Posted on 03/21/2007 7:42:37 AM PDT by Donkey Hunter
That J. Timothy Griffin's appointment to U.S. attorney in Little Rock would draw the ire of Democrats is not surprising, but wholly unfortunate.
His political work has diverted attention from impressive government and military service. It could be that Democrats have payback on their minds.
When Griffin worked as an associate independent counsel investigating Henry Cisneros, Bill Clinton's secretary of Housing and Urban Development, he might as well have signed over his life to the devil. Griffin's legal work on allegations of obstruction of justice by a sitting U.S. government official is laudable. But Democrats no doubt read the words "independent counsel" and think "witch hunt" and "partisan justice."
Cisneros pleaded guilty to "making false statements to federal officials." Allegations of partisan justice don't hold water. Griffin's work was a service to his country.
Such work is not surprising for an overachiever like Griffin, whose professional career is evenly matched with a stellar academic one that started at Hendrix College, continued when he graduated with honors from Tulane's Law School and extended abroad while he studied at Oxford. ...
Griffin is guilty of doing excellent work at every stop in his professional career. His chief offense is that he is currently caught up in the Justice Department's bungled handling of U.S. attorney appointments. The Justice Department's ineptitude helped turn this otherwise highly qualified individual into a ripe target for Democrats who are eager for payback.
(Excerpt) Read more at arkansasnews.com ...
Here is an individual who's served his country in and out of uniform, has an impeccable academic and employment record, and most importantly, has experience in the very office he's been appointed to if only on an interim basis, being more or less hung out to dry by PR "professionals" who would seemingly prefer to wring their hands and hope the U.S. Attorney "scandal that shouldn't have been" would just go away.
Fortunately a columnist in Arkansas sees J. Timothy Griffin for what he really is - a bright young American willing to put on the uniform for our country and also investigate corruption in its government. The corruption within the Clinton Administration is the Democrats' own "inconvenient truth" that today's un-truths cannot shade as the sun rises on November 4th, 2008.
Do you know why this is an interim appointment? As I understand it, the AG has the right under the Patriot Act to appoint US Attorneys without Senate confirmation.
The Senate just voted lopsidedly to resume their right to confirm US Attorneys, but since the Patriot Act is now the law, I don't believe the Senate can change it unless a new bill is passed and signed, or a presidential veto is overridden.
I see you just signed up to post this, but it certainly seems worth posting.
Ha! When you investigate the Democrats, that's partisanship. When the Democrats lie about you, it's a "search for the truth".
Interim because he hasn't been posted for Senate confirmation, apparently. As if he'd get a fair hearing up there in today's climate.
That seems odd. The Patriot Act gives Gonzalez the right to confirm US attorneys without waiting for Senate approval. So if it's an interim appointment, it would seem to be a matter of being polite to the Senate and avoiding further political offense rather than a matter of law.
The Senate's right to confirm won't become law again until a new bill is passed. So I don't know why Gonzalez would be asking the Senate to confirm unless he was instructed to placate them. Which won't do any good at all. It will only encourage them to block it and scream about corruption in the administration.
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