Democrats turn up heat on Gonzales

[babylonsister]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070411/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fired_prosecutors;_ylt=AuCTrwZxIK3H5PoXbtPxtxGs0NUE

Democrats turn up heat on Gonzales

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer Wed Apr 11, 2:09 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats investigating the firings of eight U.S. attorneys pressed ahead with their probe Wednesday, interviewing one of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' top aides and serving notice that the administration best come forth with more answers.

On both sides of the Capitol, lawmakers kept up the pressure on Gonzales, who has disappeared from public view as he prepares to tell his story to a Senate panel next Tuesday.

Behind closed doors Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee interviewed Bill Mercer, acting associate attorney general whose name appears frequently in Justice Department e-mails that document the plans to fire eight U.S. attorneys over the winter.

On the House side, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (news, bio, voting record) on Tuesday issued a subpoena for hundreds of Justice Department documents that must be turned over by next Monday, less than 24 hours before Gonzales is scheduled to explain his role in the firings to the Senate Judiciary Committee in what is widely considered a last chance to save his job.

There's more where that came from, as the White House tries to balance its stated desire to be forthcoming about the firings with its fierce protection of internal documents.

The Senate panel is expected to keep up the pressure by authorizing subpoenas Thursday to compel cooperation from White House officials. On Friday, the House and Senate committees will again question Kyle Sampson, Gonzales' former chief of staff who quit over the scandal. That session, unlike Sampson's public testimony two weeks ago, will not be open to the public, according to an official close to the investigation.

more...

[Bonhomme Richard]

1. My gut tells me that Kevin J. O'Connor, from ct,...

is being brought in to be his replacement.
Just a feeling.

[babylonsister]

2. Paul Clement's name was also floated; he's acting now, if I

understand this:

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002972.php



U.S. Attorney Investigation: Meet The New Boss
By Paul Kiel - April 9, 2007, 2:22 PM

Who's in charge of how the Justice Department handles the investigations into the U.S. attorney firings?

Alberto Gonzales, we know, is holed up rehearsing his version of the story. And the Justice Department wrote last week to assure Democrats that Gonzales and his deputy, Paul McNulty, had nothing to do with the investigations relating to the U.S. attorneys purge.

Following the rules of succession at the Justice Department, according to the letter from Assistant Attorney General Richard Hertling, the guy in charge of all that is Solicitor General Paul Clement.

That means Clement was in charge of personnel decisions relating to Monica Goodling (in other words, it was his call to make her the first ever DoJ official to stay on the payroll after pleading the Fifth), he's supervising the Department's joint investigation into the firings by the Office of Professional Responsibility and Inspector General, and he's in charge of which documents are doled over to Congress and which aren't.

So who is Clement? Since 2005, as Solicitor General, he's been the administration's face before the Supreme Court. Legal Times profiled him earlier this year. Can you guess which Supreme Court justice he used to work for?