They Begin Eating Their Own

One of the fired US Attorneys (USAs), David Iglesias, has an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times titled, "Why I was Fired." In it, he details how Representative Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) called to "ask" him about whether he was going to prosecute Democrats on corruption charges before the November elections. This is in violation of Congressional ethics rules which forbid members of Congress from contacting USAs to discuss particular cases.

Shortly after those calls, in which Iglesias told Wilson that he can't discuss indictments -- it's illegal -- and told Domenici he probably wouldn't be filing any corruption charges before the election, Iglesias was put on the list of USAs to be fired.

USAs aren't paid by the taxpayers to pursue partisan indictments against political enemies of the administration. They are there to prosecute criminals fairly and impartially. Sure, the adminstration and the Attorney General get to set general priorities for USAs. I don't dispute that. But they can't be used for partisan witch-hunts and shouldn't be removed from their jobs for upholding their ethical obligations.

I don't see why anyone would support the Bush regime at this point. They have no sense of honor or loyalty and turn on their own at the first chance. The lesson here is that the regime cares nothing for ethics or standards of conduct. They believe the entire Federal government exists as an instrument to keep the Republican party in power by using its reach to destroy any opposition. And, if you aren't willing to divest yourself of any shred of integrity to do the regime's bidding, you'll be dropped faster than acid at a Grateful Dead concert.

That's what Nixon thought, too. I thought we'd have learned something since then.

Iglesias, a loyal Republican, got fired for being ethical and doing his job properly, as did the other USAs. Bringing a case against someone just in order to affect the outcome of an election is improper, wrong, and illegal. USAs have an obligation as Officers of the Court to bring charges only when the facts support a crime having been committed beyond a reasonable doubt. Not when political masters tell them to.