Guest blogged from D.C. by Margie Burns
Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty returned to testify before Congress one more time today, but without shedding much new light on the much-criticized firings and hirings, alleged to be politically motivated, in the Department of Justice.
The Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law of the House Judiciary Committee, in another attempt to extract some truth about the DOJ personnel matter, held a hearing with McNulty as the sole witness. Under polite, soft-spoken but excruciatingly poignant questioning by Committee Chair John Conyers (D-MI), McNulty did clarify one thing: indeed it does seem that his part of the DOJ has done very little about “caging.â€
Caging, as Rep. Cannon (R-UT) helpfully pointed out, “is a term of art in mailhouses†– it refers to the place where letters go when they have no address, all batched up in a separate room.
As Conyers gently reminded the audience, “caging†in the context of elections “is not an issue of the mail at all.†Voter caging, in the context of elections, means blocking voters out – choosing whole lists of voters whose vote will be challenged, chosen by whom and the criteria for challenge enunciated by whom, under this administration, still not fully explained.
Actually, not explained at all. Though it wasn’t for Conyers’ lack of trying to get information from McNulty about it…
During his last five-minute round of questions – each Representative is allotted five minutes to question the witness, per round, equally – Conyers asked McNulty, in effect, whether it was true that McNulty hadn’t known anything about caging in his prior testimony to Congress. McNulty reaffirmed that indeed he had not.
The following is paraphrase, the gist of question-and-answer to McNulty regarding voter caging:
Follow-up question: You had an article about it? The June 16 article by Greg Palast? – Answer: Yes.
And you also had had the topic of caging included in your briefing, before you testified? – Yes.
Yet you never looked into caging? – Right. “I didn’t read the article [at that time],†McNulty clarified.
And you also didn’t read the Tim Griffin email about caging in the briefing book? – Apparently not.
So, it would be a reasonable inference that the caging of black voters is not high on your agenda? – “I’m not sure what you mean by that,†McNulty said.
Have you read the article by now? – Yes, by now I’ve read the article and the email.
“We’ve got a whole chain of testimony,†Conyers followed up, expressing hope or faith, presumably of the evidence-of-things-not-seen variety, that there is “a commitment that we’ll work on it together.†– McNulty responded by noting that the “issue†is one “that’s important to you,†meaning Conyers.
McNulty, of course, is leaving his position at the DOJ this summer. He is seeking private employment. There is little time left for him to work with Conyers on the issue of voter caging. Sad as this whole exchange was – and damning as it is to have a high-level official so plainly reveal his lack of interest in what they used to call one-man-one-vote – this was probably the high-water mark of the entire hearing. As mentioned up top, little else was equally clarified.
Subcommittee Chair Linda Sanchez (D-CA) opened the hearing by pointing out that “we still don’t have the answers to two questionsâ€: 1) Who made the decision to fire several US Attorneys? And 2) Why were these particular prosecutors chosen?
We still don’t have those two answers, and beyond indirectly strengthening the inference that both decisions must have come from the White House – back to the topic of those emails – the hearing contributed to very little headway.
I still do not understand how any American in a position to do something about these abuses — especially anyone who witnessed those long lines of his fellow citizens waiting patiently to vote, in the 2004 election — can stand not to do it. And the seeming lack of curiosity, among the ‘chattering classes,’ about how some of this stuff happened in the first place does not exactly reflect well on this country’s intellectual infrastructure.
Marie,
Thanks much for keeping us up to date on this critical oversight function.
I am pleased with this facet of the 110th Congress. What a change from the 109th rubber stamp congress that had no oversight.
They are uncovering Cheney madness after Cheney madness, and other fascist madness.
Lets keep after them until their smelly dust left behind as they run to Dubai to be with Halliburton, is all that is left of them.
Keep up the good work please.
Margie … not Marie … sorry.
I guess I’m showing my lack of patience, but when are we going to see (if at all) any legal action for the caging that has taken place? Since the Republicans had been warned in two previous elections not to participate in caging ever again, why aren’t they being prosecuted? If you don’t prosecute McNulty then the buck should stop with the leader of the GOP election campaign, Ed Gillespe. If nothing happens to these guys then what’s to stop them from doing it every elections and then like a teen-ager caught drinking a beer saying, “I didn’t know it was illegal.” When are we going to take election crimes seriously? Or is it that so much corruption is taking place that no one wants to start a fire storm?
The Democrats think if they make too big a deal out of this Democratic voters will become cynical about the integrity of the election process and how Republicans have contaminated the process from a fair and honest result. Then Democratic voters will be dissuaded from voting because the process is little more than a joke with a tainted result.
Besides Democrats feel Republicans have learned their lesson not to tamper with or game the election results because it is illegal and they might get caught. Good Americans don’t bring detriment to the democratic process or intentionally tamper with elections.
Fascist Republicans of the ilk of KKKarl Rove, his minions, and army of young stormtroopers think whoopee I can’t believe we got away with gaming and tampering that election result that enhanced the vote count to our favor helping us to steal this election. We never get caught or prosecuted for throwing election results and stealing the elections from our opponents. Next election time we will try the same thing and think up new schemes that pad our vote count at the ballot box and steal votes from the Democrats.
If illegalities are blatantly perpetrated by the Republicans to steal elections, disenfranchise and criminally depress the votes of Democrats and no repercussions or prosecutions are ever brought forth – what is there to stop these criminal fascist Republicans from stealing elections again and again ? If they are never made to answer for this egregious election tampering and fraud and not severely fined or incarcerated they will be back the following year to pull the exact same crap and worse.
Gaming, swindling, and stealing the vote – to them is equivalent to running and winning a very shrewd and spirited election. The moral and ethical compass of Karl Rove and his electioneers are without direction. Illegalities and criminalities in the election process is acceptable conduct if it affords a higher level of one-ups-man-ship and places your candidate in political office. Winning is everything – DEMOCRACY BE DAMNED.
After all the Rovian stated goal is 100 year Republican Party majority rule – like a monarchy. They have done a fine job towards paving that road to attain that goal.
Have you seen the Jeb Bu$$h for president in 2008 lawn signs yet ?