Politicizing The Justice Department: Democrats Pick DNC Member, Fund Raiser For US Attorney

• February 4, 2010

~~Scott Hennen will have Ed Meese, former US Attorney Andy McCarthy and Bill Burck on his show today to talk about this appointment. Tune in to the online stream on the right sidebar.~~
I was listening to the Hennen show and he announced that Ed Meese won’t be on until tomorrow–The Whistler.
One of the most enduring (and silly) scandals of the Bush years was the firing of several US attorneys, which Democrats claim was evidence of the President “politicizing” the Justice Department. But I wonder what those same Democrats have to say about the most recent pick for a US attorney pick being an actual member of the Democrat National Committee?
That’s right, as I reported would happen here days ago, trial lawyer (and long-time John Edwards supporter) Tim Purdon has been picked to be North Dakota’s next US Attorney.
I’ve done some research, and I cannot find where someone so political – to the point of actually being a member of one of the two party’s national committees – has ever been appointed to a US Attorney spot before.
Let’s not forget that to pick Purdon, Democrats had to go over the head of another candidate – Jan Morley – who has 12 years of experience in the US Attorney’s office. Purdon has zero experience in the US Attorney’s office. In fact, zero experience as a prosecutor.
Though he has both given lots of money to Democrats ($12,400 to North Dakota Democrats since the 2000 election cycle) and raised millions for them as well through trial lawyer connections. If anyone has ever been curious as to why the North Dakota Democrat party gets millions in cash from out-of-state mega law firms (many of the names of which you’ll recognize from those class action lawsuit commercials on television), Purdon is the reason why.
In summary, after years of demagoguing President Bush for “politicizing the Justice Department,” Democrats have now picked a member of their own national committee with no to serve in that supposedly non-political roll.
This is another in a long line of scandalous appointments by the Obama administration.

Tags: North Dakota News, Politics

http://Array sayanything-279

In 2 1/2 years the Dems will be attacking the new Repub President for replacing him. Ho Hum
http://SayAnythingBlog.com The_Whistler_ofnd

Political party fundraiser/trial lawyer < male exotic dancer in my book.
sayanything-279

that would be 2 !/2 years after he’s sworn in
http://wizbangblog.com/ Jay Tea

True enough, Corleone. If that ever happened, it’d be a real story.

Too bad it’s just an Olbermann wet dream.

J.
sayanything-43

Wrigley had a ton of experience as a prosecutor before his appointment. This guy only has experience as a party man.
AKA WOOF

Could have got them some Alberto Gonzales,
he’s underemployed.
Monica Goodling is the Bush US attorney and
only one ever to take the
5th in respect to her duties, is floating around
in needing work in Christendom.
CriticalThinker

Rob: You say Wrigley was a prosecutor for 12 years before becoming US Attorney. According to his linkedin page, he graduated from law school in 1991. He was appointed US Attorney by Bush in 2001. You kind of skip the part where he worked at North Dakota’s Workers Comp Bureau for a year or two, where he worked in the governor’s office for a couple years, and where he was Executive Director of the ND Republican Party. If you can squeeze all that in there and still find 12 years in there, you’re almost as good at math as you are at logic.
sayanything-51

OMG OMG Obama is just like bush!

Rube, if you have a google, use it to look up Tim Griffin.
lioncourt

US attorneys are political appointments. The scandal under the Bush administration had to do with the firing of US attorneys because they refused to indict democratic candidates with insufficient evidence right before an election.

Or you could say that the politicizing came when they asked the career attorneys what their party was during interviews.

Iâ€™ve done some research, and I cannot find where someone so political

Your usual standard of research.
http://wizbangblog.com/ Jay Tea

Pretty shitty cherry-picking on my part, boob — as I said precisely where I took it from.

I was reinforcing the “inexperience” angle, not the partisan history. Griffin actually had some, unlike this idiot.

But if you understood the occasional value of “experience,” you’d be utterly unqualified as an Obama supporter…

J.
sayanything-4603

the smoking gun maybe the chance to steal elections ,look at min, we only have three reps but it could help palmjoy in a close race. should this appointment suprise anyone , all of barri’s appointments have been hacks and favors. barri’s build is perfact for the puppitmaster’s strings.
sayanything-51

Mr. Tea, nice job with the cherry picking.

In full, that wiki paragraph reads:

Griffin worked from September 1995 to January 1997 with Special Prosecutor David Barrett and his investigation of former Secretary of HUD, Henry Cisneros. For two years after that he was Senior Investigative Counsel for the House Committee on Government Reform. In September 1999 he became Deputy Research Director for the Republican National Committee (for George W. Bush’s election campaign); while in that position, he was a legal advisor for the “Bush-Cheney 2000 Florida Recount Team” (see Bush v. Gore). From March 2001 through June 2002 he was Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff.

But you knew that, didn’t you?

