SubscribeHow NYT Covered Reno Firing All US Attorneys
From those champions of justice at the New York Times:
ATTORNEY GENERAL SEEKS RESIGNATIONS FROM PROSECUTORS
By DAVID JOHNSTON
March 24, 1993
Attorney General Janet Reno today demanded the prompt resignation of all United States Attorneys, leading the Federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia to suggest that the order could be tied to his long-running investigation of Representative Dan Rostenkowski, a crucial ally of President Clinton.
Jay B. Stephens, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, who is a Bush Administration holdover, said he had advised the Justice Department that he was within 30 days of making a “critical decision” in the Rostenkowski case when Ms. Reno directed him and other United States Attorneys to submit their resignations, effective in a matter of days.
While prosecutors are routinely replaced after a change in Administration, Ms. Reno’s order accelerated what had been expected to be a leisurely changeover.
Says He Won’t Resist
At a news conference today only hours after one by Ms. Reno, Mr. Stephens said he would not resist the Attorney General’s move to force him from office, and he held back from directly accusing her of interfering with the Rostenkowski inquiry.
But Mr. Stephens left the strong impression that Ms. Reno’s actions might disrupt the investigation as he moved toward a decision on whether to seek charges against the Illinois Democrat, who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
“This case has been conducted with integrity,” Mr. Stephens said, “and I trust the decisions in this case will not be made based on political considerations.”
Nonetheless, lawyers who have followed the investigation have said that Mr. Stephens has been concerned that the Democratic Administration might try to upset his investigation.
Has Denied Wrongdoing
Mr. Rostenkowski has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and he has not been accused of any impropriety. But if he is indicted, he would be forced by House rules to relinquish his chairmanship, a development that some lawmakers have said could seriously jeopardize Mr. Clinton’s efforts to steer his economic and health-care proposals through Congress.
Mr. Stephens and his prosecutors began the investigation that led them to review Mr. Rostenkowski’s activities in mid-1991, focusing initially on low-level employees at the House post office who absconded with money. There have been several guilty pleas as prosecutors have worked their way up the ranks at the mailing operation.
Mr. Rostenkowski has been under scrutiny since last year, when his office records were subpoenaed in an inquiry into whether someone in his office used his expense account fraudulently to obtain cash from the post office. Since then, some of his aides have testified to a grand jury and investigators have examined his use of campaign funds. Denies Any Connection
In announcing her order at her first news conference as Attorney General, Ms. Reno denied there was any connection between her action and the Rostenkowski case and said Mr. Stephens had been treated like other United States Attorneys.”
Ms. Reno said United States Attorneys “are absolutely integral to the whole success of the Department of Justice,” and her aides said today that she did not intend to immediately remove any whose presence was required to complete an investigation.
One official suggested that even Mr. Stephens might be asked to stay on until a successor is named, saying Ms. Reno had made no decisions about who she may choose on an interim basis.
All 93 United States Attorneys knew they would be asked to step down, since all are Republican holdovers, and 16 have resigned so far. But the process generally takes much longer and had usually been carried out without the involvement of the Attorney General. Battles of the Past
Ms. Reno is under pressure to assert her control over appointments at the Justice Department. She was Mr. Clinton’s third choice for Attorney General and arrived after most of the department’s senior positions were already filled by the White House.
The comments of Ms. Reno and Mr. Stephens evoked the pitched battles of the past, when independent United States Attorneys resisted removal by new administrations.
In 1969, for instance Robert Morgenthau, now the Manhattan District Attorney, resisted efforts by the Nixon Administration to replace him as United States Attorney in New York until he was given what he called an “ultimatum” by President Richard M. Nixon to leave office.
In 1978, Attorney General Griffin B. Bell removed David W. Marston as United States Attorney in Philadelphia, provoking charges, never proved, that a lawmaker under scrutiny by Mr. Marston’s office had urged President Jimmy Carter to remove the prosecutor.
