The Gonzo Seven. Part One...

Arkansas: H.E. (Bud) Cummins

In June 2006 Bud Cummins received a call from the Justice Department asking him to resign. Paul Krugman of the New York Times reports that Dec. 15th,

"[...] Bud Cummins, the U.S. attorney (federal prosecutor) for the Eastern District of Arkansas, received a call on his cellphone while hiking in the woods with his son. He was informed that he had just been replaced by J. Timothy Griffin, a Republican political operative who has spent the last few years working as an opposition researcher for Karl Rove."

According to FBI probe targets governor, Bud Cummins had been investigating Missouri Governor Matt Blunt's Administration to see if he "abused his power by forming a system of umbrella companies established through Kansas City law firm Lathrop & Gage LC to run the state's licensing network." The paper continues:

"Though the investigation is common knowledge, spokesmen in the FBI's Kansas City and St. Louis offices would neither confirm nor deny its existence. As a matter of policy, they can't comment unless charges are filed." Amidst the ensuing nightmare of bad publicity for Blunt, Cummins denied that he was investigating the governor, and in fact closed the investigation in October of 2006.

Arizona: Paul K. Charlton

Possible replacement from the AP via Arizona Daily Star: "Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl on Thursday recommended Diane J. Humetewa, a member of the Hopi Indian tribe who currently is senior litigation counsel and tribal liaison for the U.S. Attorney's office in Arizona, to serve as the next U.S. Attorney for Arizona."

Charlton's US Attorney's Office and the FBI's Phoenix office are investigating two land deals and influence peddling related to Arizona House of Representative's Renzi (who has the dubious distinction of for two years running, being on the Most Corrupt Members of Congress list compiled by the Center for Responsibility and Ethics, according to the Daily Courier and The Washington Post.) Historically, land deals (especially those involving water rights) in Arizona equate to organized crime, corruption, and murder (See Don Bolles for an example). No wonder Charlton went quietly and did not have to be officially dismissed.

Washington State: John McKay


Why did McKay resign and who will be replacing him?

From the Seattle PI we have this:

McKay had hoped to be nominated as a U.S. district judge, but he is not among three finalists currently being vetted by the White House."I'm very disappointed," he said. "I would have liked to have transitioned to the bench, but I'll just transition to the private sector."

Replacement?

"Welcome to the United States Attorney's Office web site for the Western District of Washington. We hope you find the information at this site useful and informative. Our goal is to make our Office more accessible, and to help you communicate with us." -- Jeffrey C. Sullivan, Interim U.S. Attorney

Cases under investigation by McKay's Office

McKay joined forces with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and FBI to create a regional network called LINX that has become a national model.

Apparently McKay's transgression what he was not investigating: The King County Voting Scandal. The Democratic candidate Christine Gregoire won that Gubernatorial race in 2004, but by only 129 votes. As an April 2005 Wall Street Journal article reported:

Slade Gorton, a Republican former state attorney general and U.S. senator, has joined with six Republican members of the King County Council in calling for a Justice Department investigation of the county's handling of ballots. Records indicate that some election officials in King County knew that the absentee ballot report they filed in November was inaccurate because there was evidence at least 86 ballots had been misplaced.

Ignoring the requirement that they count the number of ballots received, instead they simply added together the number counted and rejected.