WASHINGTON, June 15, 2007
More Firings Fallout As Justice Aide Quits
Deputy Attorney General's Chief Of Staff Resigns, Was Accused Of Threatening Attorneys If They Spoke Out
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Michael Elston, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, is the fifth Justice Department official linked to the U.S. attorneys firings to resign in the wake of the controversy. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
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Who's Who
Firings Firestorm
Justice Department at center of controversy over firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
Mike Elston, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, is the fifth Justice official to leave after being linked to the dismissals of the prosecutors.
The firings have led to congressional investigations, an internal Justice Department inquiry and calls on Capitol Hill for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Elston's resignation is effective at the end of next week. Reached Friday afternoon, he confirmed his plans to leave but declined further comment.
His departure — and that of other senior Justice aides — has been anticipated since McNulty announced his own resignation last month.
In a statement, McNulty said Elston served the Justice Department "with distinction for nearly eight years."
"With his breadth of trial and appellate service, I have no doubt he will continue to enjoy an outstanding legal career," McNulty said.
Elston is taking a job with a law firm in the Washington area, according to the statement.
As McNulty's top aide, Elston's duties included overseeing the government's 93 U.S. attorneys nationwide. He was closely involved in the firings of seven of the eight prosecutors who were dismissed in 2006. In addition to helping plan those firings, he called several of the U.S. attorneys afterward trying to quell the growing outcry.
At least four of the prosecutors Elston contacted said they felt threatened by his calls, which they interpreted as demands to stay quiet about why they were fired. Congress is investigating the firings, which Democrats believe were politically motivated.
Elston and his attorney, Bob Driscoll, said the phone calls were never meant to be threatening.
Statements released from the House Judiciary Committee painted a different picture.
"I believe that Elston was offering me a quid pro quo agreement: my silence in exchange for the attorney general's," wrote Paul Charlton, the former U.S. attorney in Nevada.
John McKay, former top prosecutor in Seattle, said he perceived a threat from Elston during his call. And Carol Lam, who was U.S. attorney in San Diego, said that "during one phone call, Michael Elston erroneously accused me of 'leaking' my dismissal to the press, and criticized me for talking to other dismissed U.S. attorneys."
A fourth former U.S. attorney, Bud Cummins in Little Rock, Ark., had made a similar accusation in an e-mail released in March.
After Cummins told The Washington Post that he was surprised to find out that a Karl Rove protégé had been tapped to take his job, he received a phone call from Elston which he characterized as threatening if Cummins should speak to the press again.
Following Cummins' testimony, Elston wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee in February rebuking the suggestion that he had leaned on the attorneys to keep them quiet about the circumstances of their dismissals.
"I do not understand how anything that I said to him in our last conversation in mid-February could be construed as a threat of any kind, and I certainly had no intention leaving him with that impression," Elston wrote in the two-page letter.
Other aides who have resigned in the wake of the firings include former Gonzales chief of staff Kyle Sampson and White House liaison Monica M. Goodling. A fifth official, Mike Battle, who ran the Justice office that oversees the U.S. attorneys, left in March.
Elston has worked for the Justice Department since 1999, starting as a trial prosecutor in Illinois and moving to northern Virginia in 2002. McNulty was the U.S. attorney there and brought Elston with him to Justice Department headquarters in late 2005.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 67 CommentsnJULY 21 2007 IS WHEN AMERICANS WILL BE FREE AGAIN
EVERYONE THAT WANTS TO HELP WITH THIS SHOULD BE TALKING TO ALL MEDIA OUTLETS AND TELLING THEM THAT AMERICANS ARE READY TO TAKE WASHINGTON ON AND ITS NOT A FEW AMERICANS ITMILLIONS OF AMERICANS THAT WILL TAKE BACK THERE COUNTRY..
I AM WILLING TO GIVE MY BLOOD FOR ALL AMERICANS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK TO WHAT OUR FORFATHERS WANTED.
AM A VET AND AM READY TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS AMERICAN BOYCOT/COOP IF WE THE PEOPLE DONT DO THIS NOW WE WILL BE GIVENING UP ON OUR CONSTITUTION AND WHAT ALL OUR VET HAVE DIED FOR..
DAVID A BELANGER,VET US ARMY,for-america@hotmail.com
ok so wants to join in on this great american REVOLUTION
they cant kill millions of americans at once so if we charge them all at once we will win and take them out and hang them all..
just like in the old days of the west...hang them from the trees in front of the whitehouse and see how many start telling the truth about what they have done to all us americans..
its time to take all this *** and take our government back now..
they are the ones that started this and we will finnish it now..we the people will take our country back and everyone in washington can sit there and thinks we the people are ok with what they are doing..go ahead and let them think that we are comming to take them out
Its hard to promote democracy abroad when you have such a casual relationship with it here at home. Keep investigating, Congress; this needs to be exposed.
