Anyone else following this over at TPM? Seems that Specter, acting at the request of the administration, changed the wording of the Patriot Act so that the Justice Department can appoint US Attorneys without the consent of the Senate. It was inserted during the Conference Committee, after both the House and Senate voted on the bill. Naturally, Democrats were excluded from the Conference Committee by the Republican leadership. In the last 30 days or so, at least 7 US Attorneys have been replaced. Now, normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but look at who got the job in Arkansas, right before Hillary announces her candidacy... So, something smells a bit fishy. Here's the Attorney General to assure us everything is OK... Wow. That doesn't make me feel any better. What is the Bush Administration doing getting more power because others might be guilty of "cronyism and might appoint unqualified candidates?" The Dem Congress needs to close this loophole as quickly as possible and dare Bush to veto it.
Specter confirms slipping provision into Patriot act. --------- Update: Specter Admits Role in Expanding WH Powers Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) confirmed that as Judiciary Committee chairman last year he made a last-minute change to a bill that expanded the administration's power to install U.S. Attorneys without Senate approval. Seizing upon the new authority granted by Congress last March, the White House has pushed out several U.S. Attorneys, and begun to replace them without the Senate's consent. "I can confirm for you that yes, it was a Specter provision," a spokesperson for the senator wrote to me in an email earlier today, responding to repeated inquiries. Earlier we reported that Specter had been fingered for the last-minute change, made in a select Republicans-only meeting after the House and Senate had voted on earlier versions. Still, a mystery remains: Why Specter wanted the change, which arguably weakened the Senate's role in selecting federal prosecutors. http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002357.php
When the country was founded, the Senate was a vital part of federalism and the separation of powers. Since the 17th Amendment, it has become just another cog in the Federal system, which wants to consolidate power. Right now, that power consolidation is going on in the Executive Branch, so the Senate helps to consolidate that power.
this is why spector gets on my nerves. he talks a real nice game. has real thought-provoking questions. makes a big fuss. i start liking him. then sells out. then i swear to myself that i'll never like a republican again no matter how great they seem. leahy has to fix this.
So, Glenn Greenwald is live blogging the Alberto hearing (http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/)... Well, I guess Greenwald is running behind... this from TPM...
it does seem an odd provision for a couple of reasons- A, spector is no great friend of the admin, depsite the role they played in saving his ass in 2002 (a mistake i think), he's a pretty independent guy. and 2, as someone said above, it weakens the role of the senate. not sure it's fishy, but it is odd.
I agree. I think it's more than odd. I think it's bizarre. This was done "in the dark of night," and without telling anyone outside of a small group of the GOP leadership. Since the Republicans came to power in Congress, they have done countless shady, and worse, things, and have excluded the Democrats from participating in Conference Committees, which is a violation of Senate tradition. It reeks of corruption. Force out US Attorneys who may disagree with the Administration, or (gasp) be involved, past or present, in investigating possible Republican misdeeds. So, in the dark of night, the Republican Senate gave away a chunk of it's power, to the detriment of the nation. It only makes sense if they were trying to protect themselves from investigations, or protect they contributors from investigations into possible wrong doing. This is the sort of thing they have done upon coming into power time and again. And this act came on direction from the top. Of that, there can be no doubt. Could Spector's corrupt act have been to preserve his chairmanship? I glad to see you speak up on this, basso. Kudos. D&D. Ice still Melting.
Wonderful news, plus we kill a MUCH NEEDED ethics bill over a measure on the Presiden'ts line item veto. All this in preparation of another election slaughter in '08 where Dems gain even bigger majority but McCain wins election due to Obama and Hillary taking each other out in primaries?
More on Alberto... More Greenwald... Oh, and he also said this... That's really disgraceful coming from the Attorney General of the United States of America.