Rube:

Iâ€™ve done some research, and I cannot find where someone so political – to the point of actually being a member of one of the two partyâ€™s national committees – has ever been appointed to aUS Attorney spot before.
sayanything-203

The US Attorneys fired by the Bush administration were political appointees just like Tim Purdon. They were fired for refusing to take direction from the administration at whose pleasure they serve.

There was no “scandal.” Merely Democrat Pooh-Bahs braying with indignation that the Bush Justice Department wanted to investigate voter fraud.
Lioncourt

I was reinforcing the “inexperience” angle, not the partisan history. Griffin actually had some, unlike this idiot.

This guy only has experience as a party man. He is a partner in a law firm that does criminal defense. My guess is that he has more court time than Tim Griffin ever did.
zipity

That’s right AKA WOOF, it’s not like the Dimocrats cried like little babies when the Evil BooshÂ© fired those US Attorney’s who serve “at the pleasure of the President”. They acted like adults, and kept their mouths shut, since Clinton did the EXACT SAME THING…. At least they would have not acted like shrieking harpies in some alternate universe…..
Doug

Dude looks like a vampire.
http://wizbangblog.com/ Jay Tea

(God help me, I’m responding to Boob…)

From Griffin’s entry at Wikipedia:

“…Griffin worked from September 1995 to January 1997 with Special Prosecutor David Barrett and his investigation of former Secretary of HUD, Henry Cisneros. For two years after that he was Senior Investigative Counsel for the House Committee on Government Reform…”

“In September 2006, after ending a one-year military mobilization assignment, Griffin began working as a special assistant to Bud Cummins, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas,.[3] On December 15, 2006, the Justice Department announced that Griffin would be appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, effective December 20, 2006, the date when the resignation of Cummins took effect…”

He had some experience in prosecutions before he was named, unlike this career hack…

J.
Jim Buzzell

The Justice Department is already political; just look at the USAG, if Holder isn’t political and extremely left who is; through the bums out and elect all new legislators in the 2010 elections on both sides of the house and senate. Take back our Contitutional Republic and stop referring to it as a democracy; which it isn’t. Your first constitutional test is read our constitutiona and count the number of times it refers to a democarcy; you will find zero times; therefore how can it be equated to a democracy when it is, as ratified, a Constitutional Republic, a nation of laws, and a republican form of government; republican does not refer to the party on the type of government. Wake up United States of America.
AKA WOOF

US Attorney’s are political appointments , political people are apponted.
R Senators put holds on appointments.
It’s all political, wake up and stop whining.
zipity

of course, nothing The One Â© does can possibly be scandalous. Because saying it was would be raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacist….
Lioncourt

The US Attorneys fired by the Bush administration were political appointees just like Tim Purdon. They were fired for refusing to take direction from the administration at whose pleasure they serve.

Firing people because they won’t unjustly attack your political enemies is a scandal whether it was legal or not.

This on the other hand is not a scandal.
Sefo

Brenarlo has it right. To suggest this appointment is overly political is laughable. You have to look all the way back to the previous U.S. Attorney appointment to find one that is comparable. Save the overreactions for news that isn’t instantly rebuttable.
brenarlo

Rob,

I think you’re wrong here. Drew Wrigley was working for the Republican Party in 1999… then was “promoted” to Hoeven’s deputy chief of staff right before becoming the US attorney. So to say that this has never been so partisan is misleading at best. These are political appointees.
sayanything-43

That’s mean to vampires.

I think he’s going for the joker look.
sayanything-3444

Party Man? You mean this guy was a male exotic dancer before his appointment?
bikebubba

Whether it’s typical or not–and the bits coming out about the GOP examples of political friends being appointed also point out that they had prosecutorial experience–I would have hoped that the man who wanted to bring “hope and change” to DC would have enough sense to know that such a position ought to be filled by someone with at least the pretense of experience in such a job.
mrzicko

american issue…..always hot to read…
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

I think you’re wrong here. Drew Wrigley was working for the Republican Party in 1999… then was “promoted” to Hoeven’s deputy chief of staff right before becoming the US attorney. So to say that this has never been so partisan is misleading at best. These are political appointees.

Really? You’re comparing a Democrat National Committeeman to…a state party ED?

And Wrigley had 12 years of prosecutor experience before he became US attorney.

You may as well be comparing apples to skyscrapers.
sayanything-4808

I love how the liberals are continuing to purposely ignore that Obama said he’d make his administration the most ethical ever, and end all the lobbyist tit for tat, etc., etc., yeah right whatever… and he pulls this move.

Has he in ANY way with this done ANYTHING like addressing that promise?

No, he went the opposite direction.

As usual.
spartacus

Or like he should chop his way through a door with an axe yelling “here’s Johnny”.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

That’s right, Poodle. Don’t ever hold your own side accountable. Just
cover it up by attacking the opposition!

SayAnythingBlog.com

Politicizing The Justice Department: Democrats Pick DNC Member, Fund Raiser For US Attorney

Create a SAB Readerblog

Recent Comments