Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Please let this one stick!

Shakespeare's Sister: "Another familiar name is popping up again, too—Harriet Miers, ill-fated Supreme Court nominee and former White House counsel. In 2005, Miers sent a memo to Gonzo's chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, inquiring 'whether it would be feasible to replace all United States attorneys when their four-year terms expired.' Sampson responded that 'filling so many jobs at once would overtax the department,' and began to work with Miers on 'devising a list of attorneys to oust.' Yikes. Sampson resigned yesterday.

Today the WaPo reprints some damning correspondence between Sampson advises Miers, in which he outlines how the Patriot Act can and should be used to make interim appointments (as I described here):

Sampson, Sept. 7, 2006: 'I am only in favor of executing on a plan to push some USAs out if we really are ready and willing to put in the time necessary to select candidates and get them appointed. It will be counterproductive to DOJ operations if we push USAs out and then don't have replacements ready to roll immediately. I strongly recommend that as a matter of administration, we utilize the new statutory provisions that authorize the AG to make USA appointments. [By avoiding Senate confirmation], we can give far less deference to home state senators and thereby get 1.) our preferred person appointed and 2.) do it far faster and more efficiently at less political co"

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