6598 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 153, Pt. 5 March 19, 2007 SENATE—Monday, March 19, 2007 The Senate met at 2 p.m. and was FIRING OF U.S. ATTORNEYS permitted to carry out their solemn called to order by the Honorable MARK Mr. REID. Mr. President, in today’s duties without any political inter- L. PRYOR, a Senator from the State of Congressional Weekly, a respected pub- ference. Arkansas. lication we get back there, there is a No one disputes the authority of the column on the last page by Craig President to name U.S. attorneys at PRAYER Crawford which I think is quite illu- the beginning of his term, subject to The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- minating. It is entitled ‘‘The Firing the advice and consent of the Senate. fered the following prayer: Squad Backfires.’’ But it is unprecedented that U.S. at- Let us pray: The fingerprints of the President’s top ad- torneys be terminated in the middle of Lord, You have promised to work for visers are all over the prosecutors’ firing a Presidential term without proper the good of those who love You. Work scandal, which means trouble for Bush. cause. It is unacceptable for U.S. attor- in the lives of our lawmakers, Here is the first sentence: neys to be replaced because they were strengthening them for every problem, Of all the scandals that increasingly be- perceived by the White House to be in- trial, and temptation they face. Open devil George W. Bush’s Presidency, none has sufficiently partisan or too aggressive their eyes to see Your hand at work more direct ties to the President than the in prosecuting public corruption. even in adversity and keep them faith- flap over firing Federal prosecutors. It appears that administration offi- ful to You. I rise today to express my strong sup- cials took advantage of a provision Lord, may their lives become models port of S. 214, Senator FEINSTEIN’s leg- that they insisted be included in the of godly living as You empower them islation to strengthen the independ- PATRIOT Act reauthorization con- to live worthy of Your Name. Help ence of U.S. attorneys. There is grow- ference report last year. Now it is be- them to be quick to hear, slow to ing evidence that the Bush administra- coming clear why they stuck that pro- speak, and slow to become angry. Be tion fired Federal prosecutors for im- vision in there. This was a plan they their refuge and strength, an ever proper partisan reasons. This legisla- had for some time. That law reversed a present help in trouble. Empower them tion is needed to protect the integrity longstanding procedure that allowed to maintain justice and to constantly of the Federal criminal justice system the chief Federal judge in the Federal do what is right. Teach them Your and the autonomy of the chief Federal district court to appoint a temporary ways and give them Your peace. prosecutors across the country. replacement while the permanent We pray in Your holy Name. Amen. The U.S. attorney scandal is another nominee undergoes Senate confirma- example of the arrogance of power. As tion. The Feinstein bill simply restores f Lord Acton said, power tends to cor- the pre-PATRIOT Act procedure. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE rupt, and absolute power tends to cor- Conflicting testimony and recently rupt absolutely. For too long, the Bush released e-mails strongly suggest the The Honorable MARK L. PRYOR led administration—shielded from over- American people are not getting from the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: sight by a Republican-dominated Con- the Bush administration the full story I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the gress—enjoyed absolute power, and about this scandal. United States of America, and to the Repub- they abused it. In the State of Nevada, as an exam- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, After all, this was a President who ple, Daniel Bogden, a highly respected indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. won two elections by the barest of mar- career prosecutor, was forced to step f gins, first by the Supreme Court. Yet down. His chosen vocation in life was after 9/11, instead of uniting the coun- to be a Federal prosecutor. He worked APPOINTMENT OF ACTING try, he has chosen to push the envelope as an assistant U.S. attorney for a sig- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE of his authority. On everything from nificant period of time before chosen to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the runup to the war in Iraq, to the be the U.S. attorney by a Republican, clerk will please read a communication plan to destroy Social Security, to the JOHN ENSIGN, and by the President, to the Senate from the President pro use of warrantless wiretapping, this ad- who sent his name to us. We were ini- tempore [Mr. BYRD]. ministration has governed without tially told that Bogden and others were The assistant legislative clerk read compromise. fired for ‘‘performance-related rea- the following letter: The political purge of U.S. attorneys sons.’’ But that explanation proved to be totally bogus. In fact, Dan Bogden’s U.S. SENATE, is only the latest example of this Presi- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, dent’s unhealthy disregard for checks personnel review was glowing. We still Washington, DC, March 19, 2007. and balances. Speedy passage of this don’t know why Dan Bogden was fired. To the Senate: bill is only the first step the Senate What we do know is under the new PA- Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, must take to deal with the administra- TRIOT Act provision, Mr. Bogden could of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby tion’s dangerous power grab. be replaced by someone with no ties to appoint the Honorable MARK L. PRYOR, a We need to get to the bottom of this Nevada, and with no input from the Senator from the State of Arkansas, to per- scandal to find out why these U.S. at- Senate. The damage done to Bogden form the duties of the Chair. torneys were fired. We need to find out personally is irreparable. He can’t ROBERT C. BYRD, President pro tempore. whether the Attorney General and his work now as assistant U.S. attorney. deputies testified truthfully when they That is part of the process. That is too Mr. PRYOR thereupon assumed the first explained the firings to Congress bad. He is a fine man whose reputation chair as Acting President pro tempore. and the American people. has been besmirched. f Federal prosecutors are enormously Meanwhile, we learned of a scheme powerful individuals. They are the em- hatched in the White House to replace RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY bodiment of Federal criminal law. all U.S. attorneys. At least one U.S. at- LEADER They make life-and-death decisions torney has stated he was forced to re- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- about who to prosecute and who should sign because he refused to bend to po- pore. The majority leader is recog- receive leniency. Their discretion is litical pressure regarding ongoing in- nized. largely unreviewable. They must be vestigations. Others were fired under ● This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. VerDate Sep 11 2014 11:23 Jun 27, 2017 Jkt 059102 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\FDSYS\BOUNDRECORD\BOOK_5\LOC_FILES\BR19MR07.DAT BR19MR07 ejoyner on DSK30MW082PROD with BOUND RECORD March 19, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 153, Pt. 5 6599 circumstances that raise the same PRESERVING UNITED STATES AT- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- question. In the State of Arkansas, the TORNEY INDEPENDENCE ACT OF pore. Under the previous order, the U.S. attorney was fired and replaced by 2007 committee-reported amendment is one of Karl Rove’s underlings. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- agreed to and the motion to reconsider The Attorney General and his depu- pore. Under the previous order, the is laid upon the table. ties told Congress these firings were Senate will proceed to the consider- Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I not politically motivated. But accord- ation of S. 214. suggest the absence of a quorum. ing to newly released e-mails, White The clerk will report the bill by title. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- House political operatives such as Mr. The assistant legislative clerk read pore. The clerk will call the roll. Rove were involved in the decision- as follows: The assistant legislative clerk pro- making. Kyl Sampson, who eventually ceeded to call the roll. became Chief of Staff to Attorney Gen- A bill (S. 214) to amend chapter 35 of title 28, United States Code, to preserve the inde- Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I eral Gonzales, wrote an e-mail that dis- pendence of the United States Attorneys. ask unanimous consent that the order tinguished between those U.S. attor- for the quorum call be rescinded. neys who were ‘‘loyal Bushies’’ and There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill which The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- those who were not. Dan Bogden and pore. Without objection, it is so or- other U.S. attorneys who were fired had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, with an amendment, dered. last December were not ‘‘loyal Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I as follows: Bushies.’’ rise today to speak in support of S. 214, What I am worried about—and it (The part of the bill intended to be stricken is shown in boldface brackets the bill the leader just referred to.