Posted by DEAN SKIP RUTHERFORD – Bud Cummins, the former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, will speak Thursday at 11:30 at the Clinton School.
Cummins, along with seven other U.S. Attorneys, have been recently replaced in what has evolved into a national debate about the role of the Attorney General, the Justice Department, the White House and what constitutes executive privilege. Karl Rove, a recent Clinton School speaker and deputy White House chief of staff, has been subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee regarding this matter — which was discussed in our question and answer session following his speech here.
From a communications perspective, this issue has been poorly handled. It would have been better from the beginning if Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or someone in the administration had said something like this: 1. U.S. Attorneys serve at the will of the President and can be replaced at the will of the President and that’s what we’ve done. We thank those whom we have replaced for their service. 2. This is the first time for these mid-term changes because Congress passed the Patriot Act, a provision of which gave the President the authority to appoint US Attorneys without Senate confirmation and that’s what we’ve done.
It may have been a dumb move politically, (and I think it was), but as Judge Thomas Eisele’s recent legal opinion confirming the Tim Griffin appointment pointed out, the administration was on solid legal ground. Instead, however, the administration chose to say some of the “Gonzales 8” were replaced because of poor performance which resulted in some of the fired US Attorneys defending their records (and rightly so).
It is now one complicated legal, public relations and political mess. The Patriot Act provision of no confirmation is now history or soon will be. The Attorney General himself is on the rocks. His top aide has resigned. Another is taking the fifth. Most, if not all, of the newly appointed U.S. Attorneys, will now not subject themselves to the confirmation process. This should have been a two or three day story at most…it’s now lingering for weeks.
Come hear what Bud Cummins has to say about it all. Reservations are required at Publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or (501) 683-5239.