Sampson, K

A few years ago, Tim Griffin was a key figure in of the biggest scandals in the Bush administration. Democrats said — and the Justice Department Inspector General later concluded — that the Bush White House and Justice Department pushed out U.S. Attorney H.E. “Bud” Cummins III to give Griffin, a former aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove, a plum spot as interim U.S. attorney that would pad his resume.

Now Griffin, who was elected to Congress from Arkansas in November, has been named by House Republicans to be a member of the House Judiciary Committee — the very same committee which took a close look at his own role in the scandal that ultimately lead to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

“Tim Griffin was a linchpin of one of the dirtiest, Washington-insider schemes that brought down the Bush-era Justice Department and now, ironically, House Republicans have appointed him to oversee the very department he helped undermine,” Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a statement.

“Griffin loves to talk about his 6-month stint as a US Attorney but forgets to tell voters that he was forced to quit amid the national scandal about his hiring,” Ferguson added. “It came to light that Tim Griffin was illegitimately appointed to the role of US Attorney as part of a massive controversy over unprecedented political influence over the Department of Justice. Arkansas families are right to question the character of Tim ‘Dirty Tricks’ Griffin and question his appointment to oversee our justice system knowing his rap sheet.”

A DOJ Inspector General report <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/report_shows_white_house_engineered.php">released</a> in October 2008 found that the department had improperly fired Cummins as U.S. Attorney for the eastern district of Arkansas to make room for Griffin in part due to pressure from the White House. “Getting [Griffin] appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc.,” Kyle Sampson, the DOJ official who took the lead on the firings of the U.S. attorneys, wrote.

As CQ summarized it:

<blockquote>Congressional Democrats got hold of e-mails Griffin exchanged with Bush administration officials after legislation was introduced to prevent such interim appointments in the future. “How does it feel to be the target of legislation in the U.S. Senate?” joked White House aide Scott Jennings in a January 2007 e-mail. Griffin replied, “Not good but I will be fine as long the WH and DOJ stick with me!” In another exchange, Griffin and Rove brainstormed about whom to enlist to defend “Tim and his credentials.”

“Maybe Fred Thompson who is a friend of mine?” Griffin suggested, referring to the former Republican senator from Tennessee.

</blockquote>

Cummins <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/fired_us_attorney_doj_decision_not_an_exoneration.php">said</a> back in September that he didn’t want to take a position on Griffin’s race, but said it wasn’t an “exoneration” of the now-congressman-elect. TPM’s full timeline of the scandal is available <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/us-attorney-firings-timeline.php">here</a>.

Griffin said in a statement last month that he was “honored to be appointed to the Judiciary Committee and being a part of its important work, including strengthening our nation’s security, protecting children from Internet predators, conducting vigorous oversight, preventing frivolous lawsuits and protecting intellectual property.” We’ve requested an interview with the congressman-elect through his office.

The Justice Department wrapped up an investigation into the firing of the U.S. attorneys over the summer without filing any charges. Members of the Bush administration have <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/bush_team_reunites_to_cover_vindicated_alberto_gonzales_defense_bills.php">signed up</a> to help cover some of the legal fees Gonzales incurred, while the former attorney general says a <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/alberto_gonzales_my_book_will_set_the_record_straight.php">book he’s writing</a> will “set the record straight.”   tpm

wiki

D. Kyle Sampson (born in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_City,Utah" title="Cedar City, Utah">Cedar City, Utah</a>) was the Chief of Staff and Counselor of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney_General" title="United States Attorney General">Attorney General</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Gonzales" title="Alberto Gonzales">Alberto Gonzales</a>. He resigned on March 12, 2007, amid the controversy surrounding the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Dismissal_of_U.S.Attorneys_controversy" title="2006 Dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy" class="mw-redirect">firing</a> of eight <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney" title="United States Attorney">United States Attorneys</a> in 2006<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-1">[1]</a> and was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in July 2010.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-2">[2]</a> In October 2007, Sampson joined the law firm of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunton_%26_Williams" title="Hunton & Williams">Hunton & Williams LLP</a> as a partner in the firm's food and drug practice, where his practice focuses on FDA regulatory and enforcement matters.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-3">[3]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-4">[4]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2>