Four-Year Terms
United States Attorneys are appointed to serve four-year terms at the pleasure of the President. It was unclear whether Ms. Reno initiated the request for resignations or whether it was pressed on her by the White House. The Attorney General said it was a “joint decision.”
Ms. Reno said she wanted the resignations “so that the U.S. Attorneys presently in position will know where they stand and that we can begin to build a team.”
Some Administration officials dismissed Mr. Stephens’s veiled assertions about the Attorney General’s motives as “absurd,” as one put it, saying that what was surprising was that it had taken so long before the Justice Department could begin putting its own appointees in place. Abortion Clinic Violence
On other topics, Ms. Reno said she would work with Democrats in Congress to prepare legislation to give Federal agencies a larger role in protecting abortion clinics.
Her comments came after she had ordered a review of current law, which she said was inadequate “to prevent or to help prevent physical interference with access to abortion clinics.”
She also ruled out a Federal inquiry into the death of Dr. David Gunn, a physician who was shot to death as he entered an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Fla., apparently by a man who said he was an anti-abortion activist. “Florida law on this subject is more effective than Federal law,” said Ms. Reno, a former Florida prosecutor.
Ms. Reno also said she had not decided whether to replace William S. Sessions, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who has been found to have violated ethics rules.
Lest we forget.
(By the way, the fawning Time Magazine cover is from July 1993.)
23 Responses to “How NYT Covered Reno Firing All US Attorneys”
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March 13th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
And what about Vince Foster’s investigation stimied, and what about the Branch Davidian’s investigation derailed.
March 13th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
I knew Dan Rostenkowski growing up, he was my rep and my family friend. I knew his kids well. He was a great man and the corruption charges were very minor…stamps i think got him. He was just too powerful in the house and he was attacked. I wish the republicans would grow some balls and go after the real crooks in office now.
March 13th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
He was a great man and the corruption charges were very minor
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
March 13th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
“He was a great man and the corruption charges were very minor”
And Mrs. VoR was only a little bit pregnant…….4 times!!
March 13th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Bush should have not only fired all of the prosecutors, he should have cleaned house at the State Department and at the CIA too. This is just standard ’spoils system’ of politics. That Bush wouldnt engage in it is an alarming thing to me. All of his troubles in his administration could be argued to stem from his refusal to properly clean out the Clintonistas.
March 13th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Errrgggggg!!! I mean compared to the stuff going on today! I’m on my first coffee, give me a break. Also, I’m more than a little biased.
March 13th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
And I am a democrat after all (although lately I refuse to admit it in public)
March 13th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
By the way, the Waco siege began February 28, 1993. So the New York Times article was written less than a month afterwards. And the Time Magazine cover, just a couple of months later.
March 13th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
“He was a great man and the corruption charges were very minor…”
Minor? A traffic ticket is minor. Corruption is a violation of public trust and deservedly earned Rostenkowski that time he spent behind bars. What surprised me about it was that he actually went to prison…normally a Dem gets virtually let off for offenses that would get a Republican hanged. Note Sandy Burglar getting a virtual pass on tampering with documents, violation of security on classified documents and destruction of government property. What did he get as punishment? A fine. I guarantee you had he been a Republican he’d be in Marion.
Lewis Libby forgets a conversation, is charged with perjury, is convicted by a quite blatantly biased jury, and he’s looking down the barrel of federal prison time. Bill Clinton actually commits perjury…WILLFULLY…and he’s now forty million clams richer! Don’t tell me there isn’t a double standard in this country, one for Dems and one for Republicans.
March 13th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Sweetness, need your help. The left is saying that since Clinton fired all those attorneys when he entered office it is not the same as Bush ridding himself of 7 that he thinks are not doing their jobs. Can you find out how many U.S. attorneys were replace by both Reagan and Bush, Sr. when they took office and give me a link?
Need that info to shoot a Dhimmi duck.
