Last June, former Seattle U.S. Attorney John McKay went to Washington D.C. to provide eight hours of testimony to the Office of the Inspector General. The Inspector General was investigating the reasons why eight U.S. Attorneys were fired.
As with the Fitzgerald investigation, this investigation has been hampered by a (former) senior Bush administration official lying. And we may have another high-profile perjury and obstruction of justice case in the works:
An investigation might be finished as early as next month, and then the U.S. inspector general might recommend criminal prosecution of departed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the fired former U.S. attorney for Western Washington told a Spokane audience Friday.
[…] McKay said he believes he and seven other U.S. attorneys were fired last December by Gonzales for political reasons, perhaps with former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove pulling strings.
Career prosecutors in his office and FBI agents agreed there was no reason to go forward with a federal investigation of the Gregoire-Rossi election, and issues associated with it were more properly addressed by state officials, McKay said.
[…]Gonzales “lied about” reasons for the firings when questioned under oath in July by the Senate Judiciary Committee, McKay said.
The White House said McKay was fired for poor performance ratings of his office, but the former U.S. attorney said he and his office got exemplary reviews just three months before he was fired.
“The chief law enforcement officer for the United States should not lie under oath,” McKay told the bar association.
An interesting part of this story is the likely role played by the Washington State Republicans:
In the weeks following the 2004 gubernatorial race, [Washington State Republican Party Chair Chris] Vance said Republicans were “angry and frustrated.” Republican Dino Rossi held narrow leads after the initial count and the first recount, but Democrat Chris Gregoire won by 129 votes after a second recount. Vance wanted to deliver that message of frustration to McKay.
[…]Vance said he talked about the governor’s race frequently with Glynda Becker, the western states’ contact in Karl Rove’s political office at the White House. Vance said he didn’t remember if McKay was discussed.
Democratic claims that Rove was running the Republican effort to ensure Rossi won weren’t true, Vance said, though he said the White House knew what was going on.
Becker recalled the phone calls from Vance and “every other Republican activist from Washington state” and said while McKay’s name might have come up she couldn’t remember the context.
Others who spoke to Becker about the governor’s race included Tony Williams, a one-time chief of staff to former Washington Republican Sen. Slade Gorton, who advised the Rossi campaign.
Following the 2004 election, frustrated and angry state Republicans complained to Karl Rove’s office that the U.S. Attorney wasn’t investigating—what they perceived to be—election fraud. They didn’t have evidence for election fraud, of course, but that didn’t stop them from claiming it…over and over and over again. In the world of politics, you can make somebody believe something by repeating it often enough; but, that dog don’t hunt when it comes to the world of evidence and logic in the justice system. Even so, the state Republicans launched a high-profile law suit in which, Dale Foreman opened the GOP case by claiming, “[t]his is a case of election fraud.” After six months of investigations and millions of dollars spent on each side, the lawsuit was dismissed. There was no election fraud.
One legacy of the GOP lawsuit is that the false allegations managed to shake voter confidence in our elections process. But the problem with exercising bad-faith political smears is that they can come back to bite you in the ass. So it is only fair to give the Washington state GOP a little bit of credit for the months of political mayhem surrounding Gonzogate.
An even bigger political flap will arise should Gonzales be prosecuted for lying. (And given that the trial could take years, I suspect George Bush will, before leaving office, simply pardon Gonzales.) This, too, will become part of the GOP legacy from the Washington state gubernatorial election contest.
Hey…karma is a bitch!
and they still find votes. Maybe not fraud, but who knew where to look for those “lost” ballots?
Since King County likes to count MORE VOTES than voters, why didn’t Mckay dig into this.
He wouldn’t have to testify at all, if he had did his job.
[Deleted — Darryl, see HA Comment Policy]
Wow @ 1,
Yep…maybe your lies will come true if you repeat them over and over again while clicking your heals, clenching your fists and holding your breath….
Righton @ 2,
Take your off-topic drivel to an open thread.
@1 broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick broken record tick
Few things are more frightening than (1) people in power believing their own lies to be actionable, to the point of acting on them; and (2) using the government’s powers of prosecution to persecute perceived foes.
The Bush administration is a truly frightening phenomenon in the history of American politics, and no prison sentences are too harsh for its perpetrators.
Republicans are amazingly good liars. They are starting to reclaim some of their pre-2006 smirkines, largely due to their obstructionism in the Senate.
Let’s get them on record now for doing away with filibusters.
So, KC didn’t have more votes, than voters…..You people live in a bubble….You get what you deserve, and those that you vote for…
Good luck
@7 Yeah, yeah. That state of denial and a quater will get you 3.5 long tons of Republican bullshit. You have plenty already.
For a QUARTER you can get even more.
DArly, gee, and I though Goldy was the stalinist….
You mean we cannot compare the firing of McKay w/ the firing by Clinton of the same batch of people?
I guess your standard of being “on topic” is the gibberish that Roger Rabbit contributes…
Wow @ 7,
“So, KC didn’t have more votes, than voters.”
No, in fact they didn’t.
That rumor that they had “more votes than voters” appears to begin with a “misunderstanding” on the part of Stefan Sharkansky over the purpose and accuracy of the voter crediting process.
Judge Bridges examined the claim and threw it out. As he put it, “voter crediting is a post-election administrative exercise that does not bear on the authenticity of the election.”
See what I mean?
I see, then just count the ones you get, to hell if they are REAL VOTES or not.
Wasn’t there a chick from krce that testified that some kind of report prior to “certification” was bogus? I mean what KCRE does to tally votes, shouldn’t it be like balancing a cash register after the store closes?
But Sims and company are proud to be envied by the banks.
