Inspector General’s Report Calls for Appointment of Special Prosecutor

For many months, some of us have been calling for a special prosecutor to handle allegations of criminality in the Bush Administration, particularly with regard to unlawful surveillance, torture, and political firings. Now the Inspector General has called for such an appointment to further investigate the removal of nine U.S. Attorneys — adding pressure to Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

On page 357- 358, the IG states:

The most serious allegation that we were not able to fully investigate related to the removal of David Iglesias, the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, and the allegation that he was removed to influence voter fraud and public corruption prosecutions. We recommend that a counsel specially appointed by the Attorney General assess the facts we have uncovered, work with us to conduct further investigation, and ultimately determine whether the evidence demonstrates that any criminal offense was committed with regard to the removal of Iglesias or any other U.S. Attorney, or the testimony of any witness related to the U.S. Attorney removals.

Mukasey has been obstructing any effort to submit cases to grand juries (in congressional contempt cases) as well as any serious investigation into allegedly criminal programs on surveillance and torture. It will be hard for him to now refuse such a demand from his own internal watchdog office. It is also bad news for Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson who are at the heart of allegations of wrongdoing. There is also the risk of possible perjury or obstruction charges for some of the Justice Department officials who testified like Alberto Gonzales and Monica Goodling etc.

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