The nation's capital has been in an uproar this week over the U.S. attorney firings controversy [3]. Both the House [4] and Senate [5] Judiciary Committees held hearings Tuesday on the matter, where six of eight former U.S. attorneys (all fired in late 2006) testified that they had been the target of complaints, telephone calls and threats from either a high-ranking Justice Department official or members of Congress in the days and weeks preceding their abrupt dismissals. The replacements for the attorneys are rumored to be political appointees with little prosecutorial experience.

The story dates back to March 2006, when President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act. The bill included a provision (inserted by a staffer to Sen. Arlen Specter [6] (R-Pa.) at the request of the Justice Department [7]) allowing the DOJ to appoint U.S. attorneys indefinitely without a presidential nomination or Senate confirmation (previously, this type of appointment could last only a maximum of 120 days). In late 2006, the administration fired eight U.S. attorneys, insisting each dismissal was motivated by performance.

Many of the attorneys, however, testified that they were contacted by either Justice Department officials or members of Congress shortly before their firing, leading some to question whether their dismissals were political in nature. David Iglesias, who was fired from his post of U.S. attorney for New Mexico, said he was pressured by both Sen. Pete Domenici [8] (R-N.M.) and Rep. Heather Wilson [9] (R-N.M.) to go public with a probe involving local Democrats before the November elections. Both members have admitted contacting Iglesias, a possible violation of House and Senate rules, but deny ever pressuring him. CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington), a government watchdog group, has called for Ethics Committee investigations into both members. In preparation of a probe, Domenici has tapped Lee Blalack, formerly an attorney for convicted former-Rep. Duke Cunningham [10], to represent him.

A separate fired attorney, John McKay, testified that a former staffer for Rep. Doc Hastings [11] (R-Wash.) and current aide for House Minority Leader John Boehner [12] (R-Ohio), Ed Cassidy, called him shortly before his firing to inquire about possible investigations relating to the 2004 Washington state gubernatorial election. In addition, Bud Cummins, a fired Arkansas attorney, testified that he received threats several weeks ago from a senior Justice Department official warning him to “remain quiet about their (the attorneys’) dismissals.”

Congresspedia staff and citizen journalists are tracking the controversy on our "Bush administration U.S. attorney firings controversy [3]" article, but we need some help determining who these replacement prosecutors are. Where did they previously work? Is there anything in their past to suggest that their appointments were politically motivated? We've got a list of the names of the replacements right here [13] and a few passes through Google will probably yield some interesting information to add to the page. Jump in!