Clutching At Straws
Feb 23rd, 2006 at 7:44 pm by Susie
I remember the questions about this at the time but I don’t recall the details:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, who faces perjury charges, asked a judge on Thursday to throw out the case on the grounds that the prosecutor was appointed improperly.
Since both Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and former Attorney General John Ashcroft removed themselves from the investigation because of their close ties to the White House, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald reports to David Margolis, a career Justice Department lawyer.
Lawyers for Lewis “Scooter” Libby argued that because Fitzgerald does not report to the attorney general, he should not have been appointed by a deputy at the Justice Department.
“Because he was not appointed to that office by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, he holds that authority improperly,” Libby’s lawyers wrote.
… “to remedy this mistake, the DOJ immediately appointed Tom Delay to replace Fitzgerald, followed by Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham to serve as Delay’s aide. Details to follow.”
I just wonder why that is relevant. If the court has accepted the case surely the issue is whether Libby is guilty or not, not who the prosecutor is.
wtf?