Bush-Loyal U.S. Attorney Refuses To Vacate Post

As Think Progress reports. when a new president is elected, U.S. attorneys generally submit their resignations to make way for the new appointees. But one loyal Bushie isn't ready to quit:

Despite a new administration coming into power, U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said she plans to stick around.

"It doesn't serve justice for all the U.S. attorneys to submit their resignations all at one time," she said yesterday.

Ms. Buchanan was appointed by President George W. Bush in September 2001. During her tenure, she has served in several high-profile positions within the Justice Department, including as director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys from May 2004 to June 2005.

That role led to her being called before congressional investigators last year to talk about the firings of federal prosecutors around the nation in 2006. Ms. Buchanan said she had little if any involvement in the firings, and a report issued in September by the Justice Department found no wrongdoing on her part.

Comments

[billrott]

They are taking votes:

http://www.theagitator.com/2008/12/22/monday-morning-poll-the-2nd-annual-worst-prosecutor-of-the-year-wopoty-award/#comment-220939

[billrott]

Articles on Buchanan's record:

http://www.reason.com/news/show/122263.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07079/770820-109.stm
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/130413.html?success=1#lastpost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Beth_Buchanan
http://www.wpxi.com/news/13366676/detail.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06326/740403-85.stm
http://kdka.com/topstories/Brian.Wells.collar.2.389997.html
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1112812884&channel=570698209
http://doctordeluca.com/Library/WOD/CriminalCriminalJustice08.pdf
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/opinion/24tierney.html?_r=1
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A28537
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/09/12/location-privacy-gets-a-boost-in-pennsylvania-ruling/#comments
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/11/01/debating-the-thompson-memorandum/#comments
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/02/01/obscenity-prosecution-do-you-know-it-when-you-read-it/#comments

[PennLawyer]

Ms. Buchanan has been a devotee of the (Bush) administration's policies. She has aided the effort to inflate the law-enforcement successes in the war on terror by misclassifying routine immigration and false-document cases as "anti-terrorism cases." For a time, the Western Pennsylvania District topped the nation in the number of "anti-terrorism" prosecutions, largely because dozens of Iraqi immigrant truck-drivers were prosecuted for paying off a motor-vehicles official to obtain commercial-drivers licenses. All of them did it to get work; none had terroristic intentions; all received sentences of probation.

(From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette - March 20,2007

[Blabrmouth]

How long does she think it is going to take for Rham Emanuel to fire her ass?

[Ourrias]

Fire her ass - YESTERDAY!

[billrott]

I guess she did not get the Bolten memo??

http://lostintransition.nationaljournal.com/2008/12/bush-resign-bolten-letter.php

[billrott]

More Buchanan case examples from the WSJ:

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/09/12/location-privacy-gets-a-boost-in-pennsylvania-ruling/#comments
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/11/01/debating-the-thompson-memorandum/#comments
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/02/01/obscenity-prosecution-do-you-know-it-when-you-read-it/#comments

[shadow322]

I am sure that "she thinks she is needed" in the new administration - but who among us gets to make these decisions for our new bosses? This looks like it's just motre Republican arrogance! Just out of curiosity - where did she get her degree? So many Bush lawyers got their degrees from right wing religious institutions. Most of these were involved in the firings of the fereral regulators that were later found to be politically motivated.

[Joseph A. Palermo - Huffpost Blogger]

Hey, Ms. B, you're gone! Or did you just win a national election or something?

[billrott]

Joseph,

You really need to read up on this one. Here are just a handful of news stories

http://www.reason.com/news/show/122263.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07079/770820-109.stm
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/130413.html?success=1#lastpost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Beth_Buchanan
http://www.wpxi.com/news/13366676/detail.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06326/740403-85.stm
http://kdka.com/topstories/Brian.Wells.collar.2.389997.html
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1112812884&channel=570698209
http://doctordeluca.com/Library/WOD/CriminalCriminalJustice08.pdf
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/opinion/24tierney.html?_r=1
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A28537

[karmafriend]

she wants obama to fire her for the publicity, so that she can move into politics.

obama shouldn't fire her, but he should just transfer her ass to alaska, idaho, north dakota, montana or idaho.

nyuk

[concordia]

Mary Beth? Yeah. Hi. Just wanted to let you know that we went ahead and moved your desk to the basement, soooooooooooo if you could get down there with a can of insecticide and look for the roaches that would be great.

