Abramoff Prosecutor Steps Down After Promoted by Bush
 |
James Joyner | Friday, January 27, 2006 |
NYT reports that, “The investigation of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a surprising new turn on Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush.”
Karl Rove is clearly losing his touch. While I am reasonably sure the appointment is above board–there was a reason he was put in charge of a high profile case like this to begin with, after all–it is positively dumb timing from a public relations standpoint.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
Follow James on FriendFeed | Twitter | Digg
- None Found
- Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator linked with ‘I don’t know him’
Surprisingly, I think this might actually be above-board... from what I've heard, the guy was originally tapped for this as early as last spring.
Of course, it remains to be seen what sort of person he gets replaced with...
Wait --- it's bad timing to promote the guy who charged, and got a guilty pleas from, Abramoff?
So they shouldn't reward him?
Charlie: The investigation is ongoing. Taking the head guy out therefore disrupts it.
While I am reasonably sure the appointment is above board--there was a reason he was put in charge of a high profile case like this to begin with, after all--it is positively dumb timing from a public relations standpoint.
You may not like Karl Rove, James, but he is not stupid nor inclined to do things that may be perceived as irrational with regards to public relations.
Rove is a political realist and it is pretty clear that the Abramoff corruption investigation has a good chance of spinning out of control for the White House. This is a clear move towards disrupting the investigation. The White House may take some knocks for this, but Rove is clearly hedging his bet that enduring slightly damaging criticism now is preferable to enduring widespread condemnation at a later date.
Comments are Closed
