From time to time my office distributes press releases and written statements on state and national issues, debate in the Senate, and legislation that I am working on. For your convenience, I post these documents on my site for your review.
 print |  email |
|
Sessions Calls on Attorney General to Release More Information on DOJ Personnel Policies
In a bipartisan letter sent today, the senators requested that the Attorney General immediately produce an order that allegedly granted two aides, former Chief of Staff D. Kyle Sampson and former White House Liaison Monica Goodling, broad authority over the hiring and firing of political employees at the Department.
The Judiciary Committee previously requested that the Department of Justice produce documents in its custody relating to the committee’s investigation into the firings of eight U.S. Attorneys. The order requested today was not produced during that request.
“The Attorney General has an obligation to respond in good faith to requests made by the judiciary committee, which has oversight authority over the Department of Justice. To fully evaluate the circumstances surrounding the firing of the U.S Attorneys, the committee must have all the facts regarding personnel policies at the department,” Sessions said.
The existence of the confidential order was brought to light in an April 30, 2006, article published by the National Journal. According to the article, the order granted a delegation of authority to the aides regarding the removal of “inferior officers,” but required the Attorney General to sign off on the decisions.
“If this order exists, the Attorney General should produce it,” said Sessions. …..
The letter sent to Gonzalez today was signed by Senators Sessions, Specter, Grassley, Leahy, Feinstein, and Schumer.
|
|
||||||
 |
You will need to have Real One Player installed on your computer to be able to listen or watch the clips above. Real One Player is free software that lets you play audio and video files. Download Real One Player |