Lost Amidst the Panic

If there was good news for Duhbya and crew yesterday when his bailout proposal flamed out, it was that almost nobody has paid attention to the latest news in his US Attorney scandal. It's not pretty:

The 356-page report, prepared by the department’s inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility, provides the fullest account to date of a scandal that dogged the Bush administration for months last year over accusations that it had politicized the federal justice system by ousting prosecutors seen as disloyal.

It provided particular detail in the dismissal of David C. Iglesias, a former New Mexico prosecutor who was let go at the prodding of Republican leaders in Washington and New Mexico who were dissatisfied with his work in investigating accusations against Democrats. Despite the denials of the Bush administration, the political pressure was 'the real reason' for Mr. Iglesias’s dismissal, the report said.

Not pretty, but also not complete:

The investigators acknowledged, however, that they could not answer some critical questions because the White House refused to turn over internal documents and to allow interviews with some crucial figures.

Investigators interviewed about 90 people in the last year and a half, but three senior administration officials who played a part in crucial phases of the dismissals — Karl Rove, the former political adviser to President Bush; Harriet E. Miers, a former White House counsel; and Monica M. Goodling, a former Justice Department liaison to the White House — refused to be interviewed.

To his credit, current AG Michael Mukasey has appointed Nora Dennehy, the US Attorney for the District of Connecticut, to more fully investigate and pursue criminal charges if necessary.

This should be bigger news, particularly in light of the McCain campaign taking over Palin's "Troopergate" investigation and engaging in the same kind of stonewalling. We've had enough of this sort of bullshit in the past eight years, haven't we?