I was waiting on this latest from Jason and here it is! Cheers, Jason!
By Jason Leopold and Matt Renner
t r u t h o u t Report
Wednesday 17 October 2007
Jason Leopold and Matt Renner, reporting for Truthout, write: "The Senate Ethics Committee will likely not conduct a formal investigation into the conduct of New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici. Domenici admitted calling David Iglesias, the state's former US attorney, a few weeks before last November's midterm election about the timing of an indictment against a popular Democratic official in the state who was the target of a corruption investigation, according to two people who work closely with the Senate Ethics Committee."
In interviews conducted last week by Truthout, these people said that Domenici's recent announcement that he would not seek reelection next year due to a medical condition was a deciding factor in keeping the probe from becoming a full-blown public investigation.
These individuals requested anonymity because Ethics Committee rules prohibit them from commenting publicly about the status of its investigations.
"It's unlikely the preliminary investigation of Senator Domenici will move to the next stage," said one person who works closely with the committee. "The reason? His mental state."
These individuals added that the Ethics Committee and its legal counsel had been in discussions with Domenici and his high-powered Washington, DC attorney, Lee Blalack, just a few days before Domenici announced he would not seek reelection, to quietly end the ethics probe into the senator's behavior. Blalack did not return calls for comment on Tuesday.
In late September, Truthout reported the Ethics Committee had stepped up its investigation of Domenici's phone call to Iglesias. At that time, the Ethics Committee had conducted additional interviews with individuals who were present when the phone call took place and appeared to be close to entering into a formal probe of the senator. However, just two weeks later, Domenici said he would not seek reelection next year. In addition, Domenici disclosed he was suffering from a brain disease known as frontotemporal lobar degeneration, or FTLD, a deterioration of brain tissue that can lead to personality changes, difficulty with speech and dementia.
It is unclear whether the Ethics Committee will release a report, which its rules state it is required to do, if it does in fact bring an end to its investigation into Domenici's call to Iglesias.
Separately, the White House's Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which has been conducting its own investigation into the firing of at least eight US attorneys last year, has been unable to obtain documents from the Justice Department (DOJ) to advance its probe into the matter, three people with knowledge of the issue said on Tuesday.
The OSC sent a request to the DOJ several months ago seeking a wide-range of documents, including email correspondence between DOJ and White House officials who had discussed which US attorneys should be selected for dismissal. The OSC set a deadline for turning over the documents. However, the deadline has since passed and the DOJ has not formally responded to the OSC's request, nor has the agency stated a reason it would not turn over documents. The OSC appears to have been particularly interested in obtaining documents from the DOJ surrounding the circumstances that led to Iglesias's ouster, said individuals knowledgeable about the inner workings of the OSC probe.
A spokesperson for the DOJ did not return telephone calls or reply to emails seeking comment.
In April, Iglesias filed a Hatch Act complaint with the OSC, alleging former White House political adviser Karl Rove and other Bush administration officials may have broken the law by orchestrating his firing for partisan political reasons. Kyle Sampson, the one-time chief of staff to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this year that Iglesias was added to the list of prosecutors to be replaced after the midterm elections, and that Rove had complained Iglesias had not pursued voter fraud cases aggressively enough.
In an interview with Truthout in May, Iglesias said he had investigated the voter fraud allegations tirelessly and did not uncover evidence to back up the charges. He added that, based on evidence that has surfaced thus far and "Karl Rove's obsession with voter fraud issues throughout the country," that GOP operatives wanted him to go after Democratic-funded organizations in an attempt to swing the 2006 midterm elections to Republicans.
Seven US attorneys were fired on a single day in December 2006. The DOJ told the US attorneys President Bush wanted to give others the opportunity to serve in that capacity. But documents released earlier this year showed partisan politics were behind the firings. Since the scandal erupted at the beginning of the year, 12 DOJ officials who played a role in the firings have resigned.
Over at the House and Senate, Erica Chabot, a spokeswoman for Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Truthout last week that the committee's investigation into the circumstances behind the US attorney firings is ongoing, despite the resignations of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and former White House political adviser Karl Rove.
The House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Rove and former White House counsel Harriet Miers in contempt for refusing to answer a subpoena and testify about their role in the attorney firings. The White House, asserting executive privilege, instructed Rove and Miers, as well as other officials, not to testify about the US attorney firings. The House Judiciary Committee is currently working to schedule the full Congress to vote on the contempt charges.
Chabot said that the committee's silence regarding the matter should not be interpreted as a sign a deal was struck or that the Gonzales's and Rove's resignations amounted to a quid pro quo.
"There was no deal made, Senator Leahy is not in the business of wheeling and dealing for resignations ... We would like to come to some kind of conclusion on this," Chabot said, adding, "The confirmation hearing for the new attorney general has become the focus for the Senate Judiciary Committee. The attorney firing investigation will come up in the confirmation hearings."
Iglesias told Truthout Wednesday that he has "faith" that "Congress will not let this matter rest until we know the true reasons behind the firings."
"If those reasons are improper then the appropriate consequences should follow," Iglesias said. "Resignations and retirements do not fix the underlying problem."
Gonzales resigned as attorney general in September. The nominee to replace him, Judge Michael Mukasey, is scheduled to begin a confirmation hearing before the Senate on Wednesday.
In an October 2 letter to Mukasey, Leahy said that Mukasey, in his confirmation hearing, will face numerous questions about the US attorney firings as well as his ability to produce documents related to the issue.
Peter Shane, a Separation of Powers legal scholar and law professor, said that if Mukasey is confirmed he will not be able to restore credibility to the DOJ until he resolves the issues surrounding the US attorney firings.
"The damage Gonzales did to the Department of Justice by politicizing the Department and allowing the White House policy agenda to completely trump independent legal judgment is damage at an extraordinary level. That department cannot possibly begin to repair its loss of credibility unless the public has full and persuasive account of what actually happened with regard to the US attorney firings. If we do not get an account of what happened to the US attorneys, there is virtually nothing a new attorney general can do to restore the Department's creditability while Bush is president."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/101707A.shtml
More on FTLD:
In the over 65 age group, FTLD is probably the fourth most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies and vascular dementia. In the below 65 age group, it is the second most common cause after Alzheimer's disease.
Frontotemporal dementia
Early decline in social interpersonal conduct
Early impairment in regulation of personal conduct
Early emotional blunting
Early loss of insight
Three questions that comes to my mind:
1. How long had Domenici suffered this medical condition in the USA firing scandal?
2. How long had Domenici suffered this medical condition in his decision making as Senator?
3. Did the White House know about Domenici's medical condition? If so, who knew and/or when?
1 comment:
Looks like the GOP criminals have found another way to defend their actions. First there was the famous I can't recall I'll get back to you. Now it's mental illness that cause the criminal act. I wonder now that Domenici is mentally ill how does that effect his work as a Senator. Do we have more Law Makers who are mentally ill while holding their jobs.
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