Bush Appointee Could Thwart Congress

By Matt Renner, t r u t h o u t

While Congress has threatened to hold senior Bush administration officials in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas pertaining to their investigation into the controversial firing of nine US attorneys, enforcing such criminal contempt charges would fall to Jeffrey Taylor, interim US attorney for the District of Columbia. According to Justice Department documents, Taylor took part in behind-the-scenes discussions involving the US attorneys who were fired.

That raises questions about whether Taylor, who would be in a position to decide whether to turn the matter over to a grand jury, has a conflict of interest and would be forced to recuse himself from the case.

According to DoJ documents, Taylor worked closely with Justice Department officials who were planning the US attorney purge. Before being appointed to his current position, Taylor served as counsel for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, one of the main targets of the ongoing Congressional investigation. Email communications between Taylor and Kyle Sampson, then chief of staff for the attorney general, and William Mercer, former acting associate attorney general, show that Taylor worked closely with Sampson and Mercer while the two men were planning the firings. Specifically, the emails show that Taylor was asked to assist Sampson and Mercer when the DoJ came under fire for alleged lack of enforcement of illegal-immigration laws. A lack of illegal-immigration enforcement was later used as a rationale for the removal of Carol Lam, former US attorney for the Southern District of California.

(Original Article)

1 Comment

  1. July 4, 2007
    A Patriot’s Message
    The hammer falls on the Constitution of the United States of America. Our freedom and Democracy, our sovereignty as a nation is coming to an end.
    The politically appointed neoconservatives in Justice sneer at Habeas Corpus; Geneva Convention; worker, consumer, investor and environment protection; education; affirmative action; individual rights and “entitlements” like Social Security and health care.
    The corporate neo-con conspirators (Establishment) have their own agenda of a New World Order; W.T.O; N.A.F.T.A; immigration; globalization and “free trade”; military seizure of foreign oil fields; employing a private army of mercenaries and propagandist; “dealing” with Afghanistan Opium drug lords harboring Osama Bin Laden and financing Al Qaeda.
    The ideal corporate model is “Communism” where individual freedom and democracy are mute. The board of directors rule. The corporate neo-cons hate our regulatory government, Constitution and Individual Rights.
    Our Federal Government is purposely bankrupt by war/trade debt and the ideal corporate nation, China, are carrying trillions of dollars of our debt. Communist China and their junior corporate American partner’s technically own the”U.S.A” resulting in “Globalization” and loss of sovereignty. Mission accomplished. The surge strategy is not to win the war but to pump oil and further indebt U.S.A to Communist China. Patriots, sign on! Impeach Bush, Cheney and nullify their Supreme Court appointments!

    Lawrence Baker

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