‘Anything’s possible’

March 16, 2007

When ABC News reported late yesterday that it was Karl Rove’s idea to fire U.S. Attorneys, it was interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it demonstrated a level of Rove involvement that the White House had previously denied. And second, the White House had argued that the idea originated from Harriet Miers, not Rove.

Today, the White House started walking away from the latter. “It has been described as her idea but … I don’t want to try to vouch for origination,” White House press secretary Tony Snow said. “At this juncture, people have hazy memories.”

Then there was this gem:

Asked if Bush himself might have suggested the firings, Snow said, “Anything’s possible … but I don’t think so.” He said Bush “certainly has no recollection of any such thing. I can’t speak for the attorney general.

“I want you to be clear here: don’t be dropping it at the president’s door,” Snow said.

If it’s “possible” that the president himself may have put the purge process in motion, why can’t we drop this at Bush’s door?

What the holy hell is it with this administration and “hazy memories.”

At least St. Ronnie was developing Alzheimer’s. What the hell is their excuse?

  • “Hazy memories” = “I don’t recall”, which is the perfect answer when one is a witness in a legal proceeding. They are the Bush Crime Family, after all.

  • Snow talks in pretzels so who knows what he meant, but his statement alone doesn’t place origination of the idea at Bush’s door. Further information may, although I doubt providing it would be a wise career move.

  • CB asked, “If it’s ‘possible’ that the president himself may have put the purge process in motion, why can’t we drop this at Bush’s door?” It’s elementary: Bush wants no accountability at all and insists, as commander-in-chief, that he has legal authority to make all decisions irregardless of constitutionality. In other words, as with his infamous “signing statements,” he believes he is beyond the law.

  • regardless of who started it, why shouldn’t it be dropped at Dumbya’s door? Does the person whose administration this is, who appointed all of these political appointments, bear any responsibility? Where the hell does the buck stop these days? I mean, he’s more than happy for, say, Halliburton’s bucks to stop there. . .

  • It’s also “possible” that a cosmic ray or solar emission may have wiped clean all the memory banks of those who weren’t wearing their tinfoil hats (Alcoa Corp., of course).

    About the host of failed memories associated with the Bush Crime Family, it should be noted that “I don’t remember” was a common, perhaps the most common, expression of all the other crime families in America. It’s the legal defense corollary of the Omertá principle.

  • It’s possible=yeah he did it; try and prove it; so what if you do because US Attorneys serve at the “pleasure of the president.” Their arrogance is only surpassed by their indifference to the well being of the country.

  • KagroX, writing at “the Next Hurrah” says it the best of anyone (emphasis mine):

    Bush, Rove and Gonzales have now done for the prosecution of public corruption what they’ve done for impeachment. Defense attorneys across the country are doubtless exploring the possibility of demanding new trials for their clients, and those awaiting trial will be seeking dismissal of charges, all because the Department of Justice has been exposed as a political attack machine, and has lost its credibility in prosecuting corruption cases. Such cases may now be regarded as little more than a sick joke, and every defendant who claims that his prosecution is a “partisan witch hunt” will suddenly be able to give new legitimacy to that once tired, old saw.

    For the balance of this “administration,” then, and for the foreseeable future, the serious prosecution of public corruption may be all but impossible. And that is the true measure of the gravity of this crime.

    But the crime is more than just a grave one, it is also evidence of a depravity not seen since Nixon. Veteran watchers of Karl Rove’s operations will instantly recognize his infamous m.o. in all of this: make your own weakness a strength, and accuse the opposition of doing precisely what you’re actually doing behind the scenes. While Republican corruption was running rampant, Rove’s machinations made it appear that it was actually Democratic corruption that was the problem. While Republicans at the federal level were literally looting the Treasury, handing out bricks of cash in Iraq, laundering Abramoff’s “lobbying” fees, forcing through illegal redistricting plans, jamming phone lines on election day, suppressing the minority vote, etc., Republican prosecutors were digging for any scraps they could find to use against their political opposition at the local level, where they hoped no one would connect the dots, but which would still have a corrosive effect on the public perception of Democrats. And when Republicans were caught in the act, as DeLay was, what was the first thing he accused the Democratic District Attorney of? Conducting a “partisan witch hunt.”