Thaaaaaaaanks.

[Scottso]

^^ Office Space ^^ Do I win anything!?!?!

[brenner21]

Her claim to fame in making us a safer nation is busting Tommy Chong for selling bongs.

[billrott]

To all those that wish to defend Ms. Buchanan and attribute her probably termination to the U.S. Attorney Firing Scandal associated with terminating U.S. Attorneys who refused to file frivoulous voter fraud cases or go on fishing expeditions of Democrats only, I implore you to please read up on Ms. Buchanan

http://www.reason.com/news/show/122263.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07079/770820-109.stm
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/130413.html?success=1#lastpost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Beth_Buchanan
http://www.wpxi.com/news/13366676/detail.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06326/740403-85.stm
http://kdka.com/topstories/Brian.Wells.collar.2.389997.html
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1112812884&channel=570698209
http://doctordeluca.com/Library/WOD/CriminalCriminalJustice08.pdf
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/opinion/24tierney.html?_r=1
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A28537

Politics aside, is this the person you want in charge of the unlimited resources of the federal justice system?

[slowtono]

This will be so good!! As the Demos complained about firings, which placed Gonzales in a situation, that has Chenny and Gonzales in Texas right now, Mary B. is in a great position to make the Demo government squirm. Or be left alone. Can some one firer someone? Troopergate democrats say no. Ah..ah..ah Demmie babies the shoes on the other foot. Enjoy the moment!

[billrott]

Please read up and review the history of Ms. Buchanan prior to making such statements. She is not a good example for the argument you wish to wage. Out of just plain competence, she is lacking.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/122263.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07079/770820-109.stm
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/130413.html?success=1#lastpost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Beth_Buchanan
http://www.wpxi.com/news/13366676/detail.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06326/740403-85.stm
http://kdka.com/topstories/Brian.Wells.collar.2.389997.html
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1112812884&channel=570698209
http://doctordeluca.com/Library/WOD/CriminalCriminalJustice08.pdf
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/opinion/24tierney.html?_r=1
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A28537

[billrott]

I will also point out that this is the problem of partisan politics. People put on ideological blinders in arguments prior to looking at the facts. Since when is it partisan to want someone competent in a position.

I miss the days of competent Republicans coming out of my hometown. People such as U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and others. Instead, we get incompetent political lackies who's only ability seems to be to be able to donate enough money to certain individuals in order to get a political appointment.

[brantl]

Apparently you're an idiot. These apointments are made every 4 years, and she can be fired as a matter of course. The 9 attorneys weren't fired for bad job performance (as most of them could very easily prove by producing their glowing job performances. She has stunk up the palce and can be removed easily.

[thromulese]

She doesn"t want to go because she is not finished her assigned duty of destroying the justice system.

She no doubt has some more justice to subvert, constitutional rights to ignore, a democrat to target, innocents to spy on or a CIA agent to expose.

[Runruff]

"DEA officials and prosecutors held press conferences boasting of the doctors they'd nabbed. Many of these prosecutions were dubious".

My wife and I were raided by these thugs. 40 of them with high tech automatic weapons. They were dressed like those guys in Star Wars in white armor only the DEA wore black. I don't own a gun.

I was growing my legal medicine and some for some sick people to sick to grow their own. In my state I was legal.

I did two years in a BoP medical facility 3,000 miles from my home at a tax payer cost of $500. a day.
I had to be treated for heart disease and glaucoma at your expense. Thanks for that.

But the DEA=Waffen SS plain and simple and it took a dastardly crook like Nixon to come up with anything so unAmerican.