[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 45 (Thursday, March 15, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H2574]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ``SMOKING MEMO''

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Madam Speaker, in a memo sent to the White House, the 
Justice Department laid out a plan to replace seven U.S. Attorneys who 
were cracking down on public corruption. This ``smoking memo'' seems to 
confirm that this administration targeted U.S. Attorneys involved in 
ongoing public corruption cases.
  Today, as we learn more about the Attorney General's failure of 
leadership, many are eager to debate the future of Attorney General 
Gonzales and whether he will remain in office. But as we examine how 
these U.S. Attorneys were fired, we must not lose sight of the real 
story. What is happening to these ongoing public corruption 
investigations, from southern California to Nevada to Arizona to New 
Mexico?
  The fired U.S. Attorneys were aggressively investigating public 
corruption cases and they were fired ostensibly for job performance, 
which in this White House means you're guilty of doing your job. I 
don't suppose any of these U.S. Attorneys will receive the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom award.
  The question some of us want to know is where are these public 
corruption cases today? As Washington debates whether Alberto Gonzales, 
the Attorney General, survives by the weekend, some of us want to know 
whether we can bring back to life these public corruption 
investigations in these five jurisdictions.

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