Fired US Attorney, Bud Cummins is not happy!

Bud Cummins, at first, was not really joining the others. When he spoke on TV of the firings, he soft soaped the Bush admin and the DOJ. Not any more!!!

From the Times Record:

Fired federal prosecutor Bud Cummins took strong exception Thursday to testimony by a former Justice Department official about the firings of Cummins and seven
other U.S. attorneys.

Cummins objected to the testimony of Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in Sampson’s appearance Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sampson told senators he believed each of the federal prosecutors fired late last year by the Justice Department was replaced because of problems related to his or her performance in office.

“If they’re starting to say that I had performance problems, then I have the same gripe the other seven have, because it’s a lie,” said Cummins, a Republican Bush appointee who was removed as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas and replaced by Tim Griffin, former assistant to White House political adviser Karl Rove.

Cummins said if he were to comment further on Sampson’s testimony, “I’d need a censor.”

Sampson appeared to contradict the previous testimony of Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, who told senators in February that Cummins was removed to make room for Griffin and not because of performance-related problems.

However, Sampson also said he believes the distinction between “political” and
“performance-related” reasons for removing a U.S. attorney is an artificial distinction.

While Sampson was testifying Thursday in Washington, Cummins spoke and answered questions at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock. He also met with reporters after his talk.

Cummins said in his Little Rock speech he was “astounded” by Sampson’s suggestion that political success and success as a prosecutor are one and the same.

snip

He acknowledged that U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president and can be removed for any reason. But he said he is troubled by evidence suggesting some prosecutors were pressured about specific cases, including David Iglesias of New Mexico, who has said he felt “leaned on” by Republican members of Congress concerning the investigation of a local Democrat.

Nothing could have a more chilling effect on prosecutors than knowing that pursuing the wrong case or resisting pressure to obtain an indictment means that “you’re going to be gone,” Cummins said. Cummins said he never would have come forward to talk about his firing if Justice Department officials had not stated that at least some of the fired U.S. attorneys were removed for performance-related problems.

Ahhh! The worm is turning. It's like watching a soap opera! But much more important. Stay tuned,