US Attorneys-gate

The Washington Post has an update about federal prosecutor Norah R. Dannehy’s efforts to investigate one of the top ten (that we know about) scandals in the Bush Administration: politically motivated firings of U.S. Attorneys. Key quote:

A prosecutor who is investigating the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys has been meeting with defense lawyers, dispatching subpoenas and seeking information about the events, according to legal sources familiar with the case. …

Dannehy, a longtime assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut, in recent weeks has met with lawyers and government officials involved in the case. A grand jury in the District has issued subpoenas, the sources said.

The requests for documents could provoke another legal skirmish in a fight over the scope of executive power wielded by the Bush administration. In past cases, White House lawyers have asserted executive privilege in refusing to make available witnesses and information to Congress and interest groups. A lawsuit filed by the House, which also is demanding information about the prosecutor firings, is under consideration by an appeals court.

Politicizing the Justice Department is a shameful legacy that, no matter how George Bush might wish it to be otherwise, history will judge harshly. His only “hope” is that compared to other scandals that plague his administration — extraordinary rendition, torture, shredding the Constitution, false pretenses for war, spying on American citizens — this one might pale in comparison.