March 13th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Sad thing is…..Gonzales is already caving to pressure and stating “mistakes were made”……instead of telling them to pound sand…what’s good for Troll Godess Janet Reno and “Look at my Winky” Bubba Clinton is good for us. You don’t like it…..read a history book and have a tall cup of STFU.
I will be glad when Bush and Co. are out…maybe then we can get an admin that won’t go all weak in the knees at the slightest rumbling from the left, kneel at the feet of our proven enemies overseas or basically suck butt all the damn time to have people like them or go along with their policies. This is the difference from Republicans now and in Reagans day….he would have fired the entire lot of them and punched Pinky Reid in the mouth if he said boo. Taking shit from the likes of Schummer, Reid, Pelosi, Kerry, Kennedy, Durbin, Conyers and all the rest……makes me want to puke. Do what the hell you damn well like and let the chips fall where they may. It’s not like your helping the Repulicans anyways and your not going to run agains. If the Dems get even less done than we did while investigating every thing under the sun it will look bad on them not us. JESUS!!!! I hate bowing and scraping to these turd burglers.
Sorry but I had to get that out.
VoR
March 13th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
“The left is saying that since Clinton fired all those attorneys when he entered office it is not the same as Bush ridding himself of 7 that he thinks are not doing their jobs.”
Well, Bush apparently told the DoJ he thought some of the US Attorneys were under-performing. But it was the DoJ who made up the list of those to fire. Bush simply signed off on it.
As for the Reagan and GHWB numbers, I suspect they were very low. The Clinton firings were quite unprecedented as I recall. But I don’t know and I haven’t been able to find any figures.
March 13th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
VOR,
What do you think of Fred Thompson?
He be my man.
“Boys it is time to come to Jesus.” (Flight of the Intruder.)
March 13th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Here’s a video clip of Karl Rove commenting on the firings of the US Attorneys from a Q&A:
YouTube - Karl Rove on U.S. Attorney appointments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIhVb02nvtY
March 14th, 2007 at 12:14 am
The administration marketed the changes wrong. Before they notified even the first prosecutor that they were going to be let go, the DOJ should have issued a press release along the following lines:
“In breaking the president set by the Clinton administration’s replacement of every US Attorney, President Bush as decided to leave the vast majority of our nation’s experienced federal prosecutors in their current jobs.”
In other words, it should have been announced in a way that drew attention to the Clinton/Reno purge of the DOJ in order to place it in contrast to that massive firing. Instead, the administration assumed everyone would remember and not raise a fuss. They probably had no idea that the press wouldn’t even mention the Clinto/Reno firings and now they are playing catch-up.
March 14th, 2007 at 11:06 am
I think that the media hype and dems screeding about this is to deflect from the outright laughter at their latest attempt to end the Evil Bush Iraq Civil War of Endless Occupation. When you hear ‘news’ reporters laughing - you have stepped on it (or is that in it?!?) BIG TIME.
Guess we will see Act XC in the next week or so, as the left wing lunatics keep pressing them to ‘end the war’ and they hedge and wedge and whine and cry (cause they know they can’t get the votes for de-funding it) and they haven’t figured out exactly how to word the next Act so that it will get through anything without being non-binding. . .
BTW, how are those ‘impeachment’ hearings going? I’ve been catching the ’serious’ investigation into WR et al - I haven’t heard anything to twist me into a knot (other than I notice that all the dems are very careful not to mention any meetings, votes, problems et al prior to 2002) . . .I’ve gone through the same crappola with my suddenly disabled son - most of the situations were civilian - go figure.
I guess that Hitlery and co are right American medical care sucks or perhaps it is the bureacracy (Tricare) involved with government run medical care. . .Since my son is still alive and back to 80+% of where he was before the injury - I vote for the latter not the former.
