation that has reached into the administration as well as into the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.
Democrats swiftly questioned the move’s timing and called for a special prosecutor as Bush faced a barrage of questions about why he would not make public “grip and grin” photographs of himself with Abramoff. The photographs apparently show Bush and Abramoff smiling at White House Hanukkah parties and Republican fundraising receptions.
Well now I see that oui has posted something…but it is still outrageous…and there is hardly any news about this…unbelieveable…
Unfortunately, this kind of crap has become so typical it’s almost hard to get worked up about it…plus, the focus has been on filibustering Alito lately.
OT, but did I read that you went to the Albert Hofmann symposium a few weeks ago?
Yes, I did go to the LSD Symposium…it was, for me, super interesting (Inspiring, actually)…I wrote a diary about it at European Tribune a week or two ago, that reviewed the first part of the first day:
http://www.eurotrib.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2006/1/21/74453/3869
I really hate to appear to be coming to the Administration’s defense, but to imply any nefarious motives or timing to the Hillman nomination would seem to be almost wholly unwarranted.
Hillman was first proposed for the judgeship almost a year ago, long before Hillman became directly involved in the Abramoff prosecution. The proposed nomination was originally put on hold because of the objections of New Jersey’s senators (both Democrats) to another proposed nominee. As of June 10, 2005, those problems had been worked out and it was expected that the formal nomination could come at any time. That it took until last week probably has more to do with Corzine’s election as governor and subsequent appointment of Menendez to his Senate seat. The Administration would want to be sure that the incoming senator would not raise new objections to any of the judicial nominations in this package.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
I think the report should have asked the question this way. Democrats wonder why prez took so long!
That one’s fairly simple.
The prosecutor doesn’t seem to be a lockstep wingnut.
He’s most likely proven himself immune to pressure and threats, it’s likely the Shrubberies haven’t found anything they can blackmail him with, he probably doesn’t fly small planes if he flies at all and I’m thinking he’s probably got enough sense to make sure all his files and information are safely duplicated in a few dozen places on an “in the event of my death” basis.
They don’t want him around at all, especially as a judge, but I feel sure that at the moment they’ve probably got to do something to get him out of where he is.
And the Shrubberies are either desperate to the point of panic or they’re so close to pulling the trigger on the martial law program anyway, that if they have to go now it’s only a minor inconvenience and really doesn’t matter long run.