U.S. Attorney Scandal Spreads to Los Angeles

By Scott Horton

We keep talking about the eight U.S. attorneys who were fired in the purge that Karl Rove orchestrated with the blessing of Alberto Gonzales. I think when we get to the bottom of this sordid affair we’re going to find that the number fired is much higher. Today we learn that the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, Debra Yang, also figured in discussions related to the purge—and Yang did leave. Senator Diane Feinstein has more detail, in a report featured in today’s The Hill:

Former White House Counsel Harriet Miers discussed firing ex-U.S. Attorney Debra Yang, who was leading an investigation into lucrative ties between Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and a lobbying firm before she left her government post voluntarily last fall, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) charged in a hearing last week.

Feinstein has repeatedly questioned the circumstances surrounding Yang’s departure, but until last week she provided no reasons for her suspicions. Last Thursday, however, during the questioning of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales late in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Feinstein flatly stated that Miers had discussed “whether to remove Debra Yang from Los Angeles.”

As usual, statements of Justice Department seniors about this turnover are highly evasive and don’t square with the available documents.

So why was the Rovian hit squad after Yang? That’s an easy one. Her office was deeply involved in the investigation of GOP Rep. Jerry Lewis, a vulnerable Republican who figures on the periphery of a number of scandals already.