Federal prosecutors serve at the whim of the Executive branch of government. They are appointed by the Executive branch, confirmed by the Senate, and are managed by the president’s staff. They are quite literally political employees. They are political employees with a supposed non-partisan skill, but political employees nonetheless.
This is a short post because I can’t fathom why all the fuss. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales oversaw an organization that fired some employees who were “under-performing” in their jobs. That under-performance might very well be related to their political beliefs as measured by the cases they prosecuted.
Federal prosecutors have wide discretion over what cases they bring to court. Their own political motivations will always factor into their allotment of time and energy into the fulfillment of their duties. And it is the administration’s DUTY to remove prosecutors who are not fulfilling their duties in a manner that the Executive branch deems appropriate to the national interest.
And so what? The system is there for a reason. It is simply another check and balance that prosecutors can be removed for any reason that the executive branch deems fit. That is our system. If you don’t like the politicization of the federal judiciary, put the power of nomination or management somewhere else. That will surely not be Congress, which is far more political than the executive branch.
So go right ahead. Pretend that you are shock shock shocked to find politicization in this establishment, and then get over it. You won’t be able to offer a better solution, since the system we have now serves the nation’s interest very well.
[tags]alberto+gonzales, prosecutors, federal, fired, judiciary[/tags]
March 14th, 2007 at 3:25 am
McCain – this is not one of your more well-reasoned posts, imo.
If someone serves at another’s whim, I would say that they have very little discretion in their job – the one who hires them holds all the discretion. And the current situation demonstrates that.
Second, to say that Congress is more political than the executive branch simply isn’t true, and I know you know that.
Finally, as a person with a legal education, I cannot tell you how awful it feels to have others, especially nonlawyers, but other lawyers as well, tell you what you should pursue or not pursue – especially if you’re being told that you’re hired with great discretion.
It is backwards, McCain.
March 14th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Congress is more political. They are running in perpetuity while 435 of them stand election every 2 years. Our system is specifically designed so that that Congress is more political, which isn’t to say that it is a naughty word. What is wrong with being “political” in your view? That is really the point of my post.
They do have discretion in their jobs. That seems to be the reason that some of them were fired. Why should a Federal prosecutor be treated any differently than any other administration employee. These aren’t career jobs. Didn’t Clinton fire all of them for the same reason? Why the fuss?
March 14th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Jill – the president is elected to carry out his/her agenda for the nation. The president can’t have his appointees working against his agenda. Lawyers need to learn that the world doesn’t revolve around them. The elected officials call the shots – as it should be.
The caveat is if there are illegalities in the administration and the president, or his henchmen directly intervene to quash prosecution.
Congress is very political – more so than the prez? dunno – but they are at least equivalent.
March 18th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Yes, and Nixon had a right to fire Archibald Cox. But the result was politically disastrous,a nd so is this. It is amazing to see Republicans rushing to defend an unprecedented abuse of Presidential power. Never before have a bunch of federal prosecutors been removed in the middle of their terms, and apparently for no cause other than to increase prosecutions of Democrats and reduce prosecutions of Republicans.
Why would anyone want to appoint a Karl-Rove-connected political hack (with no relevant experience) as the federal DA in Arkansas? Wait a minute… isn’t Hilary Clinton about to run for President?
This is just more good news for Democrats: it is teaches voters how little they should trust the Republicans.
March 28th, 2007 at 6:58 am
[...] wrote earlier that the U.S. Attorney flap is much ado about nothing. U.S. Attorneys are political appointees who serve at the whim of the President, just like any [...]