Richie to Cornyn: Recuse yourself

The idea of Sen. John Cornyn on an ethics committee is ludicrous on its face, since Cornyn has shown no willingness or ability to use any criteria besides partisan considerations for making a decision. Asking him to judge Sen. Pete Dominici’s actions regarding the US Attorney purge adds an extra layer of ridiculousness, given the public statements Cornyn has made so far. I’ve got a press release from TDP Chair Boyd Richie beneath the fold, which catalogs some of Cornyn’s greatest hits on this issue and calls on him to recuse himself from the committee. I’d settle for him spending an hour or so reading the TPM coverage.

Click on for more.

Today, Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie called on Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn (TX) to recuse himself from the Senate Ethics Committee investigation into Republican Senator Pete Domenici (NM) over potential ethics violations in the firing of former U.S. attorney David Iglesias, citing Cornyn’s repeated public statements prejudging the matter.

“John Cornyn has publicly positioned himself as an apologist for the Bush Administration’s firing of eight U.S. attorneys, showing a clear inability to fairly judge one of his own Republican colleagues on this matter,” said Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie. “Cornyn had a choice to make – fulfill his role of impartiality on the Ethics Committee or serve as a partisan hack explaining away every aspect of the scandal. Unfortunately, his decision to publicly defend the firings disqualifies him from handling any related ethics violations being considered by the Committee.”

On March 5, the Committee on Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed an ethics complaint against Domenici, charging him with violating Senate rules by contacting then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias about a pending corruption investigation. (Read the CREW press release here: http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=208) As the ranking Republican member of the Senate Ethics Committee, Cornyn is charged with helping investigate that complaint and ultimately in deciding on any sanctions against Domenici.

Despite his obligation to impartially judge Domenici’s actions in the U.S. attorney scandal, Cornyn has repeatedly prejudged the facts of the scandal in his public statements, claiming the firings were completely appropriate and calling the investigation into them a political witch hunt:

• Cornyn Said He Didn’t See What the “Hubub” Is About, Only Mistakes Were in Communication of Firings. In response to the firings of eight US Attorneys by the Bush administration, Cornyn said, “I don’t see what the hubbub is about relieving eight U.S. attorneys of their job. That’s within the right of every president. I think, if there have been mistakes made — and I think there have been — it’s in the way that the rationale has been communicated, both to the Senate Judiciary Committee and to members of Congress.” [CQ Transcriptions, 3/20/07]
• Cornyn said There Was No Evidence U.S. Attorneys Fired for “Inappropriate Reasons” – the Heart of the Charge Against Domenici. “George, when someone serves at the pleasure of the president, I don’t know how you separate that entirely from politics. But I don’t believe there’s any evidence that indicates that these individuals were relieved of their responsibilities for any inappropriate reason,” Cornyn said on ABC’s This Week. [ABC News, This Week, 3/18/07]
• Cornyn said Charge of Inappropriateness in U.S. Attorney Firings “Does Not Stack Up.” Speaking on the Senate floor, Cornyn said, “This President has replaced eight U.S. attorneys whom he himself appointed, and that, for some reason, is supposed to be all about politics, all about dirty pool. Well, it just does not stack up.” [Congressional Record, pg S3332, 3/20/07]
• Cornyn Said Senate Investigation Was a “Political Witch Hunt.” During an interview with ABC’s This Week, Cornyn claimed efforts to investigate the US Attorney firings were “basically a political witch hunt.” Cornyn said, “Well George, I’ll join Senator Leahy in getting to the facts and following the facts where they may lead but when we cross this line into basically a political witch hunt led by the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.” [ABC News, This Week, 3/18/07]

In addition to contacting Iglesias about ongoing investigations in New Mexico, Domenici contacted the Department of Justice on four occasions to complain about Iglesias and even took his complaints directly to President Bush. Recently released Justice Department emails report that Domenici’s office was “happy as a clam” when informed that Iglesias was fired, as he had urged.

“John Cornyn is talking out of both sides of his mouth. He cannot claim Iglesias’ firing was appropriate, then turn around and promise to fairly judge whether a fellow Republican Senator was inappropriately involved,” Richie added. “Cornyn has made clear his position on these firings and should immediately recuse himself from the Ethics Committee investigation of Senator Domenici’s role in the scandal.”

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