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May 02, 2007

Seattle's fired U.S. attorney says the Justice Department threatened to criticize him publicly

In a phone call made a month after he was let go, John McKay says, a top official's aide threatened public criticism by the attorney general himself if McKay didn't keep quiet about his firing.

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Topics: Federal, Law and Justice, Politics, Seattle, U.S. Congress, Washington, White House

By Chuck Taylor of Crosscut

The dismissal of U.S. Attorney John McKay of Seattle and seven others around the country, which has embroiled presidential advisor Karl Rove and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in serial subpoenas from Capitol Hill, is heating up. McKay and Paul Charlton of Phoenix say they were threatened by an underling with public criticism by Gonzales if they didn't keep quiet about their firings.

The calls came on Jan. 17 from an aide to then-Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty. McKay describes the call as "sinister" in its implications.

In its Thursday, May 3, edition, The Washington Post reports on the calls to McKay and Charlton and on other fast-moving developments in the case.

Chuck Taylor is formerly editor of Crosscut. He has also worked for The Seattle Times and Seattle Weekly, and now blogs at Seattle Post-Times. You can reach him at chuck.taylor@newsdex.net.

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Topics: Federal, Law and Justice, Politics, Seattle, U.S. Congress, Washington, White House

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