How BushCo plans to get rid of Fitzgerald...

[FormerRepublican]

...with nary a whisper from anyone.

All he has to do is nothing at all - and let Fitz's appointment as US Attorney expire in October. Sounds like blackmail to me. No indictments or no appointment.

http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/080805/Opi_20050808005.shtml

[rox63]

1. That's why he has to finish this up soon

Fitzgerald needs to wrap up his investigation and hand out the indictments before then.

[Name removed]

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[AtomicKitten]

18. They probably haven't made it easy for him.

The Repubs stick together like stink on a monkey. Their corruption is absolute and they are probably loathe to say ANYTHING about ANYBODY. Rove has been back repeatedly to testify, probably as info leaks out. And the web of involvement seems to be spreading. As long as Fitzgerald casts a wide net and catches as many as possible, it's less important low long it takes. Proof of conspiracy will be a devastating blow.

[niallmac]

2. correct me if i'm wrong.

But isn't Fitz's appointment as special prosecutor independent of his role as US Attorney?

[stepnw1f]

3. Yup... That's What I Have Been Told As Well

We'll see though.

[FormerRepublican]

4. It is, but...

...this article makes clear that his role as US Attorney is up in October as well. That makes things mighty hot for Mr. Fitzgerald as he goes after these bozos.

The likelihood that Fitz would be reappointed is absolutely nil - his career as a US Attorney is over unless he plays ball.

[acmejack]

5. He can make a lot more money in private practice anyway!

IMO, people don't become prosecutors to get rich. An attorney of Fitzgerald's experience would command a hansom salary in the commercial world, so reappointment has to be quite low on his list of concerns.

[FormerRepublican]

8. The legal profession is heavily politicized.

Things could get ugly for Fitz even if he goes into private practice (assuming indictments). This has to be on his mind. It's one thing to take down a governor. It's another to take down the President. Totally different level of backlash.

[ticapnews]

17. Ken Starr sure has suffered for bringing down a president.

Then again, Democrats aren't as vindictive as the Thugs.

[peacetalksforall]

6. This is backwards and new from what I understood... I never heard

that there was an October expiration of his US Atty role. I thought the time period for the grand jury ran out in October unless it was extended.

[Poppyseedman]

7. Geesh, did you even read the first paragraph?

As strange as it may seem, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into whether presidential adviser Karl Rove leaked classified information may be the thing that saves his job come October -- at least for a short period.

There would be screams from members of the Democratic Party if President Bush chose not to reappoint Fitzgerald when his four-year term expires in October, but Democratic politicians would probably be somewhat reserved because Fitzgerald's Chicago office is now investigating federal corruption charges within the office of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, a Democrat.

Also, I may be wrong, but his job as U.S. Attorney has nothing to do with him being retained as a special prosecutor.

[FormerRepublican]

11. My point is...

...that the potential appointment as US Attorney can be used as leverage in the Plame investigation.

Note that BOTH terms are up in October unless Fitz extends the Plame leak investigation, which must have judicial approval (which can itself be subject to political manipulation).

Regardless of how honest a person is, that kind of pressure has to weigh on a person's mind.

On the other hand, Fitz may have anticipated that he would not be reappointed as US Attorney. It's hard to know what he's thinking since he doesn't talk much.

[shraby]

9. Read this if you're worried.

This guy lays the law out in a very understandable way.
<http://citizenspook.blogspot.com/>

The two jobs..special prosecutor and U.S. Attorney are two separate and distinct things. He can be replaced as U.S. Attorney, but not as the special prosecutor on the Rove case.

[Name removed]

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[FormerRepublican]

15. Thanks for the link.

I had read it previously.

IMO, this is the political maneuvering going on behind the scenes to try to limit Fitz's ability to go after BushCo. Something I had anticipated, and expect to get much worse as we approach revelation of what Fitz has cooking. We may find that the investigations and indictments of various players (Hastert, Abramoff, etc) might actually be manuvering on the part of Justice to counter pressure from BushCo over Plame etc. The Illinois indictments and the Plame investigation are linked because of the shared prosecutor, so I would expect to see the same players manuevering in both cases. I expect there's a lot of this manuevering/countermanuevering going on that we're not hearing about.

How this will play out depends on Fitz's ability to withstand political pressure. He has a good track record thus far, but his ability to withstand the pressure that would come to bear in the event of a Bush/Cheney indictment - well, that remains to be seen.

For more in depth, see this link:

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/7/27/232930/764

[rodeodance]

13. Friz will finish his job before his appointment is done. Period.

[Name removed]

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[kevsand]

16. Fitz keeps his job in Chicago until someone else is appointed.

He doesn't have to be formally "reappointed." Bush won't appoint anyone else, because it looks like payback or pressure. In fact, Hastert (who may soon be the target of an investigation himself) last week publicly called for Fitz to stay on the job.

Pressure only works if there is a viable threat. So far, Bush doesn't have a viable threat that will work on Fitz.

[laylah]

19. My understanding

is that the US Attorney position and the Plame Investigation are two completely different issues. Prez dumbass did not appoint him to the Plame investigation, the AG did.

Jenn

[wli]

20. I'm not so hopeful anymore either...

Either Fitzgerald is in their pocket or he's cowering at the threat of getting Wellstoned. Nothing's going to come of it.