Dismissed U.S. attorneys summary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Todd Graves
U.S. Attorney for Western Missouri Todd Graves was listed on the list that the DOJ created in January 2006. He was replaced by Bradley Schlozman, an acting assistant attorney general, who became one of the first to be appointed using the provision enabled by the Patriot Act. Graves resigned in 2006 after refusing to "sign off" on a voter-fraud lawsuit that was filed against the state of Missouri by Schlozman. [46] Schlozman was appointed without Senate confirmation two weeks after Graves' resignation. Schlozman then brought indictments against four voter-registration workers of ACORN, a Democratic-leaning group, several days before the Missouri Senate election date.[47] [48] Schlozman returned to work for the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. in April 2007 shortly before a federal judge dismissed the voter-fraud lawsuit.[49] More than a year after his resignation, in May 2007, Graves confirmed for the first time that he had been forced out.[50]
Bud CumminsBud Cummins had been investigating allegations that Republican Missouri Governor Matt Blunt had "abused his power by forming a system of umbrella companies established through [the] Kansas City law firm Lathrop & Gage LC to run the state’s licensing network," and that he inappropriately rewarded his political supporters with lucrative contracts.[51] Under pressure from the governor’s office, in October of 2006, Cummins publicly announced that the investigation was over.[52] He was fired in December of 2006 and replaced with Timothy Griffin, a controversial former Karl Rove aide.[53]
Cummins told the Senate Judiciary Committee "that Mike Elston, the deputy attorney general's top aide, threatened him with retaliation in a phone call last month if he went public."[54] Emails show that Cummins passed on the warning to some of the other Attorneys who were fired.[55] Elston acknowledges he told Cummins that he said "it's really a shame that all this has to come out in the newspaper," but claimed that this was not intended as a threat.[24]
On March 23, 2007, the Washington Post reported that "New documents also show that Justice and White House officials were preparing for President Bush's approval of the appointment as early as last summer, five months before Griffin took the job."[56] According to that article, the e-mails are "evidence [that] runs contrary to assurances from Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales that no such move had been planned." On May 30, 2007, Tim Griffin, resigned effective June 1, 2007 after less than six and a half months in office.[57]
