Why The US Attorneys Firing Scandal Matters

There are still some people who purport to be confused as to why the reason or method or people involved in the firing of the eight US Attorneys matters. And why Congress should issue subpoenas and force a Constitutional conflict to get to the bottom of it.

These people point out that nothing illegal happened, that US Attorneys serve "at the pleasure of the President" and that he has the right and privilege to remove and replace them at any time and for any reason.

That I will grant. Yes, the President, and his appointed Attorney General do have that right, and should have that right.

But I would add that the U.S. public has the right to know about it.

The President, the District Attorney and the US Attorneys, let's not forget, are all public servants. All are charged with doing the people's business.

If the President, his staff and the appointees he puts into place believe that the proper method of executing this business is to reward political loyalty and punish impartiality and competence, I guess it's not exactly illegal.

But it certainly shouldn't be secret.

That is exactly the kind of information that voters should be made aware of, so that we can more accurately assess how we cast our votes next time we're asked to elect our next batch of public servants. And Congress has the right and duty to reveal that information to us.

After all, who else will? Not the press, who lacks the legal authority (and the spine) to wrest the needed documents and testimony from the participants. Not the judicial system. And certainly not the executive branch, through some sort of Special Investigator like Daniel Fitzgerald. They know they can't squeak through another one of those without getting really hurt.

Secondly, even if the nakedly partisan firings and hirings aren't illegal, they raise the possibility of other illegalities that may have been committed. Namely obstruction of justice and false charges by those US Attorneys who got the hint about what was expected of them if they wanted to stay employed. Pursuing this investigation to its logical end is the best way of unearthing those crimes.