Fired US Attorney, McKay, "My job wasn't to serve the Republican Party,"

And he speaks out about Gonzales as well.

From Oregon Live:

If anybody knows why U.S. Attorney John McKay was fired, he'd like to know.

In a speech Thursday night at Portland State University celebrating the launch of the Sidney Lezak Fellowships Program, McKay theorized why he was dismissed from his post in western Washington last year, along with eight other U.S. attorneys.

Some members of Congress have called for U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign in the wake of the firings, which some suspect were politically motivated.

Snip

McKay addressed a crowd of about 200 lawyers, judges and others, including the current U.S. attorney for Oregon, Karin Immergut. He stressed keeping the criminal justice system independent from political influence.

McKay, who was appointed by the Bush administration in 2001, said he was added to a list in March 2005 of U.S. attorneys to be fired. The action followed a close governor's election in Washington in 2004, won by Democrat Chris Gregoire, which Republicans had wanted him to investigate. He did not.

"My job wasn't to serve the Republican Party," he said.

While McKay denounced what he called a failure of leadership in the Justice Department and White House, he bemoaned questioning the ethics of all the department's staffers, especially when they investigate corruption by public officials.

"It is a reservoir of trust," McKay said of the Justice Department. "And so to do damage to that is a travesty."

McKay said he and the other fired U.S. attorneys decided to speak up about their dismissals after Gonzales testified to Congress that he would not use a provision in the U.S. Patriot Act to appoint replacements without congressional confirmation -- something the attorneys viewed as a lie under oath.

"I would have taken personal disappointment and even personal attack," McKay said. "But I couldn't be part of a lie."

He said he was personally hurt by Gonzales' actions because he had worked closely with him in the past and told lawyer friends it was good news when Gonzales was confirmed as attorney general.

"I said, 'You're gonna like this guy -- he's humble, he's honest, he's hard-working, and he's smart," McKay said. "And he's proved me wrong."

Telling...

~~McKay said he and the other fired U.S. attorneys decided to speak up about their dismissals after Gonzales testified to Congress that he would not use a provision in the U.S. Patriot Act to appoint replacements without congressional confirmation -- something the attorneys viewed as a lie under oath.~~

The only way to stop this administration's corruption, lies, secrecy, is to start impeachment investigations. Although many think this would stop the business of the congress, much now is not being accomplished because there is still an imbalance there. And if we, as a nation, do not address these problems now, what will stop future administrations from trying to do the same thing. This already has happened twice in my lifetime. First the Nixon Admin and now the Bush admin. Wake up America!

Fired U. S. Attorney John McKay - Coverup?

McClathcy again. This time from the Olympian, reports the John McKay believes the Justice Department is covering up the real reason for his ouster.

Read the rest here.

“I can see why they would want to come up with an explanation other than the governor’s election for why I would be on such a list,” said McKay, the U.S. attorney for Western Washington until his firing in December.

McKay pointed to the revelation that he first appeared on the Bush administration firing list in 2005 during the heat of the furor over Washington state’s election for governor. Some Republicans were appalled that McKay didn’t bring charges of election fraud in the race won by Democrat Chris Gregoire.

“I still don’t know if the 2004 governor’s election was the principal reason I was asked to step down,” McKay said in a speech at the Mainstream Republicans of Washington’s Cascade Conference in Wenatchee.

“If it was, I think it is an entirely improper and perhaps illegal reason for my termination,” said McKay.

McKay said he led a federal investigation that found no evidence of a crime in the election. He made clear he still has huge concerns over the controversial election that resulted in a Gregoire victory on the second recount by just 133 votes out of almost 3 million cast.

“There is no doubt in my mind there were a lot of stinky, nasty things about that election,” McKay said in an interview.

But prosecuting a federal crime requires proof of more than just mistakes and incompetence in the handling of ballots, he said.

What I get from this is that the DOJ and the White House wanted these US attorneys to trump up charges against the Dems. This way the Republicans have a comeback when the Dems call fowl on legitimate problems with elections. I'm not saying this doesn't happen on the Dem's side, but election problems have been prevelent since the Republicans took office.

McKay and Iglesias Say Charges may result from USAs Firing

From the Seattle Times:

Two former U.S. attorneys said today they believe ongoing investigations into the dismissals last year of eight federal prosecutors could result in criminal charges against senior Justice Department officials.

John McKay, the former U.S. attorney for Western Washington, and David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, also said they believe White House political operative Karl Rove and his aides instigated the dismissals and ultimately decided who among the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys should be fired.

McKay and Iglesias, who were among those fired, made their assertions during a meeting this morning with Seattle Times editors and reporters. The two are scheduled to appear this afternoon along with Paul Charlton, the former U.S. attorney for Arizona, during a public-policy forum on the dismissals at Seattle University's School of Law.

"I think there will be a criminal case that will come out of this," McKay said during his meeting with Times journalists. "This is going to get worse, not better."

McKay cited ongoing investigations into the dismissals by the Senate and House Judiciary committees, and inquiries now under way by the Justice Department's inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility.

McKay said he believes obstruction-of-justice charges will be filed if investigators conclude that the dismissal of any of the eight prosecutors was motivated by an attempt to influence ongoing public-corruption or voter-fraud investigations.

But is Gonzales worried? His opening statement for tomorrow's hearing starts out with an arrogant statement to the House Judiciary Committee.

From Think Progress:

Gonzales to Congress: Move on. In his opening statement to be read at tomorrow’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales challenges Congress to “move on” past the U.S. Attorney scandal and allow “the Justice Department to focus on its mission: fighting crime.”

Fredo....not a great opening statement to a House that can impeach you!!