Republican Senator on Justice Dept: They Lied to Me

Mar. 08, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Ensign voices ire at agency

Explanations for dismissal of U.S. attorney differ

By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign on Wednesday charged that the Justice Department botched the dismissals of U.S. attorneys and suggested he was misled as to why the Nevada chief federal prosecutor, Daniel Bogden, was removed from office.

Meanwhile, Sen. Harry Reid said he understood the department planned to take advantage of a loophole and fill its new vacancy in Nevada without submitting its choice for customary Senate review and confirmation.

"That's what they told Bogden," said Reid, D-Nev.

A day after Democrat-led committees in the House and Senate held investigative hearings, the Nevada senators' comments reflected the continuing controversy swirling around the dismissal of at least eight chief prosecutors, the circumstances of the firings and what course might lie ahead to fill the posts.

Ensign, R-Nev., said the removal of the U.S. attorneys "has been completely mishandled."

"It is not unusual to let U.S. attorneys go, but you need to have good reasons especially if you are going to do seven at the same time," he said.

Seven including Bogden were fired Dec. 7. Another had been fired previously.

Ensign was particularly irate over the firing of Bogden, an independent who Ensign picked in 2001 to oversee federal crime prosecutions in Nevada. Bogden, a prosecutor in the Northern Nevada office of the U.S. attorney, was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate in October 2001.

In December, the Justice Department fired Bogden over Ensign's objections. Ensign said last month he was told the dismissal was for "performance reasons."

Justice officials initially told Congress that was the reason. But Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General William Moschella told a House subcommittee "no particular deficiencies" in Bogden's performance existed.

Moschella said the department wanted someone with "renewed energy" to take the Las Vegas-based office "to the next level."

Ensign said Wednesday he was decidedly unhappy.

"What the Justice Department testified yesterday is inconsistent with what they told me," Ensign said. "I can't even tell you how upset I am at the Justice Department."

Asked whether he believed he was misled, Ensign said, "I was not told the same thing that I was at the hearing, let me put it that way."

Ensign said he pressed the topic at a meeting with White House officials Wednesday morning. He added he would be "making further inquiries."

"I am not pleased with the Justice Department at this point," he said. "I told the White House this morning if I could renominate (Bogden) I would."

What action Ensign could take beyond complaining to Bush administration officials over the handling of Bogden's firing is unclear.

The removal of the U.S. attorneys has been "a big mess" for the Bush administration, including antagonizing Ensign, a Republican ally, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

"What is troubling is that they don't even consult Ensign, who is their person," Tobias said.

Reid renewed a call for the Senate to repeal a section of the Patriot Act that was added last year. It allows the president to appoint new U.S. attorneys without seeking Senate approval.

The reasoning was to allow a president to fill posts quickly in terrorist emergencies. But Democrats have said the Bush administration was purging U.S. attorneys to name new ones under the provision.

"We need to change the law," Reid said. "What they have done to these prosecutors is immoral, illegal, unethical and really bad government."

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other department officials have testified to Congress they plan to submit U.S. attorney replacements to the Senate for confirmation.

A Justice Department spokesman did not return a call Wednesday.

Bogden did not respond to a cell phone message Wednesday to comment on Reid's statement that Bogden was told of Justice Department strategy for a successor.

A legal source familiar with the appointment process said it seemed clear that the administration was preparing to "parachute in" a new U.S. attorney in Nevada, possibly from outside the state, under the Patriot Act umbrella.

Did they really think with only two years to go (in Bush's term) they would be able to nominate someone and get through the Senate Judiciary Committee?" the source said.

But uproar over the firings might have discouraged the administration from pursuing that course, the source said.

Ensign said he is reviewing applicants to succeed Bogden, and plans to refer a choice to the Justice Department. But he questioned how quickly a replacement could be seated and whether the Senate would confirm new U.S. attorneys in the charged atmosphere.

"Who knows whether we will be able to?" he said.

Besides Bogden, other federal prosecutors who were fired include Bud Cummins of Little Rock, Ark., David Iglesias of Albuquerque, N.M., Carol Lam of San Diego, Paul Charlton of Phoenix, John McKay of Seattle, Margaret Chiara of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Kevin Ryan of San Francisco.