http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/03/20/the_us_attorney_mess/So what's new here? Though it's common to replace incumbent US attorneys, it's unusual to do it so selectively, especially in the middle of a president's second term. It is more unusual to base the terminations so publicly on alleged poor performance in office. US attorneys are proud and ambitious people, and questioning their competence is tantamount to throwing down the gantlet.
Obviously, if the removal of any of the eight US attorneys is tied to an effort to affect the outcome of ongoing investigations, or if it becomes apparent that senior officials deliberately misled Congress, then this becomes a different story. As President Bush said on March 14, "Mistakes were made . . . the fact that both Republicans and Democrats feel like there was not straightforward communication troubles me."
It ought to.
op-ed by former assistant AG under Reagan second term and Bush I