It’s hard not to notice that Attorney General John Ashcroft is just about out of friends.
Bush already leaked word a couple of months ago that he was displeased at the way in which Ashcroft tried to smear 9/11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick. It was a rare public rebuke for Bush, who usually praises his cabinet members, even when they’re spectacularly wrong.
The White House was similarly frustrated last week when Ashcroft made the administration look even less competent by issuing a warning to the public about an imminent al Queda attack without talking to the Department of Homeland Security and without any new evidence pointing to an imminent threat.
And the White House can’t be thrilled with the way in which Ashcroft keeps losing high-profile legal fights in federal courts.
Has Bush reached the tipping point with Ashcroft? Time is reporting that the attorney general may officially have fallen out of favor with White House officials. Worse news for Ashcroft — Bush seems to have already chosen a replacement.
Well-placed Republican sources say the President has gone out of his way to take the spotlight off the Attorney General at high-profile law-enforcement-related events. It was Ashcroft’s former deputy, Larry Thompson, now a visiting law professor at the University of Georgia, who joined Bush at a recent event promoting the Patriot Act in Buffalo, N.Y. And the White House prevailed upon Thompson to sit near Ashcroft during his testimony before the 9/11 commission in an attempt to soften the Attorney General’s hard edge with commission members, who have grown contemptuous of his imperious manner and methods.
Thompson, an African American, left Justice after serving almost two years under Ashcroft. Many believe Thompson may be back and in the top job if Bush wins a second term. In Buffalo, Bush extolled Thompson’s credentials before a crowd and implied that Justice needs him back. “Larry, we miss you over there,” Bush said. “Don’t get too comfortable.” Bush partisans interpreted those remarks — and Thompson’s rising profile — as a sign the President is giving up on a long-term future for his truculent Attorney General. Said one: “Ashcroft will not be the A.G. by Christmas if Bush wins.”
The only question now is, will anyone miss Ashcroft when he’s gone?