The recent firing, with out cause, of seven US Attorneys has been given some notice in the press and several diaries have been written here on the subject. For those unfamilar with the topic, I suggest reading lapin's diary from February 7, which will give you all the background info you need.
We all know that the Patriot act is loaded with land mines waiting to explode under the feet of our democracy. The clause that allows the unwarranted removal of US Attorneys and their unfettered replacement with political hacks is but one of those. However, now that it is being used widely against so many US attorneys we begin to see the first breaths of a budding fascist police state. The Patriot Act is the cross upon which our form of government, our democracy, is being crucified.
Alberto Gonzales and the Department of Justice is deliberately destroying one of the corner stones of our republic. The DoJ is actively removing impartial prosecutors for the crime of pursuing cases that are embarrassing or damaging to the Bush administration.
Some examples;
San Diego US Attorney Carol Lam, who successfully prosecuted Duke Cunningham, Fired without cause
Little Rock US Attorney Bud Cummings, fired with out cause and replaced by Karl Rove protégé Timothy Griffin
Arizona US Attorney Paul Charlton, fired while investigating allegations of corruption against Rep. Rick Renzi, (R)
In a recent Salon article, Joe Conason called it a coup d'etat, and the analogy is exact. Gonzales is filling the offices of US Attorneys with brown-shirts to act as gatekeepers for the DoJ.
The most puzzling victim has been the US Attorney for western Washington, John Mckay. Not only was he well respected by his peers, he had just been given an excellent job performance review when Gonzales told him to vacate his office. Even stranger, he is a very conservative prosecutor, as this article by him in The Seattle Times will attest.
It is the removal of John McKay that has prompted Senator Murray of Washington to call for the repeal of the language that allows this abuse of power to be removed from the Patriot Act. For this I congratulate her. But it does not go far enough. Please take a moment today to call Senator Murray and ask her to take the next logical step and introduce a bill repealing the Patriot Act.
Her number in D.C. is 202.224.2621
In Seattle call 206.553.5545
In a side note, Rep. Dave Reichart (R) of Washington's 8th district is one of those choosing John Mckay's replacement. Call him at 202.225.7761 and ask him to nominate John Mckay to replace John Mckay. then ask him to introduce legislation in the House to repeal the Patriot Act. It will piss him off, and don't you want to piss off the guy who narrowly beat Darcy Burner?