Charged With Leading Ethics Inquiry Into Firings, Cornyn ‘Doesn’t See What Hubbub Is All About’

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/23/cornyn-hubbub/

Charged With Leading Ethics Inquiry Into Firings, Cornyn ‘Doesn’t See What Hubbub Is All About’

Nearly two weeks ago, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) called for a Senate ethics inquiry into whether Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) improperly pressured U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to bring indictments in an ongoing probe of a Democrat shortly before the November elections.

The Senate Ethics Manual says it is “the general advice” of the Ethics Committee that senators should refrain from intervening in pending legal actions. Domenici quickly hired former Rep. Duke Cunningham’s (R-CA) lawyer to defend him.

According to committee rules, an automatic preliminary inquiry was triggered once CREW issued its sworn complaint. But it’s doubtful that the inquiry will get a fair shake. Why? Because the ranking member of the Senate Ethics Committee is Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

Cornyn has railed against Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for having “already reached a verdict.” But Cornyn himself has said that he doesn’t see what “all the hubbub is all about.” Cornyn has also called Schumer’s push for a deeper investigation into the attorney firings a “political circus or a witch hunt.” Watch it at link:

“I think there’s some who would like to make a decision and then maybe see if the facts come out later,” Cornyn added. “I think that’s the wrong order.” Exactly.