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The Living Force
Oregonian: 5/10/07
Title: "Former U.S. attorney tells of ouster"
ppg: A10
Author: Amy Goldstein and Dan Eggen
Source: LA Times - Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The former U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo., Todd Graves said Wednesday
that he was asked to step down from his job by a senior Justice Department official in
January 2006, months before eight other federal prosecutors would be fired by the Bush
administration.
Graves said he was told simply that he should resign to "give another person a chance."
He said he did not oppose the department's request because he had already planned to
return to private practice.
He did, however, appeal to Missouri's senior senator to try to persuade the White House
to allow him to remain long enough to prosecute a final, important case - involving the
murder of a pregnant woman and kidnapping of her 8-month fetus. Justice Department
officials rejected the request.
The former prosecutor's disclosure, in an interview on the eve of a second appearance
today by Attorney Alberto Gonzales before lawmakers investigating the firings, means
that the administration began moving to replace U.S. attorneys five months earlier than
was previously known.
it also means that at least nine prosecutors were asked to resign last year, a deviation
from repeated suggestions by Gonzales and other senior Justice Department officials
in congressional testimony and other public statements that the firings did not extend
beyond the eight prosecutors already known to be forced out.
Gonzales is to testify before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, three
weeks after he was grilled on the issue by Democrats and Republicans alike on the
Senate Judiciary Committee.
Graves said he received a phone call shortly after New Year's Day 2006 from Michael
Battle, then director of the department's Executive Office for United States Attorneys.
Graves said Battle told him that department officials wanted to change leadership in
the Kansas City office, emphasizing "there are no performance issues."
That characterization is similar to the explanation that Bud Cummins, the former U.S.
attorney in Little Rock, has said he, too, was asked to leave. He was replaced by an
aide to President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove.
The seven other U.S. attorneys were all dismissed on a single day in December.
Graves said his conversation with Battle "made clear to me the fact I was getting
a push. I felt like I was no longer welcome in the department," he said. "It wasn't
like I was trying to hang on."
Battle did not respond to calls placed to his home and law office Wednesday night.
Graves announced his resignation March 10, 2006, and left the office two weeks
later.
A Justice Department spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse declined Wednesday to comment
on Graves' remarks.
Graves' name was included in Jan 9, 2006, list assembled by Gonzales' then-chief of
staff, D. Kyle Sampson, of seven U.S. attorneys the administration was considering
forcing from their jobs.
That April, Sampson sent other e-mail noting that two if the prosecutors on that list
had already left. Three names, including Graves' were redacted when Justice officials
released the January list.
Title: "Former U.S. attorney tells of ouster"
ppg: A10
Author: Amy Goldstein and Dan Eggen
Source: LA Times - Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The former U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo., Todd Graves said Wednesday
that he was asked to step down from his job by a senior Justice Department official in
January 2006, months before eight other federal prosecutors would be fired by the Bush
administration.
Graves said he was told simply that he should resign to "give another person a chance."
He said he did not oppose the department's request because he had already planned to
return to private practice.
He did, however, appeal to Missouri's senior senator to try to persuade the White House
to allow him to remain long enough to prosecute a final, important case - involving the
murder of a pregnant woman and kidnapping of her 8-month fetus. Justice Department
officials rejected the request.
The former prosecutor's disclosure, in an interview on the eve of a second appearance
today by Attorney Alberto Gonzales before lawmakers investigating the firings, means
that the administration began moving to replace U.S. attorneys five months earlier than
was previously known.
it also means that at least nine prosecutors were asked to resign last year, a deviation
from repeated suggestions by Gonzales and other senior Justice Department officials
in congressional testimony and other public statements that the firings did not extend
beyond the eight prosecutors already known to be forced out.
Gonzales is to testify before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, three
weeks after he was grilled on the issue by Democrats and Republicans alike on the
Senate Judiciary Committee.
Graves said he received a phone call shortly after New Year's Day 2006 from Michael
Battle, then director of the department's Executive Office for United States Attorneys.
Graves said Battle told him that department officials wanted to change leadership in
the Kansas City office, emphasizing "there are no performance issues."
That characterization is similar to the explanation that Bud Cummins, the former U.S.
attorney in Little Rock, has said he, too, was asked to leave. He was replaced by an
aide to President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove.
The seven other U.S. attorneys were all dismissed on a single day in December.
Graves said his conversation with Battle "made clear to me the fact I was getting
a push. I felt like I was no longer welcome in the department," he said. "It wasn't
like I was trying to hang on."
Battle did not respond to calls placed to his home and law office Wednesday night.
Graves announced his resignation March 10, 2006, and left the office two weeks
later.
A Justice Department spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse declined Wednesday to comment
on Graves' remarks.
Graves' name was included in Jan 9, 2006, list assembled by Gonzales' then-chief of
staff, D. Kyle Sampson, of seven U.S. attorneys the administration was considering
forcing from their jobs.
That April, Sampson sent other e-mail noting that two if the prosecutors on that list
had already left. Three names, including Graves' were redacted when Justice officials
released the January list.