Dogpile Gazette
Dogpile Missouri: Our very own Drew Shelt former city councilman has entered the presidential race. This is a first for Dogpile to have a native from Dogpile run for the presidency.
We caught up with Drew Shelt and asked him some questions. On the question of why he was running he replied that he felt it was time the people of this nation had a candidate that did not represent the corporations and instead represented the people. When asked of the current contenders for the office he merely hung his head. Asked what he would do if elected he replied that he would restore America to its owners the American people. When pressed on what he would do specifically on issues such as Iraq, the war on terror, dependence on oil, and various subjects he amazed all of us with quick and well thought out plans with details. How Drew Smelt a relative unknown of Dogpile could possibly garner national attention and actually win the race he replied it is in the hands of the people where it belongs. Amazed by his quick response we pressed for details on how he would end our dependence on oil, his reply was to promote the development of existing technology and advance new technology in an expedient manner. Solutions are all around us; the problem is big oil and lobbyist who have circumvented the exploitation of the alternative fuels and technologies. Dogpile and the nation will be watching Drew Shelt.
Posted by RandalDS at 06:27 PM : Jun 15, 2007
I'm with ya on that one. Next up ? I TV interview to spew his BS about how he's really a good guy etc etc etc etc.
Posted by tejasdemo at 06:47 PM : Jun 15, 2007
Presidential Medal of Freedom maybe? Or is the chimp saving the next one for Gonzo?
Scooter Libby was "lily white" in comments from within the administration by people who know him well enough to speak as to his respect for the law and they all lied, apparently, because Scooter's going to the slammer.
I won't even list the deceitful strategies employed by the administration leading up to Iraq. Suffice it to say that there is a very long and sordid list of events and deceptions from this administration which is more than enough to establish that it considers itself above scrutiny, investigation, review, or even criticism.
The administration reacted to Congress' oversight when Albetro Gonzales complied with a Congressional subpoena with the provision of 6,000 pages of documents from the Justice Department,however, nearly half of the documents had the majority of their content redacted through blackout.
Congress told Gonzales to stop with the games and cough up the docs.
You have to believe that the attempt to evade Congress's request had to be ok's by someone higher up than Alberto.
Another breaking story --- Bush/Gonzales Justice Dept. is purging the Civil Rights Division of our Courts & replacing them with what they call ---
--- "Good American White Christian Men" ---
You see all of this evidence of what could be interpreted as "imperial power plays" with our nation's institutions, and it makes you get a little crazy.
Like, is Bush really wanting to give a pass to 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants because he's a "nice guy who believes in sharing the opportunities America represents"?
Or because Business wants him to?
Or because he instantly gains an army of 12 to 20 million whose loyalty is owned directly to him, and not the nation?
Like I said, watching this stuff day after day makes you a little crazy...I surely do hope.
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Absolutely true, dress them up in any fashion that is electable.
Now all you devoted Republicans, right-wingers, and neocons, stand tall and swing up that right arm in salute to the Leader, Decider, Annihilator, and Terminator.
SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!
Like, is Bush really wanting to give a pass to 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants because he's a "nice guy who believes in sharing the opportunities America represents"?
He is doing what Billary is looking for votes.....But for Republicans..........
Only Fascists have been hired since 2000 and anyone NOT a Fascist has been fired.
The illegal aliens as a military force for Bush. Oh, please. They've got as much loyalty and willingness to fight as a cockroach. Why do you think Mexico is as bad as it is??
Mexico is not bad. The leaders are. So lets say this bill makes illegals legal? will they vote? You bet. As Americans they have that right.
"Voting" is a JOKE.
Jesus. Are you people that dense??
The day you get Mexicans to fight in this Country is the day you can herd cats.
Wow you do not vote? Never mind no comment needed.
Posted by jonesforch
With the current field of contenders on both sides is there anyone worth voting for? I will vote for Drew Shelt (one of my dogs) over the current crop.
Yes, vote for anyone but a Repugnican.
SearingTruth
"Republicans are in a unique historical position. They are the first group of people raised on this land, who call themselves Americans, that openly proclaim the virtues of torture, secret prisons, extra judicial abduction, universal surveillance, and dictatorial government."
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
JOKE.
THEY decide the candidates.
THEY offer you TWO choices. Two. A or B. cHOCOLATE OR vANILLA.
THEY count the "votes".
AND YOU STILL THINK YOU HAVE A VOTE????
YOU STILL THINK WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY?????
YOU ARE AN IDIOT. Go watch your BRAINWASHING TV and leave the thinking to those that can.
fascistusa
"In truth, compassion requires the greatest strength of all."
SearingTruth
"We have it in our power to begin the world over again."
Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
Ring, ring
Cummins: "Hello, Bud Cummins, here, How may i help you?'
Elston: "Hello Bud? Mike Elston here. I'm from Karl Rove's office, you're fired."
Cummins: "Wow, that was fast, any reason, other than the usual political BS?"
