Tag: John Ashcroft

Two-Minutes Fear.



Aigh! Attack, attack! No, we don’t know when. No, we don’t know where. No, we’re not raising the threat level. No, we’re not sorry we let Osama slip away so we could dink around Iraq. Just be afraid, and, remember, the terrorists want to “disrupt the democratic process” and make you vote Kerry-Edwards. You have been warned. Good day.

Fox in the Henhouse?

Ashcroft gets the inside word on the FBI’s Plamegate investigation. Well, on one hand he is the Attorney General. But, c’mon now – the smart thing to do would be to recuse himself from this case, particularly given his close ties to Rove. As I’ve said before in other contexts, if we were talking about Janet Reno here, Dan Burton would already have fired up the investigation train.

Circling the Wagons.

With the inquiry into felonious behavior in the White House expected to broaden to include the State and Defense Departments in short order, Attorney General Ashcroft ponders how to investigate his buddy Karl Rove (Here’s a hint, John – Just treat him like you would a foreign national or medicinal marijuana advocate.) Meanwhile, the White House unleashes its “slime and defend” defense strategy, which involves slandering Joseph Wilson as a (gasp) Democrat while circling the GOP wagons around 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. “‘So far so good,’ the [Republican] aide said. ‘There’s nervousness on the part of the party leadership, but no defections in the sense of calling for an independent counsel.'” So who will be the first Republican statesperson to stand up and demand the Bushies be held accountable? John McCain, perhaps? Or how about one of the House Impeachment managers — they were so enamored with executive propriety only five years ago.

Ashcroft Justice.

In keeping with his Judge Danforth-like predilections, Attorney General Ashcroft issued an edict that would limit plea bargains and lawyerly discretion over which charges to bring in a federal suit. Again, when will Ashcroft follow his own pronouncements, lock up his nephew, and throw away the key?

Ashcroft Agonizes, Powell Punts.

Looks like it’s a bad day for imperious Dubya appointees. In the wake of Congress’s recent decision to limit the powers of the Patriot Act, a defiant Ashcroft wants his toys back. Also facing considerable bipartisan and public criticism, Michael Powell appoints a task force on media consolidation. As Copps notes in the article, next time perhaps it’d be better to do the fact-finding before you vote.

“Patriots” at Work.

The LA Times relates the sad story of Ansar Mahmood, who has paid a heavy price for being a Muslim in America after 9/11. In not-unrelated news, Ashcroft cracks down on lenient sentencing. Perhaps they’ll reconsider his nephew’s drug bust, then.

Paging Judge Danforth.

“Two senators – one a conservative Republican, the other a moderate Democrat – who spoke with Ashcroft…were surprised at his lack of command of the basic issues. Whether it was lack of interest or lack of intellectual firepower, the Attorney General seemed not to appreciate the complexities of the constitutional issues he was dealing with.” Nat Hentoff cites Stephen Brill’s After to depict amateur hour in the Ashcroft Justice Department.