CT Blue

In any sane world this should be the final nail in Gonzales coffin:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales signed a highly confidential order in March 2006 delegating to two of his top aides — who have since resigned because of their central roles in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys — extraordinary authority over the hiring and firing of most non-civil-service employees of the Justice Department. A copy of the order and other Justice Department records related to the conception and implementation of the order were provided to National Journal.

In the order, Gonzales delegated to his then-chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, and his White House liaison “the authority, with the approval of the Attorney General, to take final action in matters pertaining to the appointment, employment, pay, separation, and general administration” of virtually all non-civil-service employees of the Justice Department, including all of the department’s political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation. Monica Goodling became White House liaison in April 2006, the month after Gonzales signed the order.

The existence of the order suggests that a broad effort was under way by the White House to place politically and ideologically loyal appointees throughout the Justice Department, not just at the U.S.-attorney level. Department records show that the personnel authority was delegated to the two aides at about the same time they were working with the White House in planning the firings of a dozen U.S. attorneys, eight of whom were, in fact, later dismissed.

The initial draft of the order contained a complete delegation of authority to the “young puppies”, as one source refers to Goodling and Sampson. But some persnickety lawyer at the Office of Legal Counsel thought that might be unconstitutional, and for some reason they decided to care, and inserted a provision requiring Gonzales to rubber stamp the decisions.

In order to make sure that Paul McNulty, who was apparently suspected of integrity, did not oppose the plan, regulations were changed so that he could be kept out of the loop.

This is remarkable on several fronts, not the least of which is the fact that Gonzales was apparently so willing to participate in his own emasculation. Say what you want about slimeballs like Cheney and Rumsfeld, at least they have some self respect (after all, someone has to respect them).