Wow @ 13,
Your wingnut spin cycle didn’t cut it, Squirt. You lost. There was no evidence of election fraud. You might consider seeking the services of a qualified mental health professional.
So you don’t dispute my post with any revelance, only denial
Good…Now Please consider that the Judge can only rule on what is brought before HIM at the time.
How about those votes found AFTER the trial? Or even those found in the 2005 election found in 2006?
One more thing Darryl.
Do you always DISMISS those that disagree with YOU?
Typical of your kind.
Just sayin’ (LOL)
Wow,
“Do you always DISMISS those that disagree with YOU?”
No…I frequently enjoy a vigorous debate with others.
When someone is so intellectually lazy as to argue without even knowing the details of what they are arguing about (e.g. you throwing out the statement, “wasn’t there a chick from krce that testified that some kind of report prior to “certification” was bogus?” instead of actually being bothered to educate yourself about that issue so that you can argue with facts and data), then, yeah, I tend to get dismissive.
Wow @ 15,
“So you don’t dispute my post with any revelance, only denial”
Given that you don’t seem to even know what you are talking about, there isn’t much to dispute. If you have evidence of election fraud (and I mean REAL evidence of election fraud, not bullshit innuendo) then please do tell!
“How about those votes found AFTER the trial? Or even those found in the 2005 election found in 2006?”
What about ’em? Are you going to string ’em together into some case for election fraud? If not, save your bellyaching for your shrink.
@15 Your silly arguments have been hashed and rehashed on this board dozens of times … why do you think we’re obligated to repetitively respond to your repetitive bullshit? If you want the answers, read the HA archives.
@15 Perhaps you didn’t read past comments on this subject because you’re new here. Are you new here? In case you’re a newbie, let me acquaint you with the ad hoc HA posting rules:
1. This is a liberal blog.
2. Anyone can post here.
3. There is no censorship. However, off-topic posts may be deleted.
4. As liberals, our mission is to verbally kick the living shit out of you unpatriotic Constitution-hating fascist trolls.
5. No mercy for wingnuts.
6. Our terms are unconditional surrender; to be followed by trials.
7. klake is a nazi.
Any questions? If not, go fuck yourself.
Gee. If this thread is about election fraud, can I bring up Florida in 2000, and 15,000 undervotes in 2004, and Ohio in 2004? Alabama’s governor’s race, or New Mexican machine counts going for Bush, and the absented ballots exactly the opposite? Let’s talk about illegal caging lists! Tim Griffon’s name at the top. Rove’s 2nd in command.
What about the millions of votes cast in 2004 that were never counted? The ones that were 9 times as likely to be cast by minorities in some states.
Anyone wanting “facts” about election fraud, read Greg Palast “Armed Madhouse” if you can take it.
Reeeeeeel election fraud. Not the imaginary kind the Republiconvicts spout off about.
By the way, I have links to back up every single statement above in triplicate.
Stefan, the pussie is trying to make a name for himself whining about imaginary election fraud here, so the Republiconvicts have something to compare to the real election fraud, voter caging, and voter intimidation they have been found guilty of.
Stefan, give it up. Crying won’t do no good. The only election fraud in our 2004 governor’s race was Rossi pretending to be a moderate.
No, this thread is about the fascists infecting our college campuses with a new strain of brain-eating bullshit.
@22 Rodent:
Why? You planning on setting up a booth to teach people how to become illegitimate welfare recipients like you? Med coupons, food stamps, not working, obsessed with a one-sided ranting site such as this? Hhhhhmmmmm……
Mark1 @ 23
You lying sack of wingnut shit. You know very well that Roger Rabbit is NOT on welfare, not on food stamps, etc.
Another example of you stupid fuckers just making up shit and thinking if you repeat it often enough it becomes “truth.”
It doesn’t, asshole. No matter how often you say it, it’s still a lie.
And this is how they spin it.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/21/14408/240
Righty who isn’t right:
There is no comparision with Bush’s firing of Republican attorney generals who were appointed during Bush’s administration. Appointed by President Bush in October 2001 to the top law enforcement job in western Washington, McKay said he believes he and seven other Republican U.S. attorneys were fired last December by Gonzales for political reasons, perhaps with former White House staff Karl Rove pulling strings.
Gonzales lied about reasons for the firings when questioned under oath in July by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Gonzales has hired a lawyer and is refusing to answer questions from the Inspector General.
Now a law professor, McKay said he thinks his counterparts, David Iglesias, fired as U.S. attorney for New Mexico, and Carol Lam, forced out as U.S. attorney in San Diego, also were targeted for political reasons.
Iglesias has said he was pressured to bring an indictment against a popular Democratic official before last November’s mid-term election. Iglesias has filed a Hatch Act complaint, alleging Rove and other White House officials may have violated that federal law in his firing.
Lam has said she believes her firing was tied her office’s aggressive investigation of Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a Republican congressman who later pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion. It spawned a wider investigation into congressional corruption, and Cunningham is now serving an 8-year prison term.
Seven other Republican U.S. attorneys were dumped at the same time in a historically unprecedented move by the White House.
For the record, Judge Bridges did find evidence of Republican vote fraud in King County in 2004, which is why he deducted the fraudulent Republican votes from Rossi’s total, so that Gregoire’s actual margin was 132 votes.
Charles L. Smith,
“For the record, Judge Bridges did find evidence of Republican vote fraud in King County in 2004, which is why he deducted the fraudulent Republican votes from Rossi’s total, so that Gregoire’s actual margin was 132 votes.”
Not quite true. He found clear and convincing evidence of 5 illegal votes: four for Dino Rossi and one for the Libertarian candidate. Illegal votes are not necessarily voter fraud. And voter fraud is not the same thing as election fraud.