</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#Early_career">1 Early career</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#Government_service">2 Government service</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#The_U.S._Attorneys_dismissal_controversy">3 The U.S. Attorneys dismissal controversy</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#References">4 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#Further_reading">5 Further reading</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

<h2>Early career</h2>

As a young man, Sampson served a mission for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints" title="The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a> among <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong_people" title="Hmong people">Hmong</a> refugees who had emigrated from Laos to Minnesota.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-5">[5]</a> After graduating from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University" title="Brigham Young University">Brigham Young University</a> in 1993, Sampson earned a law degree with honors from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago_Law_School" title="University of Chicago Law School">The University of Chicago Law School</a> in 1996, serving as Articles Editor on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago_Law_Review" title="University of Chicago Law Review">law review</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-6">[6]</a> He clerked for Judge <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_J._Williams" title="Karen J. Williams">Karen J. Williams</a> of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and then joined the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Lake_City" title="Salt Lake City">Salt Lake City</a> law firm of Parr Waddoups Brown Gee & Loveless.

<h2>Government service</h2>

From 1999 to 2001 Sampson served as Counsel to Senator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_G._Hatch" title="Orrin G. Hatch" class="mw-redirect">Orrin G. Hatch</a> (R-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah" title="Utah">Utah</a>) on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_Judiciary_Committee" title="Senate Judiciary Committee" class="mw-redirect">Senate Judiciary Committee</a>. After the 2000 election, Sampson "drew on a friendship he had built in law school with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Cheney" title="Elizabeth Cheney" class="mw-redirect">Elizabeth Cheney</a>, the daughter of the vice president, to land a job making personnel decisions in the early days of the Bush administration."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-7">[7]</a> Later he worked under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Gonzales" title="Alberto Gonzales">Alberto Gonzales</a> as Associate Counsel to the President. From there, he served as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, and then, in 2003, became Counselor to then-Attorney General <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ashcroft" title="John Ashcroft">John Ashcroft</a>. In 2005, he was promoted to be Chief of Staff and Counselor to Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales (who was sworn in as Attorney General on February 14, 2005).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-8">[8]</a> Sampson was "a trusted political advisor" to both Ashcroft and Gonzales.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-9">[9]</a>

In 2006, Sampson was a candidate for appointment to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah.

<dl>

<dd>"White House and Justice officials backed Mr. Sampson in his bid to replace [Paul] Warner, making that clear to the staff of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Hatch" title="Orrin Hatch">Senator Hatch</a>. But the senator wanted Mr. Bush to nominate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Tolman" title="Brett Tolman">Brett Tolman</a>, a one-time Utah federal prosecutor who had spent the previous three years working on antiterrorism issues for the Judiciary Committee staff. . . . Mr. Hatch finally made a personal appeal to Mr. Gonzales to drop his bid to nominate Mr. Sampson. After a four-month delay, President Bush nominated Tolman for the position in June 2006."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-10">[10]</a></dd>

</dl>

<h2>The U.S. Attorneys dismissal controversy</h2>

<div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismissal_of_U.S._attorneys_controversy" title="Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy">Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy</a></div>

Sampson and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Miers" title="Harriet Miers">Harriet Miers</a> created a list of U.S. Attorneys to be fired, as shown by emails produced for a Congressional investigation,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-11">[11]</a> and Sampson coordinated the execution of the plan.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-12">[12]</a> "Miers had pushed to fire them all," and Administration officials "were determined to dismiss those they considered the weakest performers." Sampson, "at the behest of the White House," conducted "a review to determine which of the ninety-three U.S. attorneys around the country should be let go."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-13">[13]</a> "Sampson had good political instincts, having worked on Capitol Hill for Senator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Hatch" title="Orrin Hatch">Orrin Hatch</a> before moving to the White House counsel's office to work for Gonzales."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-14">[14]</a> Sampson wrote in an email to Miers that he was