Elston: "Nah you know how it goes, but we are concerned that this be kept quies as possible, Cause the Democrats'll spin this as corruption"
Cummins: " Frankly that's just what it is"
Elston; "Yeah, we both know that. By the way, hows your daughter? Do you know some Arabs just enrolled at her high school, and one just got a job at your wife's beauty salon? just wanted to give you a heads up"
Or something like that. Later,
"I do not understand how anything that I said to him in our last conversation in mid-February could be construed as a threat of any kind, and I certainly had no intention leaving him with that impression"...
So far, 3500+ dead American soldiers, thanks to these harmless looking mild mannered balding middle-aged gentlemen who look like your next door neighbor, but whose actions have been more deadly than that of even Bin Laden.
Good Fun!
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That bill, the Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007, has been on the president%u2019s desk since June 4th. Do you know it seems he just can%u2019t bring himself to sign it? Instead, we were informed yesterday through the Justice Department that the attorney general has used the power that we voted to repeal again.
It%u2019s almost like they live in an alternate world, as though they%u2019re not realizing the reaction of Democrats and Republicans about this misuse of this power. That%u2019s wrong.
June 14, 2007%u2014Late Thursday night, The White House released this two-line statement:
On June 14, 2007, the President signed into law:
S. 214, the %u201CPreserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007.%u201D
June 13, 2007%u2014Senate Judiciary Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is notified by DoJ that Acting US Attorney for the Central District of California, George Cardona, will be appointed to the post on an interim basis by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales using the authority granted under the 2006 USA Patriot Act. Cardona will be able to serve indefinitely without Senate scrutiny. (The Central District was run by Debra Wong Yang until she resigned last October. Yang had been leading an investigation into %u201Clucrative ties%u201D between a lobbying firm and Republican Representative Jerry Lewis, and is believed to have been targeted for ouster by White House Counsel Harriet Miers.)
Why the boys in the white jackets haven't come to get them yet can only be attributed to the fact that Bush is, indeed, a dictator and anyone who opposes him faces 'maximum time for all penalties'...unless you are counted amoung the lucky few who get to park your boots on his desktop after work to make fun of all the others who aren't so lucky. In the Baby Bush Club you can get away with murder and he'll never stop telling the world what a good guy he has working for him!
THe media picks up on this and connects dots that aren't meant to be connected. Typical MSM bias.
Posted by infidel
Ah yeah, right dude.
Now go back outside and pick more daisies.
Don't strain your brain trying to connect any dots.
It's not your fault.
"looking for", right. Not resigning already.
Their mentor, Alberto Gonzales, has been an aweful role model for them and a disaster for the country. Mike Elston seems like a creepy guy.
Now a famous creepy guy.
In the Bush worshiping world, "you're either with us or against us."
Posted by mommajomma at 09:18 AM : Jun 16, 2007"
They did. Queen Bush did it at the beginning of his first term and this was OK because it is the usual way, not for obstruction of justice as it happened
this time in the middle of a term. And in case you missed it, they were all republicans appointed by Bush.
Dogpile Gazette
Dogpile Missouri: Our very own Drew Shelt former city councilman has entered the presidential race. This is a first for Dogpile to have a native from Dogpile run for the presidency.
We caught up with Drew Shelt and asked him some questions. On the question of why he was running he replied that he felt it was time the people of this nation had a candidate that did not represent the corporations and instead represented the people. When asked of the current contenders for the office he merely hung his head. Asked what he would do if elected he replied that he would restore America to its owners the American people. When pressed on what he would do specifically on issues such as Iraq, the war on terror, dependence on oil, and various subjects he amazed all of us with quick and well thought out plans with details. How Drew Smelt a relative unknown of Dogpile could possibly garner national attention and actually win the race he replied it is in the hands of the people where it belongs. Amazed by his quick response we pressed for details on how he would end our dependence on oil, his reply was to promote the development of existing technology and advance new technology in an expedient manner. Solutions are all around us; the problem is big oil and lobbyist who have circumvented the exploitation of the alternative fuels and technologies. Dogpile and the nation will be watching Drew Shelt.
June 15, 2007
Dogpile Gazette
Dogpile Missouri: We caught up with Drew our hometown champion on the steps of the state capital yesterday and inquired to his campaign for president. He stated that all was going well and that momentum was gathering in his favor. When pressed on issues such as Iraq he replied that he had a concrete plan to end the war inside of six months of his presidency. Asked about the immigration issue he again reiterated that he had the only viable plan. Asked about his plan and details of Drew was quick to respond to our questions with great insight and knowledge of the subject. He spoke fluently to the mixed audience outside the steps of the capitol, which was followed by applause. He promised his plan would indeed provide better security at home and abroad. He then went on to state that he would not only finish the war in Iraq inside of six months but he would also put an end to the war on terror bringing it also to a end inside of two years. Dogpile residents and America will indeed be watching this candiate.
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