Two of the fired U.S. Attorneys raised the possibility that criminal charges could result from the on-going scandal over the firings.   Let's keep in mind that these are former U.S. Attorneys who know a thing or two about when laws are broken:

Two former U.S. attorneys said today they believe ongoing investigations into the dismissals last year of eight federal prosecutors could result in criminal charges against senior Justice Department officials.

John McKay, the former U.S. attorney for Western Washington, and David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, also said they believe White House political operative Karl Rove and his aides instigated the dismissals and ultimately decided who among the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys should be fired.

McKay and Iglesias, who were among those fired, made their assertions during a meeting this morning with Seattle Times editors and reporters. The two are scheduled to appear this afternoon along with Paul Charlton, the former U.S. attorney for Arizona, during a public-policy forum on the dismissals at Seattle University's School of Law.

"I think there will be a criminal case that will come out of this," McKay said during his meeting with Times journalists. "This is going to get worse, not better."

McKay cited ongoing investigations into the dismissals by the Senate and House Judiciary committees, and inquiries now under way by the Justice Department's inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility.

McKay said he believes obstruction-of-justice charges will be filed if investigators conclude that the dismissal of any of the eight prosecutors was motivated by an attempt to influence ongoing public-corruption or voter-fraud investigations.

McKay said he believes the strongest evidence of obstruction is related to the dismissals of Iglesias and Carol Lam, the former U.S. Attorney in San Diego.

 

Earlier today, CREW asked the Attorney General of the United States to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate criminal wrongdoing in the U.S. Attorneys scandal. Yes, criminal wrongdoing. The firing of the eight U.S. Attorneys has moved way beyond the usual DC political scandal. Laws were probably broken by top officials at the United States Department of Justice. This is way beyond partisan politics and the pundits who are treating it as such are missing a very important point.

Earlier today, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined the falsehoods that have been provided to Congress by the Justice Department.  Some of what the Judiciary Committee was told came from the Attorney General who testified under oath about this issue. The text of Schumer's speech was provided by TPM Muckraker:

Here are some of the falsehoods we've been told that are now unraveling.

First, we were told that the seven of the eight U.S. attorneys were fired for performance reasons.

It now turns out this was a falsehood, as the glowing performance evaluations attest.

Second, we were told by the attorney general that he would, quote, "never, ever make a change for political reasons."

It now turns out that this was a falsehood, as all the evidence makes clear that this purge was based purely on politics, to punish prosecutors who were perceived to be too light on Democrats or too tough on Republicans.

Third, we were told by the attorney general that this was just an overblown personnel matter.

It now turns out that far from being a low-level personnel matter, this was a longstanding plan to exact political vendettas or to make political pay-offs.

Fourth, we were told that the White House was not really involved in the plan to fire U.S. attorneys. This, too, turns out to be false.

Harriet Miers was one of the masterminds of this plan, as demonstrated by numerous e-mails made public today. She communicated extensively with Kyle Sampson about the firings of the U.S. attorneys. In fact, she originally wanted to fire and replace the top prosecutors in all 93 districts across the country.

Fifth, we were told that Karl Rove had no involvement in getting his protege appointed U.S. attorney in Arkansas.

In fact, here is a letter from the Department of Justice. Quote: "The department is not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint Mr. Griffin."

It now turns out that this was a falsehood, as demonstrated by Mr. Sampson's own e-mail. Quote: "Getting him, Griffin, appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, et cetera.

Sixth, we were told to change the Patriot Act was an innocent attempt to fix a legal loophole, not a cynical strategy to bypass the Senate's role in serving as a check and balance.

It was Senator Feinstein who discovered that issue. She'll talk more about it.

So there has been misleading statement after misleading statement -- deliberate misleading statements. And we haven't gotten to the bottom of this yet, but believe me, we will pursue it.

As described in today's Washington Post,  there was extensive e-mail traffic among top officials at the Department of Justice and White House staff, including former Counsel Harriet Miers relating to the firing of U.S. Attorneys.

You can read the e-mails for yourself now.  The House Judiciary Committee has posted pdf. versions of the communications in four parts under the heading "Documents regarding DOJ Firings."

Another major development in the growing U.S. Attorneys scandal:  Kyle Sampson, who served as Chief of Staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (and who wanted to be the U.S. Attorney in Utah), quit yesterday. 

Press reports indicate that Sampson did not fully disclose his involvement with the White House in this matter: 

The Justice Department official said Kyle Sampson, chief of staff to Gonzales, resigned after reports detailed his extensive dealings with the White House on the matter.