<dl>

<dd>"concerned that to execute this plan properly we must all be on the same page and be steeled to withstand any political upheaval that might result. If we start caving to complaining US Attorneys or Senators then we shouldn't do it -- it'll be more trouble than it's worth. We'll stand by for a green light from you."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-15">[15]</a></dd>

</dl>

Sampson resigned after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales—under pressure from Congress—agreed that the Justice Department would turn those emails over to Congress and would make Department staff, including Sampson, available to testify about the firings. Sampson "was seen within the Justice Department as a workaholic chief of staff who managed to keep things moving for Gonzales. When Sampson resigned . . ., Gonzales was left . . . rudderless."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-16">[16]</a>

According to one commentator, "Had Republicans still been in power, there would have been no controversy, no investigation."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-17">[17]</a> After all, "United States attorneys are political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the president, and during changeovers in administration, they are replaced as a matter of standard practice."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-18">[18]</a> But in 2007, Republicans were no longer in power.

As a result of the dismissal of the eight U.S. Attorneys, many senators called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign as well. Senator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_E._Schumer" title="Charles E. Schumer" class="mw-redirect">Charles E. Schumer</a>, the first senator to call for Gonzales's resignation, believes Gonzales should have resigned, not Sampson. According to Schumer, "it raises the temperature. Kyle Sampson will not become the . . . fall guy.".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-19">[19]</a> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times" title="New York Times" class="mw-redirect">New York Times</a> reported that "Mr. Gonzales, who approved the idea of the group firing, has been under fierce criticism from lawmakers of both parties over the dismissals, which have provoked charges that they were politically motivated."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-20">[20]</a> Gonzales resigned on September 17, 2007.

On July 21, 2010, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Dannehy" title="Nora Dannehy">Nora Dannehy</a>, the special prosecutor tasked with investigating the attorney dismissals, concluded that "there was insufficient evidence to establish that persons knowingly made material false statements to [the Office of Inspector General] or Congress or corruptly endeavored to obstruct justice"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_note-21">[21]</a> and that no criminal charges would be filed against Sampson or Gonzales.

<h2>References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-1">^{</a></span}> Daniel Politi (March 13, 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.slate.com/id/2161719/">"The Third Man"</a>. Slate.com.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-2">^{</a></span}> Ronald Weich. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/conyers.dannehy.ola.resp.pdf">"Letter to Congress from Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich"</a>. p. 5.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-3">^{</a></span}> Robert Gehrke (31 October 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7327641">"Sampson, ex-aide to Gonzales, joins law firm"</a>. Salt Lake Tribune.</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-4">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.hunton.com/bios/bio.aspx?id=17828&BioID=1046&BioType=Group">"Kyle Sampson, Hunton & Williams Bio"</a>.</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-5">^{</a></span}> Robert Gehrke, "Right-hand man now a scapegoat?" Salt Lake Tribune, 18 March 2007</li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-6">^{</a></span}> Masthead, University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 63, Number 1-4. Sampson had a student comment published in the law review, "The Fiduciary Duties of Corporate Directors to 'Phantom' Stockholders", 62 U.Chi. L.Rev. 1275.</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-7">^{</a></span}> Robert Gehrke (March 13, 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://origin.sltrib.com/news/ci_5425223">"Utahn resigns in controversy over U.S. Attorney firings"</a>. The Salt Lake Tribune.</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-8">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2005/February/05_ag_064.htm">DOJ announcement, February 15, 2005</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-9">^{</a></span}> Eric Lichtblau (2008). "Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice After 9/11". Knopf. p. 293.</li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-10">^{</a></span}> Eric Lipton (March 13, 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/washington/13sampson.html">"Fast-Riser’s High Hopes and Sudden Fall"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times" title="New York Times" class="mw-redirect">New York Times</a>.</li>

