Report: No Clear Reason Why WA Prosecutor Fired

30 Sep 2008 // WASHINGTON — Federal investigators said Monday they cannot determine exactly why former Seattle U.S. Attorney John McKay was dismissed, although a dispute with a top Justice Department official over a law enforcement information-sharing program likely played a role.

McKay, who had been the Western Washington prosecutor since 2001, was ordered to resign in late 2006 along with eight other U.S. attorneys. A report released Monday by the Justice Department called the firings improper, but reached no firm conclusion in the case of McKay, a Republican who previously had been considered a rising star in GOP circles.

The report says the main reason given for McKay's firing was his clash with top Justice officials, including Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, over a law enforcement information-sharing program known as LINX.

The report also cites evidence that McKay may have been targeted because of complaints from local Republicans about his handling of fraud allegations stemming from the disputed 2004 Washington governor's race.

McKay has said that White House lawyers asked him about why he had "mishandled" the election probe during an interview for his unsuccessful bid to become a federal judge.

Two top former White House officials, Harriet Miers and Karl Rove, declined to cooperate with the Justice Department investigation, making it difficult to determine what role the election probe played in McKay's firing, the report said. But the report added: "We cannot rule out the possibility that McKay's handling of voter fraud complaints played a part in the decision to remove him from office."

The report also reviewed a January 2005 phone call to McKay from Ed Cassidy, the former chief of staff to Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash. In the call, Cassidy asked McKay about allegations of voter fraud in the 2004 election, which Democrat Christine Gregoire narrowly won after two recounts.

McKay said he told Cassidy he was sure that the call was not intended to suggest that Hastings was calling for a federal investigation, because that would be improper.

Hastings told investigators he did not know why Cassidy called McKay and that he did not remember telling him to do it. He also said he could not recall whether Cassidy told him about the phone call. Cassidy served as Hastings' longtime staff chief before moving over to work with Hastings at the House ethics panel.

Hastings said he considered the governor's race a state matter - not federal - and that he never discussed McKay's performance as U.S. Attorney with anyone at the White House, the report said.

Will Marlow, a spokesman for Hastings, said Monday the report contained "nothing new" about Cassidy or Hastings.

"The report just restated what has already been reported over and over - that the call between Hastings' former chief of staff and John McKay did not cross any unethical lines," Marlow said.

The report said the most likely reason for McKay's dismissal was the dispute overt the LINX program.

Staff members at Justice told investigators that McNulty was "irritated" by an August 2006 e-mail from McKay to advocate for the program, which McKay felt was not being supported aggressively enough by top federal officials. McKay's letter was signed by 16 other U.S. attorneys and was widely disseminated inside and outside the Justice Department.

The report said McKay "zealously advocated" for the LINX program, while other Justice officials were less supportive.

McKay has said he had discussed the program with McNulty before sending the letter. McNulty "agreed with everything we were doing with LINX," he told The Associated Press last year. "I thought he wanted the letter."

The report says McKay's name was on a March 2005 list of U.S. attorneys to be fired, but was taken off after former Deputy Attorney General James Comey indicated that McKay had been "great" on an information-sharing project.

McKay's named was not included in two subsequent lists of prosecutors to be fired, in January and April 2006, but reappeared in September 2006. All the lists were developed by Kyle Sampson, then chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

McKay was ordered to resign on Dec. 7, 2006.