    The long term effects of this scandal are incalculable. At a time when Republicans are accused of engaging in rampant and systematic public corruption, Rove, Bush and Gonzales have succeeded in making corruption investigations into the same sort of partisan joke that Republicans made impeachment. And as their crimes come to light in the closing days of their “administration” and into the next, they may well have made it impossible for a Democratic successor to actually pursue justice on behalf of the American people, since any such effort will undoubtedly — and with a lack of shame that shocks the conscience — be labeled as “partisan revenge.” Heads must roll, and they must roll in numbers.

  • Over at The Daily Dish, Sullivan has this as the “Quote of the Day”:

    “I and a number of others were critical of president Clinton when he first came into office and almost immediately removed all U.S. Attorneys. But that’s not the same thing as what’s happening now.

    We’re seeing a president in his second term go after U.S. attorneys of his own party for reasons that are clearly political: not moving fast enough against targets on the other side of the aisle, succumbing to pressure from Senators for example. That is very, very corrosive, both to morale for U.S. Attorneys as well as in terms of reducing the confidence that the public has that the system is fair and impartial and non-partisan,”

    –former U.S. attorney, Bob Barr, a Reagan appointee who was a Republican congressman from 1995 to 2003.

  • From all these “resignations” what is the point to being “loyal”?

    It’s obviously not a 2-way street – the WH will NEVER be loyal to you – even when it demands you do it their way or the highway.

    It is much better to be disloyal and have integrity and your sanity intact as that’s the reality and truth will prevail. You will always be the “fall guy” no matter what.

    Remember when the WH was so sure the Repugs would win in 2006 and how disappointed GW was with Karl? Me thinks it was related to the US Attorney purges.

  • This is full-strength weaselling, and they’re all doing it. I just finished watching Victoria “Nutcase” Toensing testifying to Waxman’s committee. She kept trying to parse her answers with legal technicalities. But what was most interesting was her diversionary tactic of ignoring Plame while attacking the CIA for not doing a better job of protecting and defending Plame from from those mean old reporters.

    Well, whatever the CIA did or did not do, somebody “outed” an agent to the whole world. CIA’s response is irrelevant. They didn’t “out” her. And the great debate over whether she was “covert” when she was “outed” is also irrelevant. She certainly had a history of working as a NOC. Her status, when blown by Novack, certainly wouldn’t have made any difference to unknown operatives and operations exposed by the Bush administration.

    Surely — surely! — the White House f**kups of the week have got to be turning most Americans’ waning lack of enthusiasm for Bush into disgust.

  • SnowFlake says…

    “Anything’s possible”

    …followed by…

    “I want you to be clear here: don’t be dropping it at the president’s door.”

    Um…too late, SnowFlake. You just dropped it in POTUS’s lap. Bad SnowFlake. Terrible, horrible, disloyal SnowFlake. You must go out into the cold, and fall on your sword now….

  • You know that when Bob Barr (Mr. Defense Of my 4 Marriages) says something so outside of party lines, we are truly living in what my grandmother would call “the end times”.

  • I feel such grief for our nation, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. This latest revelation is so despicable and so unnecessary that words fail me. This is not a “pass the popcorn” moment, it is a tragedy. The damage done to the very fabric of our government by the Bush administration may never be repaired. The abuse of power is so astonishing, and so far reaching that to mention impeachment is superfluous. The word that comes to my mind is treason. Congress get off your lazy butts and do something about this!

  • What the holy hell is it with this administration and “hazy memories?”

    For GWB43, maybe this?:

    From the Wayne Madsen Report:

    March 13, 2007—Our White House Press Corps sources report further disturbing news about President George W. Bush. Our sources have witnessed a clearly inebriated Bush approaching members of the press corps and making rude comments, including one particularly crude remark about First Lady Laura Bush.

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