<li id="cite_note-11"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-11">^{</a></span}> Dan Eggen; John Solomon (March 13, 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/12/AR2007031201818.html">"Firings Had Genesis in White House: Ex-Counsel Miers First Suggested Dismissing Prosecutors 2 Years Ago, Documents Show"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Post" title="Washington Post" class="mw-redirect">Washington Post</a>. p. A01.</li>

<li id="cite_note-12"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-12">^{</a></span}> David Johnston; Eric Lipton (March 13, 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/washington/13attorneys.html">"White House Said to Prompt Firing of Prosecutors"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times" title="New York Times" class="mw-redirect">New York Times</a>.</li>

<li id="cite_note-13"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-13">^{</a></span}> Lichtblau. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/037542492X">"Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice"</a>. p. 284.</li>

<li id="cite_note-14"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-14">^{</a></span}> Jan Crawford Greenburg (2008). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0143113046">"Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court"</a>. Penguin. p. 266.</li>

<li id="cite_note-15"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-15">^{</a></span}> Lichtblau. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/037542492X">"Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice After 9/11"</a>. p. 284.</li>

<li id="cite_note-16"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-16">^{</a></span}> Lichtblau. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/037542492X">"Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice After 9/11"</a>. p. 293.</li>

<li id="cite_note-17"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-17">^{</a></span}> Lichtblau. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/037542492X">"Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice After 9/11"</a>. p. 293.</li>

<li id="cite_note-18"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-18">^{</a></span}> Lichtblau. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/037542492X">"Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice After 9/11"</a>. p. 283.</li>

<li id="cite_note-19"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-19">^{</a></span}> Dan Eggen; Paul Kane (March 14, 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR2007031300776_3.html?nav=rss_politics">"Gonzales: 'Mistakes Were Made'"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Post" title="Washington Post" class="mw-redirect">Washington Post</a>.</li>

<li id="cite_note-20"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-20">^{</a></span}> David Johnston; Eric Lipton (March 14, 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14justice.html?n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fU%2fUnited%20States%20Attorneys">"‘Loyalty’ to Bush and Gonzales Was Factor in Prosecutors’ Firings, E-Mail Shows"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times" title="New York Times" class="mw-redirect">New York Times</a>.</li>

<li id="cite_note-21"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Sampson#cite_ref-21">^{</a></span}> Ronald Weich. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/conyers.dannehy.ola.resp.pdf">"Letter to Congress from Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich"</a>. p. 5.</li>

</ol>

</div>

<h2>Further reading</h2>

<ul>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/27/AR2007032702423_pf.html">Washington Post Profile of Sampson</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2007/03/sampson_speaks.html">Attorney Firings: Sampson Speaks</a>, Mother Jones (March 29, 2007)</li>

</ul>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Categories" title="Help:Categories">Categories</a>:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Living_people" title="Category:Living people">Living people</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_Latter_Day_Saints" title="Category:American Latter Day Saints">American Latter Day Saints</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:United_States_Department_of_Justice_lawyers" title="Category:United States Department of Justice lawyers">United States Department of Justice lawyers</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Brigham_Young_University_alumni" title="Category:Brigham Young University alumni">Brigham Young University alumni</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:University_of_Chicago_Law_School_alumni" title="Category:University of Chicago Law School alumni">University of Chicago Law School alumni</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Dismissal_of_United_States_Attorneys_controversy" title="Category:Dismissal of United States Attorneys controversy">Dismissal of United States Attorneys controversy</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:People_from_Iron_County,_Utah" title="Category:People from Iron County, Utah">People from Iron County, Utah</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mormon_missionaries_in_the_United_States" title="Category:Mormon missionaries in the United States">Mormon missionaries in the United States</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_Mormon_missionaries" title="Category:American Mormon missionaries">American Mormon missionaries</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:20th-century_Mormon_missionaries" title="Category:20th-century Mormon missionaries">20th-century Mormon missionaries</a></li>

</ul>

blog

Over at <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Sampson_has_close_relationship_with_GOP_0328.html">Raw Story</a> Michael Roston has an excellent article about a number of DOJ employees who've donated money to the Bush/Cheney election campaigns and other GOP politicians.

