The Man Behind the Democratic Assault on the DOJ

[babylonsister]

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1176455065937

The Man Behind the Democratic Assault on the DOJ
Schumer counsel Bharara knows something about the Justice Department: He's a former assistant U.S. Attorney

Jason McLure and T.R. Goldman
Legal Times
April 16, 2007


When Attorney General Alberto Gonzales raises his right hand to testify in his make-or-break hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, he'll be facing down a roomful of hostile Democrats and skeptical Republicans.

But behind the familiar faces, in the far-right side of Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, will sit a man who is as responsible as anyone for bringing the leadership of the Justice Department to its knees.

That will be Preet Bharara, 38, chief counsel to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and a former assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, who has spearheaded the three-month investigation into the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys.

From the probe's earliest days, Gonzales' top staff knew all about Bharara's Justice Department background, and because of that there was a sense they might be able to do business together.

"He's a reasonable SDNY AUSA who we hope to talk some sense into," Gonzales' then-chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, wrote in a Jan. 25 e-mail to White House staffer Jennifer Brosnahan.

In a number of ways, Bharara's past as a line prosecutor in one of the country's most prominent districts, the Southern District of New York, has given him both credibility and insight in a probe that has sought to discover whether Gonzales and other top officials fired prosecutors for political reasons and then consciously tried to install replacements with the goal of circumventing the Senate confirmation process.

"I think one of the reasons this has been hard on the Justice Department internally is because so many people have respect for him," one senior Justice Department official says. "We can't attack him as a political hack, because he's not. He's a political person, but first and foremost, he's a prosecutor."

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[grasswire]

1. HUH? The DEMOCRATIC assault on the DoJ???

Boy, this stinks.

Talk about RE framing!

[babylonsister]

2. I thought the title odd myself, though it's not a stretch to know

the Dems will be attacking - while rethugs remain skeptical.:eyes:
I was glad to read Schumer has such smart, well-respected help!

[annabanana]

4. How about the DOJ assault on the Justice System!!

THAT'S the assault that I'M worrind about. And it's not just the "Dems" for Christ's sake... I get so sick of them trying to frame this as some kind of bipolar contest. . It's that black/white, good/evil authoritarian mind set, I think...

[Supersedeas]

6. with the Media types...framing is the key

[Totally Committed]

8. Indeed it is....

From today's Non Sequitur:




TC

[ellenfl]

3. oh, goody! the fun is just beginning! K&R eom

[Justice]

5. Senator Whitehouse (RI) is a former USA, and former AG in RI

He knows alot about it as well. Great questioning of Kyle Sampson

[Tellurian]

9. Whitehouse is my Sen..

For the first time in memory, we're been getting weekly updates of the Dem POV from our local nbc station. Whitehouse has been stellar in articulating his reportage of Dems fighting to get a timeline included for getting our troops home in the legislation just passed by both Houses. Whitehouse continues to heap the onus of the Iraq War on Bush and his Veto pen, mentioning (with gusto) Bush is not listening to the will of American people. Makes me proud to have him for my Senator. He isn't mincing words. He's telling it like it is.

[The Count]

7. DOJ was assaulted? Is "it" filing charges? damn you, democrats! You bastards!