The Party's Out of Step

Posting has been sporadic because of continual internet connection problems. In addition to several extended tech support phone calls, Verizon has been dispatched twice (so far -- with the 3rd visit pending) to fix phone/DSL problems. Grr, they are on the verge of forcing me to switch to Comcast!

In any event, I wanted to continue my Pennsylvania theme, with another post on the Western part of the state. Earlier posts touched on the funfilled divorce antics of Richard Mellon Scaife and my favorite terrorist, Rick Santorum. Seems like all roads lead to Pittsburgh (my old stomping grounds) these days.

For this installment, the focus is on the U.S. Attorney scandal, which has generated less press these days, since Alberto Gonzales has departed. Part of the remnants of that reign is the politicization of the Department of Justice and the US Attorneys office.

A well known (and respected) name in Pennsylvania politics is that of Dick Thornburgh, a former Governor and Attorney General. Although at one time I would have labeled him a conservative Republican, at this point I suppose he would be considered a moderate. He has joined the ranks of those few (albeit growing number) republicans who are speaking out against the abuses and excesses of the Bush Administration.

As the Washington Post reports, Ex-Attorney General Says Politics Drove Federal Prosecution:

Richard L. Thornburgh, who served as attorney general under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, accused the Justice Department yesterday of prosecuting a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat for political reasons, one of a series of cases singled out by House Democrats as examples of alleged GOP meddling at the Justice Department.

Thornburgh, who served as attorney general from 1988 to 1991 and whose law firm represents Cyril Wecht, a nationally known coroner from Pittsburgh, testified yesterday that Wecht had been indicted for mail fraud and a "hodgepodge" of other charges by overzealous prosecutors keen on pleasing political appointees in Washington.

"He has always been a contentious, outspoken, highly critical and highly visible Democratic figure in western Pennsylvania," Thornburgh told the House Judiciary Committee. "In other words, he would qualify as an ideal target for a Republican U.S. attorney trying to curry favor with a department which demonstrated that if you play by its rules, you will advance."

Thornburgh also said that Wecht "was not the only apparent political prosecution in western Pennsylvania," pointing to three high-profile cases of other local Democrats brought by U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan of Pittsburgh.

TPM describes the issues that made Thornburgh step forward in Persecution of The Body Snatcher:

Thornburgh is one of Wecht's defense lawyers, and his complaints stem from what he's called the "sheer intensity" of the investigation, which involves relatively minor accusations that Thornburgh says should have been handled by the state ethics commission.

As a means of showing the relative triviality of the charges (the 84-count indictment doesn't put a price tag on Wecht's fraud), Wecht's lawyers have calculated that the cumulative cost for the 37 charges in the indictment that involve improperly charging the county for gasoline and mileage costs add up to $1,778.55. The most colorful of the charges, of course, involve the elaborate body snatching scheme: prosecutors allege that Wecht gave a local Catholic university unclaimed bodies in exchange for laboratory space.

The source of the investigation's "intensity" is U.S. Attorney for Pittsburgh Mary Beth Buchanan, a member of the DoJ's inner circle who played a role in the U.S. attorney firings. It's not the first time that Buchanan has drawn fire. During the heat of the scandal, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the district (from 1995-2000, before Buchanan took over) publicly called on Buchanan to resign because of "the extent to which she has looked to Washington for direction and political advancement." Or to put it in plainer terms: Buchanan has prosecuted a number of Democrats but no Republicans.

According to Wecht's lawyers, Thornburgh among them, Buchanan's office was single-minded in their pursuit of their high-profile quarry. Although Wecht holds the modest position of county coroner, he's a prominent Democrat in the state, even once running for the Senate in 1982. And it's only a minor exaggeration to say that he's made an appearance in just about every well-known murder case in the past 30 years, including O.J. Simpson, JonBenet Ramsey, Vincent W. Foster Jr., Martha von Bülow, not to mention Elvis Presley and both Kennedy brothers.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also describes the to be expected assault on Thornburgh for speaking out, Wecht arguments go to Washington:

"Your testimony, to be blunt, is the most pathetic example of speculation and innuendo and hearsay that I have seen in seven years on this committee," said Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla., during a joint hearing of two House judiciary subcommittees. "It's so far-fetched I'm almost embarrassed to be an attorney listening to it."

Mr. Thornburgh, himself a Republican and a lawyer for a firm representing Dr. Wecht, vigorously defended his client, who was indicted last year on 84 counts -- including mail fraud, wire fraud, and theft from an organization that receives federal funds -- and faces trial in January.

"It is not the type of case normally constituting a federal 'corruption' case brought against a local official," said Mr. Thornburgh, who served as Pennsylvania's governor from 1979 to 1987 and was the U.S. attorney for Pittsburgh from 1969 to 1975. "There is no allegation that Dr. Wecht ever solicited or received a bribe or kickback. There is no allegation that Dr. Wecht traded on a conflict of interest in conducting the affairs of his selected office."

He argued that many of the counts represent an overly "expansive" use of federal power to criminalize inconsequential actions, such as the improper use of the coroner's fax machine for private work.

For more on this issue, see also, Former AG Unsparing in Criticism of Bush DoJ, Former AG Thornburgh Says Prosecution Was Political and A Primer in Political Persecution. For my previous post on Mary Beth Buchanan, see The Devotee.

And I would also point out that Thornburgh is Of Counsel to Kirkpatrick & Gates, a white-shoe Republican firm in Pittsburgh (I should know, I spent a number of years there a million years ago). See, All the President's Men. In fact, I've noticed that the firm name is not often mentioned in press reports on the case; most likely, the firm wants to keep a low profile because of the side of the aisle they ended up on in this matter.

Finally, and truthfully what is most surprising -- nay, shocking -- to me about this is the fact that Republicans are breaking rank with the Bush Administration in increasing numbers. This is the party that I have routinely referred to as the "Stepford Party," see Imagine that, because they march in lockstep and brook no dissent.

The importance of long-time faithful party members, such as Dick Thornburgh, to come forward in this manner to confront the powers that be tells me that things are truly out of kilter and that it's not just my liberal lunatic ramblings. If anything, things are probably even worse than I imagine.

UPDATE: On the heels of my post, Atrios noted that the Stepford Party rules have been around for a long time. Quoting a May 1966 issue of Time Magazine, Parkinson's Law, he notes that the rule emanated from California GOP Chair Gaylord Parkinson:

In hopes of damping down the perennial feud between California's Republican moderates and conservatives—and thus lessening Democratic Governor Pat Brown's third-term prospects—State G.O.P. Chairman Gaylord Parkinson last fall handed the troops an Eleventh Commandment. 'Thou shall not speak ill of any Republican,' he ruled, and to everyone's surprise, Parkinson's law became holy writ.

Tags: News, Politics, Attorneygate, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Law