Major U.S. newspapers reported on Tuesday that the White House had suggested two years ago that the Justice Department fire all of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys, but approved the idea of dismissing a smaller group.

Eight prosecutors were fired last year after President George W. Bush spoke to Gonzales about complaints he received that some of them had not energetically pursued voter-fraud investigations, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told The Washington Post and The New York Times.

The Post said Sampson resigned after acknowledging he did not tell other Justice Department officials about the extent of his communications with the White House. His omission led Justice officials to provide incomplete information to Congress, it said.

Senator Schumer is on to something with his request for testimony from Karl Rove based on the latest report from Newsweek: 

But where did the list of particular U.S. attorneys to fire come from? Two senior Justice officials, who didn't want to be named discussing the dismissals, tell NEWSWEEK that Kyle Sampson, Gonzales's chief of staff, developed the list of eight prosecutors to be fired last October—with input from the White House. In a recent statement, the White House said it approved the firings, but didn't sign off on specific names.

Probably makes sense for Rove to testify.  But, it also makes sense for some member of the House to file an ethics complaint against Rep. Heather Wilson and Rep. Doc Hastings. 

The scandal involving the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys continues to expand.  Along those lines, today,  Senator Chuck Schumer issued the following statement:

IN LIGHT OF TWO NEW REVELATIONS, SCHUMER CALLS ON SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO CALL KARL ROVE TO TESTIFY

In light of new reports that Karl Rove played a role in the firing of U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today asked the Judiciary Committee to call on Karl Rove to testify. Reports over the weekend reveal that New Mexico State Republican Chairman Allen Weh spoke with Rove about U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and that Rove spoke with both Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and White House Counsel Harriet Miers about Weh’s complaints.

“The more we learn, the more it seems that people at high levels in the White House have been involved in the U.S. Attorney purge,” Schumer said. “Recent disclosures reveal that Rove talked to the NM State Party Chair Allen Weh before any public announcement of the firing was made and that Rove talked about Mr. Igleisas to the Attorney General and the White House Counsel. While the White House states not incorrectly that someone in Karl Rove’s position get complaints about U.S. Attorneys, it is almost unheard of for U.S. Attorney to be fired shortly after such discussions occur, when that US Attorney had received highly favorable reviews and ratings.”

Schumer’s congressional inquiry has already exposed that in Arkansas, White House Counsel Harriet Miers intervened on behalf of Tim Griffin, a former aide to Karl Rove, to persuade Attorney General Gonzales to install Griffin as the interim U.S. Attorney there.

“There’s an emerging pattern that is extremely disturbing and everyday the sanctity of US. Attorneys as neutral enforcers of law without fear or favor is diminished,” Schumer said. “We will get to bottom of this.”

A major development in the case of the fired U.S. Attorney from New Mexico makes the front page of today's Washington Post. Senator Domenici acknowledges calling David Isglesias about a pending case:

Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) acknowledged today that he contacted the U.S. attorney in Albuquerque last fall to inquire about the status of an ongoing corruption probe of Democrats, saying he regretted the call but "never pressured him nor threatened him in any way."

Domenici also said he had told the Justice Department that U.S. Attorney David C. Iglesias should be replaced, but said that occurred prior to the call about the criminal investigation of Democrats.

In retrospect, I regret making that call and I apologize," Domenici said in a statement. "However, at no time in that conversation or any other conversation with Mr. Iglesias did I ever tell him what course of action I thought he should take on any legal matter. I have never pressured him nor threatened him in any way."

Rep. Heather Wilson is the other member of Congress suspected of calling Iglesias about the corruption case:

Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.) has yet to comment; the rest of the New Mexico congressional delegation has denied placing any calls to Iglesias.

Two sources with knowledge of the calls have said Wilson made the first contact, followed by Domenici about a week later. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be named discussing the matter before a congressional hearing tomorrow.

And, there are ethical considerations at play here:

The Senate Ethics Manual advises senators that contact with prosecutors and regulatory agency officials is "generally permitted, where the communication is with the agency and not directed at the court, where the agency is not engaged in an ongoing enforcement, investigative or other quasi-judicial proceeding."

Stanley Brand, an ethics lawyer who served as House counsel in the 1980s, said a senator should contact a federal prosecutor about an ongoing investigation only if he or she has evidence or information related to the probe.

"It's going to precipitate a huge problem," Brand said, warning of a potential review by the Justice Department.

Expect more on this aspect of this brewing scandal.