Bloomberg Needs to Catch Up.
Specter Says Some U.S. Attorneys Should Be Re-Hired
April 15 (Bloomberg) — Senator Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should consider reinstating the U.S. attorneys fired last year if they were improperly dismissed.
Specter and fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record) also said Gonzales will have a difficult time reestablishing his credibility with lawmakers because of the way he’s handled the firings and the aftermath. Gonzales, in a statement released today, said he’s done nothing improper.
“It’s kind of hard to unscramble these eggs,” Specter, speaking on ABC’s “This Week” program, said of the dismissals of eight federal prosecutors last year. Gonzales “ought to have a case-by-case analysis, and either justify the reasons for replacing them, or concede that he was wrong.”
[snip]
Specter said some of the attorneys released are under a professional cloud because the Justice Department initially said they were fired because of their performance.“If they were released improperly, there ought to be a statement to that effect,” the Pennsylvania Republican, 77, said. “If he was wrong, replacement — reinstatement wouldn’t be a bad idea if it could be done administratively.”
Pardon me for asking, but has anyone told the folks at Bloomberg that there was an election in 2006, and that Arlen Specter no longer chairs the Judiciary Committee ? Someone reading the linked article would have to be forgiven if they thought Arlen was still calling the shots, but thank heavens that’s no longer true.
No one cares what Arlen thinks.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Brendan, I can only assume that you’ve read this article (reposted on my blog here) in the NY Times yesterday.