House Judiciary Committee Chair and Members Ask Gonzales Follow-Up Questions About Todd Graves Firing.

Paul Kiel at TPMMuckraker reports that

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), along with subcommittee chair Linda Sanchez (D-CA) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) wrote Alberto Gonzales today to press for details about the firing of U.S. Attorney for Kansas City Todd Graves and the subsequent hiring of Bradley Schlozman.

Here is part of the letter. The full text can be found at the link.

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

We are writing to formally restate Chairman Conyers' request at the end of your recent appearance before the House Judiciary Committee for the prompt production of all documents, in unredacted form, relating to the termination of Todd Graves, the former United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, who we now know was the ninth U.S. Attorney forced to resign by the Department in 2006.

This request would also cover all documents relevant to the selection of Brad Schlozman as the interim replacement for Mr. Graves, including documents regarding other candidates considered for this position, if any. As we understand it, this will require a new search by the Department of Justice, in addition to providing unredacted copies of already-produced proposed termination lists.

We also have concerns with your suggestion that Mr. Graves' termination was somehow not part of the same process that led to the other terminations, given the fact that Mr. Graves appeared on Kyle Sampson's proposed termination list that was transmitted to Harriet Miers in January 2006, just weeks before Mr. Graves was asked to resign.

As Representative Lofgren pointed out in her questioning, there are disturbing indications that the decision to fire Mr. Graves was related to his disagreement with a voter fraud lawsuit pushed by Mr. Schlozman, the very person eventually named by you to succeed Mr. Graves as an interim U.S. Attorney. Notwithstanding your assertions, our review indicates that the district court decision dismissing that lawsuit focused on much more than the procedural defect of naming the wrong defendant....

Given these troubling circumstances, in addition to receiving the requested documents, we also request that you promptly explain your understanding of the facts regarding this termination and replacement, including but not limited to who placed Mr. Graves on the termination list and why, who was consulted on his termination and on his replacement by Mr. Schlozman, and who made the final decisions. In addition, please identify all current and former Department employees with information on this issue so that they may be interviewed, just as we have interviewed present and former Department personnel on the other eight terminations. Finally, please inform us whether any other United States Attorneys were terminated or asked to resign during President Bush's second term and, if so, who they were and the Department's basis for the termination or requested resignation.

I wonder if he is going to answer? Probably not. Given his performance the other day, it is pretty obvious he holds the committee in contempt. He won't worry about the letter until the committee starts talking about impeachment.

I wonder if the letter will be reported in the Star? Nah. Why would the Star report something involving the Kansas City US Attorney scandal? We Red State people can't handle the truth. Yes, Steve Kraske I am taunting you.

UPDATE: I have added the last substantive paragraph to give a little more flavor.

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Kansas City Star Denies It Should Have Disclosed Ties To Powerful GOP Law Firm

As you might recall a couple of weeks ago the Kansas City Star, a McCLatchy Newspaper, found itself at ground zero of the Brad Schlozman story, but for two days refused to run Greg Gordon's excellent piece on Schlozman's role in the 2006 election. Critics complained that when the Star finally did run the story, it was edited to soften criticism of the local GOP and several of it's players including Governor Matt Blunt and St. Louis lawyer Mark "Thor" Hearne, national counsel to Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, who set up a nonprofit group to publicize allegations of voter fraud. It turns out that Hearne is a member of the very powerful Missouri Law Firm, Lathrop & Gage. Both the Kansas City Star and Governor Blunt are Lathrop & Gage clients.

Chris Tackett guest blogging at Brad's Blog recently interviewed The Star's Deputy National Editor, Keith Chrostowski hunting for answers. Long story and a lot of mealy mouthing short, Chrostowki says the Star couldn't find space for the story on the day it was released by McClatchy, denies it consulted with Lathrop and Gage about the story, denies the edits changed the story in any material way, and denies the Star had any ethical obligation to report that both the Star and Matt Blunt are clients of Lathrop & Gage, who is the employer of one of the people at the heart of the story, the heart hidden from the public by the Star's edits.

Interesting story within a story. Without Brad's Blog and the Internet, how many folks would ever be aware that the Star had a dog in the fight it was covering.

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Graves Pushed Out For Performance Reasons

Why is it reading any story touched by Steve Kraske involving the Missouri GOP like looking for clues on a treasure map? The other day he re-wrote Greg Gordon's excellent story with an eye to hiding Missouri GOP involvement and now he is co-author of a story with the normally outstanding Dave Helling requiring the reader to work hard to find gems sown in the story's lining.

For example a close reading of Dave Helling and Steve Kraske's Kansas City Star article confirms that Graves was fired. In one paragraph they indicate that Senator Kit Bond personally became involved with Graves’ tenure when Graves’ departure was imminent in early 2006.

“Senator Bond … upon (Graves’) request personally called the White House to gain Todd extra time to wrap up case work before his departure,” Marchio’s statement said.

This thread is picked up several paragraphs down when they write

A person in Bond’s office who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the discussions said the White House rejected Bond’s efforts on Graves’ behalf because of “performance” concerns. E-mails from the Justice Department and the White House have used similar language in discussing the other U.S. attorneys who were fired.

If Todd Graves voluntarily resigned why would he ask Bond to contact the White House to gain additional time to finish up his cases? It's pretty obvious that Graves was asked to leave. John Marshall is right. Graves was the 9th US Attorney fired. My question is why can't Helling and Graves report facts using simple declarative sentences?

Please note that there is another very important fact buried in these passages. Bond didn't contact Alberto Gonzales, he contacted the White House. If Bond wanted to help Graves gain a little more time to finish his work why didn't he go to Alberto Gonzales or one of his people?

Two theories have emerged about Todd Graves departure from his US Attorney job in Kansas City. The first is that he was pushed out because he and his wife were involved in a "fee office scandal." Helling does a fine job describing that scandal. I have always thought the fee office scandal was a phony because the "fee office" system, which is without doubt a lingering vestige of corrupt patronage politics, has been a prime tool used by generations of Missouri governors (both Republican and Democrat)to pay off supporters. Democrats bitching about Blunt's fee office appointments is sort of like the pot calling the kettle black. (I know I am going to be pummelled, but that's the way the story looks to the average Missourian.)

The second is that Graves was pushed out because he wasn't a loyal Bushie. He just didn't prosecute Democrats with sufficient vigour and he wasn't in love with voter fraud cases. The appointment and well documented performance of Bradley Schlozman seems to support this theory. Graves public record as US Attorney also supports the second theory. I, for one, have often connected Graves departure to his wife's involvement in the fee office scandal, but on reflection theory number two seems to be closer to the truth.

It looks like Karl Rove's Missouri adventure has come undone. Claire McCaskill was elected and Bradley Schlozman is going to be talking to congress. As for Todd Graves, while he didn't get a signing bonus at some large law firm he has attracted some pretty good young legal talent and has opened his own shiny new law firm.

Now if we could just get Helling and Kraske to write in clear declarative sentences about the hidden activities of Missouri's GOP, all would be right with the world. Of course, reading their stories for hidden clues is sort of fun.

UPDATE: Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post writes in simple declarative sentences.

Graves is the second U.S. attorney whose ouster is known to have been encouraged by the office of a Republican senator. Sen. Pete V. Domenici (N.M.) complained last October about New Mexico's David C. Iglesias, who was later fired.

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Judge-ing the rhetoric

Only one thing left to do in this situation - investigate the Inspector General for Iraq.

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A little something for your irreverent side

A Mike Judge Cartoon that didn't make the Star's opinion-page cut...





But it sure made mine - especially given the light this blog has shined on Gonzo-rama and the Purge...

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