Posted by
cehwiedel on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 8:26:51 PM
According to an AP report, Dianne Feinstein took to the Senate floor to accuse President Bush of ousting politically inconvenient federal prosecutors:
Two U.S. Attorneys in California announced they are stepping down,
as critics alleged political pressure from the Bush administration was
pushing them and others out of their jobs.
Kevin Ryan, chief federal prosecutor for the state's Northern
District, and Carol Lam, who headed the state's Southern District, both
announced Tuesday they would be leaving.
The two are among 11 top federal prosecutors who have resigned or
announced their resignations since an obscure provision in the USA
Patriot Act reauthorization last year enabled the U.S. attorney general
to appoint replacements without Senate confirmation.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, complained on the
Senate floor Tuesday that the White House is using the provision to
oust Ryan, Lam and other federal prosecutors and replace them with
Republican allies.
'The Bush administration is pushing out U.S. attorneys from across
the country under the cloak of secrecy and then appointing indefinite
replacements,' Feinstein said.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales denied the claim, saying administration officials 'in no way politicize these decisions.'
Actually, the quote in the AP article doesn't include anything from Senator Feinstein about the President's motives.
So I'll send an email to the Senator, and check the Congressional Record in the meantime.
[You are invited to visit
www.cehwiedel.com, where I write on many things other than the members of the California delegation to the United States Senate.]