Whitehouse: U.S. Attorney scandal 'deadly serious'
8:45 AM Thu, Mar 22, 2007 | Permalink
Email this author | Email this entry |
 |
Projo Politics Blog |
|
« Former Senate candidate Harold Ford speaks at Brown |
Main
| Senate resolution honors late chamber doorkeeper »
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said this morning that Congressional Democrats aren't simply flexing their newfound political muscles as they move to force Bush administration officials to testify under oath about the U.S. Attorney firing scandal. "I think this is deadly serious. This isn't just for fun," Whitehouse said in a brief interview today on the radio station WPRO. The House Judiciary Committee voted yesterday to approve subpoenas requiring several administration officials -- including Karl Rove -- to testify under oath regarding the dismissals of eight federal prosecutors. Politicians from both parties have grown increasingly concerned that the Bush White House intervened in the Justice Department positions because of political concerns. Whitehouse, a former U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island who now sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that if U.S. Attorneys were fired because they brought public corruption charges against Republicans, or failed to charge Democrats "then something is really rotten in Denmark and that's got to be cleared up." Whitehouse said he supports issuing the subpoenas, which have been authoritized, but not sent out, as officials hope to work out a deal to avoid a constitutional standoff. Bush has vowed not to comply with the requests. Whitehouse said the subpoenas are a tool that is "important for us to do our jobs right." He said hoped that administration officials' testimony would reveal only "incompetence, bungling and low-level interference." But if the allegations of Bush administration interference is "true, that's the kind of thing people need to be held very seriously responsible for." -- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples 
CommentsLeave a comment |
New comments
New photos
Authors
New posts
Projo blogs
Archives
If "Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published", that doesn't leave us much room to talk about our president. But I will anyway. Bad enough bush makes up lies in order to carry out a personal vendetta which has killed over 3,000 of our kids, he breaks, bends, and makes up policies as he goes along. A president like bush is the reason our government is made up the way it is, so he cannot have absolute power. Yet if someone in the judicial part of government disagrees with him, he has him or her fired. We can’t let that happen folks! Watch this story carefully, we are stuck with this twit for a while longer.
Report Abuse
Checks and balances aren't a Democratic thing. They're the very basis of our Constitutional government. The current President is unaccustomed to having his authoritarian decrees questioned; the voters have indicated otherwise. Finally, democracy is proving itself against the totalitarian tendencies of the radical right.
Report Abuse
I,m not, generally, a Bush supporter, although I voted for him two times as the least dangerous of our choices for President. In this situation, however, it should be widely known by anyone taking a High School Civics course that the US Attorneys are a part of the Justice Department, under the Attorney General of the United States, and not a part of the Judiciary as many writers here have indicated indicated. Are there politics concerned with the appointment and removal of US Attorneys, you bet, and there always has been. Ask former Rhode Island US Attorney, now US Senator Whitehouse, if despite his current clamering, over the current issue, if his appointment under a Democratic US President was political, and if he is as honest as his Senatorial predecessor was, he will answer, "yes".
Report Abuse
If there is nothing to hide, whats the big deal?
Seems like Mr.Bush doesnt like having to explain his actions are be held accountable to the public for his actions, or lack off.
Report Abuse