I Hope They Perp-Walk The Guy, That'll Be Fun
Published by BG on Sunday, June 17, 2007 at 3:35 PM.A Bush Administration official not named "Scooter" is about to be sentenced for obstruction in the Abramoff case, and emptywheel at The Next Hurrah has a reminder of what's going to put Steve Griles in the clink for the next six to ten months. As the #2 man at the Department of Interior, Griles claims it was part of his job to work closely with lobbyists like Abramoff, and that his activities in the DOI shouldn't have been subject to the congressional oversight that earned him his obstruction charges in the first place.
Actually, I think he's just bitter because he obstructed justice and didn't have the Gonzales/Doan/Schlozman "I don't recall" playbook available to him for his testimony a couple years back. Take this quote from Griles' sentencing brief, for instance:
The Next Hurrah: Throwing Another Admin Official in Jail for Obstruction
Boo hoo. Monica Goodling gets immunity, why wasn't I smart enough to stonewall congress and get it for myself?
Too funny. There is one place, though, where I think emptywheel's analysis comes off the rails:
Huh. I always thought it was a government of Dick Cheney, by Dick Cheney, for Dick Cheney. Or was it a government of cronies, by cronies, for cronies? Or a government of neocon fearmongers, by neocon fearmongers, for neocon fearmongers?
Eh, tomato/tomatoe...
Actually, I think he's just bitter because he obstructed justice and didn't have the Gonzales/Doan/Schlozman "I don't recall" playbook available to him for his testimony a couple years back. Take this quote from Griles' sentencing brief, for instance:
The Next Hurrah: Throwing Another Admin Official in Jail for Obstruction
This issue (of the congressional oversight "perjury trap" administration officials believe they can avoid by failing to remember instead of being forthright) has been recently debated in connection with the failure of a former official in the Department of Justice to testify before Congress for fear of a "perilous environment in which to testify," forcing a political standoff in which the former official was granted immunity. Charges of lying to and obstructing Congress have been thrown about against the very authorities seeking to impose a prison sentence on Mr. Griles.
Boo hoo. Monica Goodling gets immunity, why wasn't I smart enough to stonewall congress and get it for myself?
Too funny. There is one place, though, where I think emptywheel's analysis comes off the rails:
For his part, Griles seems to be cynically protecting the entire premise of the Bush Administration: A government of the lobbyist, by the lobbyist, for the lobbyist.
Huh. I always thought it was a government of Dick Cheney, by Dick Cheney, for Dick Cheney. Or was it a government of cronies, by cronies, for cronies? Or a government of neocon fearmongers, by neocon fearmongers, for neocon fearmongers?
Eh, tomato/tomatoe...
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