Monday, October 24, 2005
Patrick Fitzgerald Appointed by Longtime Crony
Now that the press is convinced that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is about to bring indictments in the Leakgate case, reporters are praising him as an unbiased, objective and independent-minded prosecutor.
But it turns out - independence had nothing to do with the way Fitzgerald won his appointment as Leakgate special counsel.
According to a May 2003 profile in American Lawyer magazine, Fitzgerald had been "best friends" for 14 years with the man who tapped him - then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey.
In fact, Fitzgerald and Comey were so chummy that the magazine headlined its piece - "The Pat and Jim Show."
Highlights of American Lawyer's profile include the following details:
"Today Comey and Fitzgerald are, well, far better connected [then they were starting out together in the 1980s in the U.S. attorney's office in New York]. When they press buttons, investigations follow . . .
"Fitzgerald and Comey take obvious joy in the work they do. One is a lifer who doesn't like to think about the inevitable end of his term. The other is a natural politician, the sort who can move easily between public and private sectors-and already has. . . .
"But they're something else as well, something that informs the work they did then and the work they do now. Pat Fitzgerald and Jim Comey are best friends."
Seven months after the American Lawyer profile, the CIA referred the Leakgate case to the Justice Department. Citing a conflict of interest, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft immediately recused himself.
It fell to Comey, then Deputy AG, to name an outside counsel. Comey wasted no time in recruiting his "best friend" to fill the post.
Apparently it never occurred to either Fitzgerald or Comey that their closeness could pose problems.
But should Fitzgerald indict senior White House officials, critics are likely to zero in on his February 2004 request to Comey to expand his investigation well beyond its original charter, which was to determine whether any laws had been broken when Valerie Plame's name "outed."
Had Comey refused, chances are Fitzgerald's probe would have ended shortly thereafter.
But when his old friend requested new authority to pursue perjury, obstruction and conspiracy charges in Leakgate, Comey approved without hesitation.
It was deja vu all over again for "the Pat and Jim Show."
Now that the press is convinced that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is about to bring indictments in the Leakgate case, reporters are praising him as an unbiased, objective and independent-minded prosecutor.
But it turns out - independence had nothing to do with the way Fitzgerald won his appointment as Leakgate special counsel.
According to a May 2003 profile in American Lawyer magazine, Fitzgerald had been "best friends" for 14 years with the man who tapped him - then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey.
In fact, Fitzgerald and Comey were so chummy that the magazine headlined its piece - "The Pat and Jim Show."
Highlights of American Lawyer's profile include the following details:
"Today Comey and Fitzgerald are, well, far better connected [then they were starting out together in the 1980s in the U.S. attorney's office in New York]. When they press buttons, investigations follow . . .
"Fitzgerald and Comey take obvious joy in the work they do. One is a lifer who doesn't like to think about the inevitable end of his term. The other is a natural politician, the sort who can move easily between public and private sectors-and already has. . . .
"But they're something else as well, something that informs the work they did then and the work they do now. Pat Fitzgerald and Jim Comey are best friends."
Seven months after the American Lawyer profile, the CIA referred the Leakgate case to the Justice Department. Citing a conflict of interest, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft immediately recused himself.
It fell to Comey, then Deputy AG, to name an outside counsel. Comey wasted no time in recruiting his "best friend" to fill the post.
Apparently it never occurred to either Fitzgerald or Comey that their closeness could pose problems.
But should Fitzgerald indict senior White House officials, critics are likely to zero in on his February 2004 request to Comey to expand his investigation well beyond its original charter, which was to determine whether any laws had been broken when Valerie Plame's name "outed."
Had Comey refused, chances are Fitzgerald's probe would have ended shortly thereafter.
But when his old friend requested new authority to pursue perjury, obstruction and conspiracy charges in Leakgate, Comey approved without hesitation.
It was deja vu all over again for "the Pat and Jim Show."
