Honest Argument - Node: Presidential Counsel Harriet Meirs

Argument:	Bush administration staff improperly involved in U.S. Attorney firings
Node type:	This node supports its parent
Parent Node:	Decisions made with White House political staff
Node Text:	Presidential Counsel Harriet Meirs "An e-mail from the Justice Department's Kyle Sampson in March 2005 laid out a simple formula for evaluating whether the 93 U.S. attorneys should stay or go. On a chart given to then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers, Sampson -- chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- listed attorneys in three categories: "Bold = Recommend retaining; strong U.S. attorneys who have managed well, and exhibited loyalty to the president and attorney general. "Strikeout = Recommend removing; weak U.S. attorneys who have been ineffectual managers and prosecutors, chafed against administration initiatives, etc. "Nothing = No recommendation; have not distinguished themselves either positively or negatively." Sampson was in charge of deciding which U.S. attorneys would be removed in a shakeup last year. Eight prosecutors were eventually removed. Sampson resigned from his post Monday, just as the e-mails he wrote were released publicly. The e-mails show how closely officials in the White House and the Justice Department coordinated in deciding which names to include for firing, as well as the method and timing of the announcements." http://www.cnn.com/...
Node Created:	coolgeek — 2007-04-10 05:28:45

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