The Next Hurrah: Sara Taylor Sends Horse Heads to the USAs

May 02, 2007

Sara Taylor Sends Horse Heads to the USAs

by emptywheel

This is very minor point, but one worth pointing out, as I'm wading through the dump.

According to the list of documents not turned over, Rove aide Sara Taylor and Kyle Sampson had a three-email exchange on February 16, 2007, discussing the NYT article reporting on Harriet Miers' involvement in Bud Cummins' dismissal. The article doesn't include any quote from a USA, nor from an unnamed source who could be a USA. But it does include a description of Carol Lam's resignation, as well.

Another United States attorney asked to resign was Carol C. Lam of San Diego, who departed on Thursday at the request of the Justice Department. Two days earlier, Ms. Lam announced two indictments, including one against a former high-ranking Central Intelligence Agency official, in a corruption inquiry that began with last year’s guilty plea by a former Republican representative, Randy Cunningham, who was sentenced to more than eight years in prison.

February 16 was a Friday. The following Tuesday, February 20, Mike Elston called Bud Cummins and threatened him and the other fired USAs.

Yesterday's testimony featured new allegations of threatened overt retaliation against the prosecutors, as former U.S. attorney Bud Cummins of Little Rock said a senior Justice Department official warned him on Feb. 20 that the fired prosecutors should remain quiet about their dismissals. Cummins recounted in an e-mail made public yesterday that the official cautioned that administration officials would "pull their gloves off and offer public criticisms to defend their actions more fully."

"It seemed clear that they would see that as a major escalation of the conflict meriting some kind of unspecified form of retaliation," Cummins wrote in the e-mail, which he sent as a cautionary note to fellow prosecutors.

So just two business days after Taylor had an exchange with Sampson, Elston called Griffin and tried to gag the USAs. For now, I'm going to provisionally add "issue threats" to the list of things the White House told DOJ to do.

(Btw, the horse head comment comes from Cummins' account of discussions with the other USAs after he emailed them about the conversation.)

May 02, 2007 at 17:23 in Bush/Republican Scandals, Contributor--emptywheel | Permalink

Comments

Must have been more than horses' heads she was leaving if she resigned, don't you think? Hmm.

Posted by: Rayne | May 02, 2007 at 18:11

Just when I think it can't get any worse--or deeper--you prove me wrong, EW. Nice work, and thanks, as always. Are you starting to write this one up as a book yet? Whew!

Posted by: marksb | May 02, 2007 at 18:11

I believe this issue will eventually bring the administation down to its knees. It has all the elements.

Posted by: Steve Elliott | May 02, 2007 at 18:13

[Say it again Steve. I like the sound of it too]

E.W.
Remind us again why they said these emails were withheld...

Posted by: Mickey | May 02, 2007 at 18:25

so is george gonna make us an offer we can't refuse ???

anybody ever seen "The Freshman" with Marlon Brando, Mathew Broderick and Bruno Kirby ???