Memo describes installing unconfirmed prosecutors

~snip~

In a September 2003 memo, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, which answers legal questions for the president and his appointees, described a way to install a replacement US attorney who could serve up to 330 days without Senate confirmation.

But the memo also said that any appointee would eventually still have to win confirmation from the Senate or be approved by a federal court to continue serving. Two years later, the administration quietly got a provision inserted into the USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill giving itself the power to permanently appoint replacement US attorneys without Senate or court approval.

That provision was a key component in the planning for what became a mass firing of eight US attorneys last year, documents have shown. Administration officials have told congressional investigators that the idea of firing US attorneys first arose shortly after the 2004 election

While the memo suggests that the administration had considered replacing US attorneys as early as 2003, Guy Lewis -- the official who requested the opinion -- said he was not aware of any plan to dismiss them all at once. Lewis was director of the Executive Office of US Attorneys, which oversees federal prosecutor offices, from 2002 to 2004.

more:http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/04/28/memo_describes_installing_unconfirmed_prosecutors/

The whole con is based on the assumption that Congress would never change hands. Lord, are they screwed now! The fat lady is singing her guts out, and swinging her torch! (Lady Liberty, that is)