Saturday, June 23, 2007

Another Justice Department official leaves sinking ship


Acting associate attorney general William Mercer withdrew his appointment to the position Friday, becoming the latest of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' associates to leave the Justice Department as the investigation continues into the firing of nine U. S. attorneys:

Mercer's departure means that nearly all of Gonzales's top aides, including Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, have tendered their resignations within the past four months.

"The attorney general is running out of fall guys," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), one of Gonzales's congressional critics. "Six resignations into the U.S. attorney firing scandal, the attorney general inexplicably still acts as though he has the confidence and support of the country. He has neither."

Among the attorneys fired was Bud Cummins of Arkansas, who was in the middle of an investigation into the awarding of Missouri license fee offices when he was asked to step down.

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