March 14th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Mr. Bozell sums it up very nicely,
What follows is the text of a Media Research Center press release issued this morning by MRC President Brent Bozell:
Alexandria, VA – The top liberal media are extensively reporting on the Bush Administration’s replacement of eight federal attorneys in 2006, calling it a political scandal and relaying demands by Democrats for the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But this same liberal media treated the firing of 93 U.S. prosecutors by President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno in 1993 as largely routine, and did not fuel demands for Reno’s resignation.
This blatant double standard in coverage further confirms the fact that the top media in America are liberally biased and committed to promoting liberal Democrats and denigrating conservative Republicans. In reference to this liberal media hypocrisy, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell issued the following statement:
“The replacement of federal prosecutors, who are political appointees in the first place, happens with nearly every Administration yet the liberal media are treating Bush’s actions as some sort of shocking political scandal – poppycock! The Bush Administration fired eight—eight!—U.S. attorneys while the Clinton Administration fired 93 of them. The liberal media are screaming about Bush but, by and large, yawned about Clinton. The double standard is nauseating.
“The Washington Post says, Bush ‘Firings Had Genesis in White House.’ Well, so did the Clinton firings, but The Post called those routine. The New York Times has hyped the Bush and Gonzales story but completely ignored the Clinton-Reno firings. And so have ABC’s Good Morning America, ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson, and other top liberal media.
“The liberal media are promoting the agenda of liberal Democrats on this attorneys’ issue, and the double standard, the rank hypocrisy is evident for the world to see. This type of grossly slanted coverage only further erodes the credibility of the networks and the top newspapers.”
March 14th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
I go with Ann Coulter’s statement at the end of her Libby comentary -
It’s now criminal to be Republican in DC.
They can’t bring an end to OIF, can’t defund it, can’t impeach the chimphitlerburton President - so they set about to criminalize anything and everything Republican - without regard to the fact that this isn’t 1968 - Cronkite isn’t at SeeBS (MsssssssssPerky is), the (biased) msm isn’t in full and utter complete control of info flow (it is a wonder they still cling to Al’IinventedtheInterNet’Gore, since the msm downfall is due to the InterNet) and President Bush (and most of his people) have not committed a crime (other than being Republican). . .Meanwhile where is the prosecution of William’FrozenAssets’Jefferson, Cynthia’cellphone’McKinney, Harry’landfall’Reid,not to mention the questionable deals of John’redeploytoOkinawa’Murtha(TRAITOR) and Nancy’doledeal’Pelosi keep on keeping on.
I agree it is criminal to be Republican in DC right now.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Hi everyone. Long time reader, first time poster, love your blog. ;)
If I could be granted just one wish, it would be that conservatives, both in public office and in everyday America, would simply say what they mean, mean what they say, and stop being sorry if someone else is offended.
Gonzales would not have said that mistakes were made. Bush would not have expressed concerns. And the media would have behaved exactly as they did anyway.
My respects to Miss Coulter for having the fortitude to be unapologetic for homosexuals being offended. It is beyond question that homosexuals are not the least bit concerned that their behavior may offend her.
(As wishes go, a very close second would be to have complete and utter control of the prison system in this country. No need for the death penalty, and the recidivism rates would be VERY low.)
March 14th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I think that one of President Bush’s biggest mistakes was to have kept on so many Clinton people for as long as he did in as many positions as he did….he trusts too much.
March 14th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
In Bubba’s second month as president, he fired all the prosecutors, supposedly because he disliked one….he didn’t want it to look like a witchhunt. With not a whimper from the media.
Janet Reno was responsible for burning up all those people….without any lasting political damage.
President Bush is too much of a “gentleman” to fire back at his critics. This is a fatal flaw.
March 14th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Welcome to the fold, Nakedtruth!
I hope some day your wishes are granted.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:56 am
“In Bubba’s second month as president, he fired all the prosecutors, supposedly because he disliked one….he didn’t want it to look like a witchhunt.”
Yeah, Bush should apologize for appearing to single out a few for special treatment and then fire all of the rest of them.