Friday, April 20, 2007
Almost Better Than Blueberries.
Before it disappears into cyberspace, let me copy and paste this for your reading enjoyment.
It’s been an embarrassing time of late for Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter.I know what you're thinking. Move along, nothing to see here. ¶ 1:31 PM
Last December, eight U.S. attorneys were fired by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; three said they were let go for purely political reasons. At the center of this controversy is Section 502 of the PATRIOT Reauthorization Act of 2005. This provision, which was added to the bill’s conference report and thus was never heard in a congressional committee, made it possible for Gonzales to replace U.S. attorneys without Senate approval.
It was soon determined that this language could only have been inserted into the Patriot Act by Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time, or a member of his staff. Specter has adamantly denied he tried to slip in any such change and said that the provision was as much a surprise to him as it was to everyone else. Where, then, did it come from?
