The Return Of The U.S. Firing Attorney saga.

Think the U.S. Attorney scandal was resolved when Alberto Gonzales resigned? Think again. [The Hill]
Remember the U.S. attorney scandal? Catch up here: [MicCheck] [MicCheck] [MicCheck]

The Hill reports that “recent behind-the-scenes activity in several investigations suggests that the issue that roiled Congress in 2007 could re-emerge in the heat of the election year.”

The Justice Department’s Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility has an ongoing “sprawling inquiry” to determine “whether senior officials lied to Congress, violated the criminal provisions in the Hatch Act, tampered with witnesses preparing to testify to Congress, obstructed justice, took improper political considerations into account during the hiring and firing of U.S. attorneys and created widespread problems in the department’s Civil Rights Division.” Whew!

Why does this matter? According to sources close to the investigation, they’re set to drop a report “in the next three months.”

The fall out could engulf members of Congress, where the Senate and the House have opened up separate ethics investigations.

Among the allegations, “Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) pressured [U.S. Attorney Iglesias] to accelerate an investigation of a Democratic politician in New Mexico ahead of Wilson’s tight reelection bid.”

But that just scratches the surface. Members of the Bush administration continue to ignore Congressional subpoenas to provide information on the firing, and this new round of reports could give Congress the leverage to finally do something about it.

http://campusprogress.org/newswire/2433/the-return-of-the-us-attorneys