As USA interim's term expired yesterday, I took a close look on Jeffrey Taylor. There is more about Taylor that meets the eye.
On Thinkprogress:
Jeffrey Taylor: In May, Taylor, the U.S. attorney in DC, caved to the requests of four Justice Department officials to hire Jay Apperson. As an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia in the 1990s, Apperson “infuriated fellow prosecutors when he facetiously suggested a White History Month to complement Black History Month.” Taylor allowed him to “skip the rigorous vetting process that the vast majority of career federal prosecutors face.”
In addition, from the Washington Post in May 2007:
Chuck Rosenberg, the U.S. attorney in Alexandria, heard about Taylor's allegations and referred the matter to the agency's inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility while serving as Gonzales's interim chief of staff in March and April, according to two law enforcement sources.
Taylor, who formerly worked as Gonzales's counsel, said the decision to hire Apperson was his. But he said that Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, and Acting Associate Attorney General William W. Mercer urged him to consider Apperson. Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General William E. Moschella and Michael A. Battle, who at the time headed the office that oversees U.S. attorneys, also suggested that Apperson would be a good hire.
"They said, 'The guy needs a job. He'd do a good job for you,' " Taylor recalled in an interview this week. "But I want to be clear. No one ordered me to hire Jay Apperson. If someone says I made an error in judgment, that's fine."
Also, in Truthout in July 2007, Taylor has ties in the USA firings:
According to Justice Department documents, Taylor took part in behind-the-scenes discussions involving the US attorneys who were fired.
That raises questions about whether Taylor, who would be in a position to decide whether to turn the matter over to a grand jury, has a conflict of interest and would be forced to recuse himself from the case.
On Thinkprogress:
Jeffrey Taylor: In May, Taylor, the U.S. attorney in DC, caved to the requests of four Justice Department officials to hire Jay Apperson. As an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia in the 1990s, Apperson “infuriated fellow prosecutors when he facetiously suggested a White History Month to complement Black History Month.” Taylor allowed him to “skip the rigorous vetting process that the vast majority of career federal prosecutors face.”
In addition, from the Washington Post in May 2007:
Chuck Rosenberg, the U.S. attorney in Alexandria, heard about Taylor's allegations and referred the matter to the agency's inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility while serving as Gonzales's interim chief of staff in March and April, according to two law enforcement sources.
Taylor, who formerly worked as Gonzales's counsel, said the decision to hire Apperson was his. But he said that Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, and Acting Associate Attorney General William W. Mercer urged him to consider Apperson. Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General William E. Moschella and Michael A. Battle, who at the time headed the office that oversees U.S. attorneys, also suggested that Apperson would be a good hire.
"They said, 'The guy needs a job. He'd do a good job for you,' " Taylor recalled in an interview this week. "But I want to be clear. No one ordered me to hire Jay Apperson. If someone says I made an error in judgment, that's fine."
Also, in Truthout in July 2007, Taylor has ties in the USA firings:
According to Justice Department documents, Taylor took part in behind-the-scenes discussions involving the US attorneys who were fired.
That raises questions about whether Taylor, who would be in a position to decide whether to turn the matter over to a grand jury, has a conflict of interest and would be forced to recuse himself from the case.
According to DoJ documents, Taylor worked closely with Justice Department officials who were planning the US attorney purge. Before being appointed to his current position, Taylor served as counsel for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, one of the main targets of the ongoing Congressional investigation. Email communications between Taylor and Kyle Sampson, then chief of staff for the attorney general, and William Mercer, former acting associate attorney general, show that Taylor worked closely with Sampson and Mercer while the two men were planning the firings. Specifically, the emails show that Taylor was asked to assist Sampson and Mercer when the DoJ came under fire for alleged lack of enforcement of illegal-immigration laws. A lack of illegal-immigration enforcement was later used as a rationale for the removal of Carol Lam, former US attorney for the Southern District of California.
The DoJ has released only two emails sent by Taylor and only one that was directly addressed to him, leaving Taylor's exact role in planning the attorney purge unclear. In an email, Mercer asks for Taylor's "thoughts" about an email exchange between DoJ officials regarding an inquiry by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California) regarding illegal-immigration prosecutions. If Taylor responded by email, that document was not made public. DoJ did not return multiple calls for comment on this issue, and has not specified how many relevant documents it is withholding
Jeffrey Taylor was also suggested Lam's spot --by Kyle Sampson.
3 comments:
Taylor should be probed alright...renditioned really, since his Dept of InJustice thinks its A-OK.
SPB the DOJ is so messed up it needs an enema. Karl and Dickster planned out each position for the DOJ and Judges to complete their crime wave. Now it will take time to clean that up. We have other Departments with rats placed so it's a big job. As we see a rat and put the rat poison down they resign.
Jackie and Prissy:
Keep in kind that Taylor is the leader prosecutor for Deborah Jeane Palfrey's case. The timing of Taylor being appointed USA by Gonzo under the revision of the Patriot Act, Taylor's 7 days later after nomination to pass through without a Senate vote, and the FBI raid in Palfrey's home prior to the November 2006 election is too coincidental.
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