</div>

Here are excerpts from Roston's story: march 2007

When D. Kyle Sampson, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's former chief of staff, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow, he may get a warm reception from some committee Republicans, including a former boss who warned his colleagues against trying "to hurt the man" last week. [...]

Sampson donated $250 to the Commonwealth Political Action Committee in Oct. 2006. The group describes itself as supporting "reform-minded Republicans who share the belief that government should be limited, responsive and affordable." The PAC's records show that it has supported two other senators on the Judiciary Committee, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and Jon Kyl of Arizona. The former Justice Department official also gave $250 to the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004.

Other Justice Department employees implicated in the firing of eight US Attorneys have given generously to Republican politicians.

</blockquote>

More than ever, we must carry out Deep Throat Mark Felt's advice from Watergate days and follow the money. Full disclosure: I performed some of the research for Roston's story.

</div>

<h4>Originally posted to <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/blog/MPetrelis/">MPetrelis</a> on Thu Mar 29, 2007 at 08:54 AM PDT.</h4>

===

<div class="node-header">Published on Monday, June 11, 2007 by <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/10/AR2007061001229.html">the Washington Post</a>

<h2 class="title">Immigration Judges Often Picked Based On GOP Ties</h2>

</div>

<div class="author">by Amy Goldstein / Dan Eggen</div>

</div>

The Bush administration increasingly emphasized partisan political ties over expertise in recent years in selecting the judges who decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, despite laws that preclude such considerations, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.

At least one-third of the immigration judges appointed by the Justice Department since 2004 have had Republican connections or have been administration insiders, and half lacked experience in immigration law, Justice Department, immigration court and other records show.

Two newly appointed immigration judges were failed candidates for the U.S. Tax Court nominated by President Bush; one fudged his taxes and the other was deemed unqualified to be a tax judge by the nation's largest association of lawyers. Both were Republican loyalists.

Justice officials also gave immigration judgeships to a New Jersey election law specialist who represented GOP candidates, a former treasurer of the Louisiana Republican Party, a White House domestic policy adviser and a conservative crusader against pornography.

These appointments, all made by the attorney general, have begun to reshape a system of courts in which judges, ruling alone, exercise broad powers -- deporting each year nearly a quarter-million immigrants, who have limited rights to appeal and no right to an attorney. The judges do not serve fixed terms.

Department officials say they changed their hiring practices in April but defend their selections. Still, the injection of political considerations into the selection of immigration judges has attracted congressional attention in the wake of controversy over the Bush administration's dismissal last year of nine U.S. attorneys.

The Post analysis is the first systematic examination of the people appointed to immigration courts, the relationships that led to their selection and the experience they brought to their position. The review, based on Justice records and research into the judges' backgrounds, encompassed the 37 current judges approved by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales or his predecessor, John D. Ashcroft, starting in 2004.

That year is when the Justice Department began to jettison the civil service process that traditionally guided the selections in favor of political considerations, according to sworn congressional testimony by one senior department official and a statement by the lawyer for another official.

Those two officials, D. Kyle Sampson and Monica M. Goodling, have said they were told the practice was legal. But Justice spokesman Dean Boyd said that immigration judges are considered civil service employees who may not be chosen based on political factors, unlike judges in federal criminal courts.

All the judges appointed during this period who arrived with experience in immigration law were prosecutors or held other immigration enforcement jobs. That was a reversal of a trend during the Clinton administration in which the Justice Department sought to balance such appointees with ones who had been attorneys representing immigrants, according to current and former immigration judges.

Boyd said in a written statement that judges appointed during the Bush administration are "well qualified for their current positions" and that "outstanding immigration judges can come from diverse backgrounds." Boyd also said that race and ethnicity are not factors in hiring but cited statistics showing that immigration courts are "considerably more diverse" than other kinds of courts.

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