Monday, March 26, 2007

The New US Attorneys Must Face Congress or Go

The US Attorney scandal is off the home pages of the New York Times and Washington Post today. A new scandal has emerged about the General Services Administration chief conspiring to help Repub candidates.

But the new US Attorneys can't be left in place. They must face Congressional scrutiny or be let go.

As I detailed in an earlier post, last year the Repubs amended the Patriot Act so that they could appoint US Attorneys without the congressional approval that is called for in the Constitution. The Patriot Act must not be allowed to be turned into a partisan tool. Its provisions must only be used for the purposes for which it was created - security. There is no security issue here. All the evidence is indicating that the US Attorneys who were fired were done so because they refused to play ball for Repub candidates in the last election. All the evidence is indicating that the replacements were chosen because they are fiercely partisan hacks who will help Repub candidates win.

It matters a lot who fills the posts of US attorney. Congress must scrutinize these new appointments. And we musn't let the current administration corrupt democracy any more.

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