manu1959
05-14-2007, 03:27 PM
sure is quite now.......
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/14/MNGBOPQEQS1.DTL&type=politics
Nearly half the U.S. attorneys slated for removal by the administration last year were targets of Republican complaints that they were lax on voter fraud, including efforts by presidential adviser Karl Rove to encourage more prosecutions of election law violations, according to new documents and interviews.
Of the 12 U.S. attorneys known to have been dismissed or considered for removal last year, five were identified by Rove or other administration officials as working in districts that were trouble spots for voter fraud -- Kansas City, Mo., Milwaukee, New Mexico, Nevada and Washington state. Four of the five prosecutors in those districts were dismissed.
It has been clear for months that the administration's eagerness to open voter fraud prosecutions played a role in some of the U.S. attorney firings, and recent testimony, documents and interviews show the issue was more central than previously known. The new details include the names of additional prosecutors who were targeted and other districts that were of concern, as well as previously unknown information about the White House's role.
The Justice Department demanded that one U.S. attorney, Todd Graves of Kansas City, resign in January 2006, several months after he refused to sign off on a Justice Department lawsuit involving the state's voter rolls, Graves said last week. U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic of Milwaukee also was targeted last fall after Rove complained that he was not doing enough about voter fraud. But he was spared because Justice Department officials feared that removing him might cause political problems on Capitol Hill, according to interviews of Justice aides conducted by congressional staff.
"There is reason for worry and suspicion at this point as to whether voting fraud played an inappropriate role in personnel decisions by the department," said Daniel Tokaji, an election law specialist at Ohio State University.
Ever since the contested 2000 presidential election, which ended in a Florida recount and intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court, both political parties have attempted to use election law to tip close contests to their advantage.
Through legislation and litigation, Republicans have pressed for voter identification requirements and other rules to clamp down on what they assert is widespread fraud by ineligible voters. Starting early in the Bush administration, the Justice Department has emphasized increasing prosecutions of fraudulent voting.
Democrats counter that such fraud is rare and that GOP efforts are designed to suppress legitimate votes by minorities, elders and recent immigrants, who are likely to support Democratic candidates.
The new links between GOP voter fraud complaints and the U.S. attorney firings follow earlier disclosures that the White House, including President Bush, passed along complaints to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about alleged voting irregularities in Milwaukee, Philadelphia and New Mexico, where prosecutor David Iglesias was fired.
White House officials also criticized John McKay, then the U.S. attorney in Seattle, for declining to pursue a voter fraud investigation after the disputed 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington state. McKay, who was fired, has said that claim was baseless.
However, it was not clear until last week that Biskupic came close to being fired, that Graves had been asked to resign or that Justice Department officials had highlighted Nevada as a problem area for voter fraud.
New information also emerged showing the extent to which the White House encouraged investigations of election fraud within weeks of November balloting. Rove, in particular, was preoccupied with pressing Gonzales and his aides about alleged voting problems in a handful of battleground states, according to testimony and documents.
In October, Rove's office sent a 26-page packet to Gonzales' office containing precinct-level voting data about Milwaukee. An alarmed Justice aide, Matthew Friedrich, told congressional investigators that he quickly put the package aside, fearing that taking action would violate strict rules against investigations shortly before elections, according to statements disclosed this week.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/14/MNGBOPQEQS1.DTL&type=politics
Nearly half the U.S. attorneys slated for removal by the administration last year were targets of Republican complaints that they were lax on voter fraud, including efforts by presidential adviser Karl Rove to encourage more prosecutions of election law violations, according to new documents and interviews.
Of the 12 U.S. attorneys known to have been dismissed or considered for removal last year, five were identified by Rove or other administration officials as working in districts that were trouble spots for voter fraud -- Kansas City, Mo., Milwaukee, New Mexico, Nevada and Washington state. Four of the five prosecutors in those districts were dismissed.
It has been clear for months that the administration's eagerness to open voter fraud prosecutions played a role in some of the U.S. attorney firings, and recent testimony, documents and interviews show the issue was more central than previously known. The new details include the names of additional prosecutors who were targeted and other districts that were of concern, as well as previously unknown information about the White House's role.
The Justice Department demanded that one U.S. attorney, Todd Graves of Kansas City, resign in January 2006, several months after he refused to sign off on a Justice Department lawsuit involving the state's voter rolls, Graves said last week. U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic of Milwaukee also was targeted last fall after Rove complained that he was not doing enough about voter fraud. But he was spared because Justice Department officials feared that removing him might cause political problems on Capitol Hill, according to interviews of Justice aides conducted by congressional staff.
"There is reason for worry and suspicion at this point as to whether voting fraud played an inappropriate role in personnel decisions by the department," said Daniel Tokaji, an election law specialist at Ohio State University.
Ever since the contested 2000 presidential election, which ended in a Florida recount and intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court, both political parties have attempted to use election law to tip close contests to their advantage.
Through legislation and litigation, Republicans have pressed for voter identification requirements and other rules to clamp down on what they assert is widespread fraud by ineligible voters. Starting early in the Bush administration, the Justice Department has emphasized increasing prosecutions of fraudulent voting.
Democrats counter that such fraud is rare and that GOP efforts are designed to suppress legitimate votes by minorities, elders and recent immigrants, who are likely to support Democratic candidates.
The new links between GOP voter fraud complaints and the U.S. attorney firings follow earlier disclosures that the White House, including President Bush, passed along complaints to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about alleged voting irregularities in Milwaukee, Philadelphia and New Mexico, where prosecutor David Iglesias was fired.
White House officials also criticized John McKay, then the U.S. attorney in Seattle, for declining to pursue a voter fraud investigation after the disputed 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington state. McKay, who was fired, has said that claim was baseless.
However, it was not clear until last week that Biskupic came close to being fired, that Graves had been asked to resign or that Justice Department officials had highlighted Nevada as a problem area for voter fraud.
New information also emerged showing the extent to which the White House encouraged investigations of election fraud within weeks of November balloting. Rove, in particular, was preoccupied with pressing Gonzales and his aides about alleged voting problems in a handful of battleground states, according to testimony and documents.
In October, Rove's office sent a 26-page packet to Gonzales' office containing precinct-level voting data about Milwaukee. An alarmed Justice aide, Matthew Friedrich, told congressional investigators that he quickly put the package aside, fearing that taking action would violate strict rules against investigations shortly before elections, according to statements disclosed this week.