[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 35 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H2043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    ETHICS IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Madam Speaker, today's Washington Post details more 
allegations of political influence in the recent firing of eight U.S. 
attorneys. Yesterday, in a press conference, a New Mexico U.S. 
Attorney, David Iglesias, asserted that he was fired for purely 
political reasons. The reason? Mr. Iglesias says that prior to November 
elections, two elected officials, Federal elected officials, asked him 
to speed up the probes of local politicians. He did the right thing, 
refused; and now he is fired.
  We know that the White House officials intervened and replaced 
seasoned prosecutors with individuals short on experience but long on 
political ties. I thought that is what FEMA was for.
  Yet Attorney General Gonzalez said he would never ever dismiss 
attorneys for political reasons. So this administration either 
originally hired incompetent U.S. Attorneys in the first place or hired 
competent U.S. Attorneys, but incompetently fired them. Which is it?
  Many Americans believe these U.S. Attorneys are not being fired 
because they failed to go after public corruption, but because they did 
and were successful.
  This Congress will not sit idly by. Madam Speaker, this Congress 
passed the most sweeping ethics changes since Watergate. We're cleaning 
up our mess. It's time the Justice Department did the same.

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