Key House Democrat to hold hearings on recent firing of U.S. Attorneys

Mike Sheehan Published: Friday February 9, 2007

A key House Democrat is announcing her plan for hearings on the recent dismissal of U.S. Attorneys, according to a press release.

"Congresswoman Linda Sánchez, Chairwoman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law (CAL), today announced her intention to begin hearings on the Bush Administration's recent firing of seven U.S. Attorneys," the release states.

Sánchez' jurisdiction in her role on the subcommittee "includes oversight of certain federal agencies," one of them being the Office of the U.S. Attorneys, according to the release.

"I'm calling this hearing because we need to make sure that the selection of federal prosecutors is not being made for political reasons," Chairwoman Sánchez is quoted. "No presidential administration - now or in the future - should be allowed to dismantle the important constitutional set of checks and balances to achieve a political agenda."

Under consideration for the subcommitee is a bill "that would reverse a new provision in the USA PATRIOT Act allowing the Attorney General to indefinitely appoint federal prosecutors through the end of the Bush Administration without Senate confirmation," the release continues. The bill "would restore the previous process of selecting permanent and interim candidates to U.S. Attorney offices."

A former U.S. Attorney revealed that his resignation last month was "ordered by the Bush administration, which gave him no explanation for the firing," according to an Associated Press report.

The press release is available in full at Rep. Sánchez' official website