We’ve been following the Bush Administration’s purge of politically troublesome U.S. Attorneys across the country. New details from McClatchy today, and they just add to body of evidence that makes this look like a nefarious and coordinated effort by the Bushies to rid the country of independent muckraking DOJ officials and replace them with cronies.
McClatchy reports that of the six attorneys who were fired for “performance-related issues,” five “received positive job evaluations before they were ordered to step down.” (For the record, most of the fired U.S. Attorneys were given no justification for their dismissals.) This fits with the finding from about a week ago that DOJ no longer has control over hirings and firings and has ceded the subject to political players in the White House. From the WaPo:
One administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in discussing personnel issues, said the spate of firings was the result of “pressure from people who make personnel decisions outside of Justice who wanted to make some things happen in these places.”
