Wednesday, April 25th, 2007...4:01 pm
Wait, There’s More to Write About Renzi?
Gawd, three of you have sent me copies of today’s Wall Street Journal article about Rick Renzi. Unfortunately, I can’t link it because the plutocrats at the Journal only allow you to read it by subscription only. That is reason number one that those guys are first against the wall after I lead my revolution.
I’ll give you the first few paragraphs because that’s all I can probably do without the WSJ’s Brown Shirts breaking down my door:
As midterm elections approached last November, federal investigators in Arizona faced unexpected obstacles in getting needed Justice Department approvals to advance a corruption investigation of Republican Rep. Rick Renzi, people close to the case said.
The delays, which postponed key approvals in the case until after the election, raise new questions about whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or other officials may have weighed political issues in some investigations. The Arizona U.S. attorney then overseeing the case, Paul Charlton, was told he was being fired in December, one of eight federal prosecutors dismissed in the past year. The dismissals have triggered a wave of criticism and calls from Congress for Mr. Gonzales to resign.
So, in addition to the troubles for Renzi, there are probably going to be some more questions for the administration on this one. Heck, this is the Wall Street Journal saying this, not one of our hot headed lefty friends on Air America. You know that it must be stinking like Limburger if even the Journal is talking about it.
By the way, the Republic has started talking about it, but an editorial published yesterday, while pointing some fingers at Renzi, is still laying some of the story at the feet of “partisan Democrats.” Given that now there is evidence of Renzi’s office contacting Charlton (and more here), there is certainly enough to show that allegations of possible interference is a story worth pursuing.
The article goes on to give some details of the investigation, which are still shrouded in secrecy because of Grand Jury rules. In addition to the raid, some other remarkable steps have been taken in this investigation:
People briefed on the case said investigators in Arizona asked Washington for clearance — among other tools — for a wiretap of Mr. Renzi’s telephones, a highly unusual step against a sitting member of Congress, months before Election Day. The wiretap eventually was approved, and was in place by late October, these people said.
Anybody close to the case want to leak the tapes to a blogger? Please…?
1 Comment
April 30th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
[…] Journal then reported last Wednesday that the Renzi investigations “faced unexpected obstacles” and those delays “postponed key approvals in the case until after the [2006] […]
Leave a Reply