On the 6th floor of the Department of Justice, there used to be what employees called the “hall of shame,” where hung the official portraits of the likes of John Mitchell, Richard Kleindienst and Ramsey Clark.  I don’t know if a portrait of Alberto Gonzales was commissioned before his departure, but if so, this is where it belongs.

This week’s release of the report by Justice’s two internal watchdogs, the Inspector General and the Office of Professional Responsibility, concluded that Gonzales “bears primary responsibility for the flawed U.S. Attorney removal process and the resulting turmoil that it created.”  Both Gonzales and his deputy, Paul McNulty, “abdicated their responsibility to safeguard the integrity and independence of the Department.”  Even worse, they and other senior officials gave reasons for the removals that were “inconsistent, misleading, or inaccurate.”

In concluding that several of the US Attorneys were forced out for political considerations, the report’s authors admitted their investigation remains incomplete because a number of crucial witnesses declined to cooperate.  Further, the White House refused to turn over critically important records, including a chronology drafted during March 2007 when the uproar over the firings was cresting.  The two watchdogs recommended that “a counsel specially appointed by the Attorney General” continue their probe and assess whether any criminal offense was committed.

In response, Attorney General Michael Mukasey agreed that “some important questions [remain] unanswered.”  But he did not appoint a special counsel or special prosecutor.  Instead he asked the current acting US Attorney for Connecticut, Nora Dannehy, “to exercise the authority of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for purposes of this matter.  In that capacity, Ms. Dannehy will report to me through the Deputy Attorney General.”  Connecticut, by strange coincidence, is the home base for the other current outside prosecutor, John Durham; he’s looking into the destruction of CIA tapes of detainee interrogations.

Jeff Taylor, the US Attorney for DC, who would otherwise have jurisdiction, was working at Justice and handling death penalty matters at the time; since that issue arose in the firing of one of the prosecutors, Taylor rightly recused his office.

Although some have referred to the appointment of a “special prosecutor,” it’s important to note that Nora Dannehy will have no more authority than any of the US Attorneys who were fired.  Neither she nor Durham was appointed under the special counsel regulations that governed the probe by the Chicago US Attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, into the leak of Valerie Plame’s name and CIA affiliation.  Fitzgerald was given “all the authority of the Attorney General” in that investigation.

By contrast, Dannehy and Durham must report through the Deputy AG to the AG.  Does this matter?  Too soon to tell.  But don’t forget that the main reason for Dannehy’s appointment is to pick up where OIG and OPR were unable to tread:  the path leading directly to the White House.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Politics, The Administration .