Reply #19: WA POST: Deputy Attorney General Defends Prosecutor Firings

[L. Coyote]

Deputy Attorney General Defends Prosecutor Firings
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 7, 2007; 12:00 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/06/AR2007020600732.html

A senior Justice Department official acknowledged yesterday that a top federal prosecutor in Arkansas was removed to make room for a former aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove, but he said that six other U.S. attorneys were fired for "performance-related" issues.

In often contentious testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty also disputed Democrats' allegations that the firings appeared to be aimed at rewarding Republican allies and at avoiding the Senate's role in confirming U.S. attorney appointments.

"The attorney general's appointment authority has not and will not be used to circumvent the confirmation process," McNulty said. "All accusations in this regard are contrary to the clear factual record."

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"What happened here doesn't sound like business as usual," Schumer said. "Even the hiring and firing of our top federal prosecutors has become infused and corrupted with political, rather than prudent, considerations."

McNulty responded later: "When I hear you talk about the politicizing of the Department of Justice, it's like a knife in my heart. . . . Your perspective is completely contrary to my daily experience."

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