Furor Over DA Firings Grows

[Warham]

Originally posted by ODShowtime
Scooter libby took the fall for him.

Scooter Libby took the fall for no one. They had already questioned Karl Rove and he came out clean.

[Warham]

Originally posted by ODShowtime
Cheerleading for the guy who says torture and illegal spying are ok. Nice.

No, I'm just against partisan fishing expeditions.

Do the Democrats think they'll win elections going after every Republican on baseless charges?

[ODShowtime]

Originally posted by Warham
Scooter Libby took the fall for no one. They had already questioned Karl Rove and he came out clean.

Well I guess you're right and those jurors were wrong.

What do they know? They only had to sit through hours of testimony and presentation of evidence.

[ODShowtime]

Originally posted by Warham
Do the Democrats think they'll win elections going after every Republican on baseless charges?

I don't know, but he DID lie to the Senate Judiciary Committee on 1/18/07 when he said he would never fire for political reasons

on Jan. 18, Gonzales stated, “I think I would never, ever make a change in a United States attorney for political reasons or if it would in any way jeopardize an ongoing serious investigation. I just would not do it.”

I think this was the same hearing in which he argued that the Constitution doesn’t explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights.

You could just agree with me that he needs to go, but instead you drone on with what liberals and democrats did wrong. It's infantile.

[Warham]

They weren't fired for political reasons.

[Warham]

Illegal immigrants in Texas rarely prosecuted, memo says

By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press
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— Guidelines issued by U.S. attorneys in Texas showed that most illegal immigrants crossing into the state had to be arrested at least six times before federal authorities would prosecute them, according to an internal Justice Department memo.

The disclosure provides a rare view of how federal authorities attempt to curb illegal immigration. The memo was released this week in response to a congressional investigation of the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys.

The Border Patrol makes more than 1 million arrests a year on the U.S.-Mexico border. T.J. Bonner, head of a union representing Border Patrol agents, said it's unrealistic to prosecute all violators.

"Let's be honest, there isn't enough jail space to incarcerate everyone who crosses that border," said Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council. "If everyone demanded hearing in front of an immigration judge, it would bring our system to a grinding halt in a matter of days."

It is unclear when the memo was written, but the Justice Department reviewed the guidelines sometime after a February 2005 performance review of Carol Lam, the top federal prosecutor in San Diego from 2002 until she was fired last month. Some Republican lawmakers had complained that Lam failed to aggressively prosecute immigration violations.

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said Thursday that immigration prosecutions are a high priority and that the government sent 30 additional attorneys to the border region in the second half of 2006. He said U.S. attorneys set guidelines that, in part, reflect local crime issues and staffing.

"Increasing the number of prosecutors will permit districts to adjust their guidelines and take in more cases," he said. "For law enforcement reasons, the department cannot discuss what the present prosecutorial guidelines are concerning the border."

The memo was written in response to Justice Department inquiries about immigration prosecutions by the five U.S. attorney offices that cover the 2,000-mile border — San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston and Albuquerque, N.M.

Guidelines vary by office, but migrants with no criminal records who have not been deported by an immigration judge will almost certainly be turned back to Mexico "numerous times" before getting prosecuted, according to another Justice Department memo dated Nov. 22, 2005. Those "voluntary returns" are booked on administrative, not criminal, violations.

Parts of the other memo are blacked out, so it's unclear whether the document refers to U.S. attorneys in Houston or San Antonio.

The memo says one Texas district prosecutes migrants if the Border Patrol catches them at least six to eight times. The other district prosecutes after someone is caught at least seven times.

In late 2005, the government created a 200-mile zone near Del Rio, Texas, in which every adult arrested for illegal immigration would be prosecuted and jailed before being deported.

The San Diego office, which covers an area stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Arizona state line, does not prosecute "purely economic migrants" as a general rule, according to the memo.

The Arizona district, the nation's busiest corridor for illegal crossings, "almost certainly" declines to prosecute on a first or second offense, the memo says. The New Mexico district makes decisions based on criminal records in the U.S.

There are many exceptions to the rule, including violators with criminal records.

Representatives of all five U.S. attorney offices declined to comment.

Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, who advocates a crackdown on illegal immigration, said the Texas guidelines underscore a lax enforcement attitude. He said the federal government should contract for more jail space, perhaps with local governments.

"If you made it a priority of the department, you would see a reduction," Tancredo said.

Arizona's Paul Charlton and New Mexico's David Iglesias were also among the eight U.S. attorneys abruptly fired. Justice Department officials have said they were concerned about the prosecutors' approach to immigration cases.

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Warham
They weren't fired for political reasons.

Yeah um, did you see those e-mails?

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Warham
Illegal immigrants in Texas rarely prosecuted, memo says

...

You mean she rarely prosecuted "guest workers?"

Yeah, that's a big Bush priority...

BTW dope, I just said she focused on companies hiring illegal aliens, not the little people...

[Warham]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
You mean she rarely prosecuted "guest workers?"

Yeah, that's a big Bush priority...

Maybe it is!

Since this 'scandal' is going nowhere, I can only wonder what the next one will look like.

[DrMaddVibe]

Originally posted by FORD
It's funny how the BCE always claims they have nothing to hide, yet go out of their way to hide everything.

No, what's really funny is the way the American public believed the Democratic party when they stated if elected to positions of power they wouldn't conduct witch hunts.

Now, fast forward to Pelosi's sweeping referendum and what do we have? Nothing! Not one thing. Zilch. Zip. Nada.

THAT'S funny!:D

[Warham]

Pelosi's too busy right now trying to keep her office door from being battered down by the angry Code Pinko mob outside.

[DrMaddVibe]

The ol' "Better Watch Out For What You Wish For" coming to bite them in the ass?

[ODShowtime]

Originally posted by Warham
They weren't fired for political reasons.

Oh, great retort! You have me on the ropes!

[EAT MY ASSHOLE]

Warham, you never cease to impress.

Frankly, I don't even know where to begin with responses to your comments on this page.

In breif:

Karl Rove testified to a Grand Jury on multiple occassions. each time, he had to ADD to his previous testimony, ie: "I forgot to mention, yes, in fact, I DID speak to Cooper at time Magazine. Silly me. Whoops."

There are still at least a hundred pages of e-mails regarding these DOJ firings that have not been turned over. That's a lot of pages, and I put it on the same level as Berger stuffing documents down his Hanes. If there's nothing to see here, kids, then why are you hiding it?

The one prosecutor who WAS let go that was a FoB was done so b/c his record was TERRIBLE and it was the appropriate measure. Unlike, seemingly, these others who had VERY strong records in their favor.

BTW, the senator who contacted Iglesias at home and tried to pressure him? He's now retianed a defense attorney. You know what kind of people do that?

Guilty people.

[Roy Munson]

Another NON-issue.

Much ado about NOTHING.


Clinton fire how many fed pros again? What? 90-something?


The president can fire these fuckers even if he doesn't like their neck tie.

Keep reaching, Libs.

The best part about this is that we can get rid of a less-than-stellar AG who was probably hired on an affirmative action basis. Yes, I believe he was hired just because he's hispanic. Bush is a pussy sometimes, too.