Residency Clause Adds Fuel To Dispute Over U.S. Attorneys

[cal04]

Source: Washington Post

One Prosecutor Gets an Exemption, Another Gets Fired
On Nov. 10, 2005, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales sent a letter to a federal judge in Montana, assuring him that the U.S. attorney there, William W. Mercer, was not violating federal law by spending most of his time in Washington as a senior Justice Department official.

That same day, Mercer had a GOP Senate staffer insert into a bill a provision that would change the rules so that federal prosecutors could live outside their districts to serve in other jobs, according to documents and interviews

Congress passed the provision several months later as part of the USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill, retroactively benefiting Mercer and a handful of other senior Justice officials who pull double duty as U.S. attorneys and headquarters officials. Justice officials say the measure was a necessary clarification to ensure that prosecutors could fill temporary postings in Washington, Iraq and elsewhere, and that it also applies to assistant U.S. attorneys.

But the episode, which received little notice at the time, provides another example in which Gonzales's statements appear to conflict with simultaneous actions by his aides in connection with U.S. attorney policies. Lawmakers investigating the department's handling of the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys have repeatedly accused Gonzales of being less than truthful about the roles played by himself and the White House.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/01/AR2007050101961.html?hpid=topnews

[maddezmom]

1. kick

[salin]

2. so the Patriot Act says a USA can live outside... "to serve other jobs"

er - how does having a US Attorney serve other jobs than being a US Attorney make us "more safe" which is the purported reason for the Patriot Act in the first place? It is all such a sham.

[Lasher]

3. Creative way to build up a big staff at headquarters, huh salin?

Guess it took a lot of coordination in DC to take all those calls from the White House. And they were probably needed to help push important legislation like a ban on gay marriage and the 'Save Terry Schiavo' bill.

Too bad those states had to do without attorneys they were supposed to have.

[salin]

5. Good description per why they were "needed" in DC

don't we all feel "safer" now?

[ray of light]

4. whistle blower, Jesselyn Radack's diary here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/2/62425/86437

[flamingyouth]

6. kick

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. Residency Clause Adds Fuel To Dispute Over U.S. Attorneys

Source: Washington Post

...

At issue in the dispute over Mercer were residency requirements for U.S. attorneys. Mercer has been largely absent from Montana while working as a senior aide to Gonzales for the past two years, a situation that has drawn the ire of U.S. District Chief Judge Donald W. Molloy of Billings.

Molloy wrote to Gonzales on Oct. 20, 2005, that Mercer was violating federal law because he "no longer resides in Montana" and was living with his family in the Washington area.

Three weeks later, on Nov. 10, Gonzales responded to Molloy that Mercer "is in compliance with the residency requirement" under federal law because he "is domiciled there, returns there on a regular basis, and will live there full-time as soon as his temporary assignment is completed."

On the same day back in Washington, the new legislation was added to the Patriot bill at the request of Mercer, who had been assigned the task of shepherding the provision through Congress, according to congressional aides and new statements from one of Mercer's colleagues.

...

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/01/AR2007050101961.html?hpid=topnews

[gratuitous]

8. One of the complaints against Iglesias in New Mexico

Curiously, one of the complaints the AG's office made against David Iglesias in New Mexico was that he would miss one month out of the office each year due to his National Guard obligation. Seems that what was bad for New Mexico is hunky and dory for Montana. Weird, huh? It almost seems hypocritical or bogus, doesn't it? But since George W. Bush is a church-goin' God-fearin' man, we know that can't be right. So it remains just . . . weird, I guess.

[rodeodance]

9. just slip a provison into the PA------you have to wonder what the heck else

in there for the benefit of Justice?

[JimDandy]

10. The taxpayers are getting gipped!

There is no way that William W. Mercer could have been performing his job as U.S. Attorney for Montana, if he was living out-of-state with his family and WORKING AT ANOTHER JOB, FULL-TIME, FOR TWO YEARS!

And why didn't Gonzales just appoint another person as Montana's U.S. Attorney? What, Montana doesn't deserve any justice from the Bush administration? (Pun intended :D )