Speaking to the Thomas Wales Foundation, John McKay lets the Justice Department have it
The fired U.S. attorney for Western Washington, speaking to the organization named for the slain assistant U.S. attorney, levels his harshest criticism yet at the leadership of the department formerly headed by Alberto Gonzales.
This past weekend, former U.S. Attorney John McKay of Seattle took a fresh swipe at the Justice Department. McKay was a speaker at the Thomas C. Wales Foundation annual dinner and awards ceremony. Wales is the federal prosecutor who was murdered in his home in 2001. The case is unresolved.
I was emcee for the event. McKay reminded the audience that several reasons have been given for his dismissal late last year, and he's been able to laugh at most of them – except for one. Here's what McKay said:
The one that wasn't funny was when I was accused of pursuing too aggressively the killer of Tom Wales. And I want to tell you – and this is the first time that I've had an opportunity to say so publicly, and I thought today was the time that I should do it – is to say that that day I didn't laugh, I cried.
And I e-mailed my seven colleagues, former United State attorneys, and I told them that this was the only day that I was sorry I ever worked for the Justice Department. Now I got over that. I think I got over it the next day, but I thought that what was said was totally wrong, totally disrespectful and unacceptable to this community. I won't even mention what I felt it meant to the Wales family and to those that love Tom Wales.
But if it was an indication of the lack of respect among some at the Justice Department, it couldn't have been done with a greater exclamation point than their final reason for my dismissal.
I'm told I lost the respect of people like Alberto Gonzales and Paul McNulty and Kyle Sampson and Monica Goodling.
I would like you all to know that I am more concerned about having the respect of Chief Judge Robert Lasnik and the judges of the United States District Court, of my friend Jeff Sullivan who will do a tremendous job as United State Attorney, and my former colleagues who work here in the United State Attorney's office in Seattle and in Tacoma.
So if standing up for doing the right thing cost me my job as United States Attorney, I consider that a small price to pay for my integrity.
McKay received a standing ovation from the audience of about 300 guests.
You can watch McKay's speech on TVW's Web site.
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Comments:
Posted Tue, Oct 16, 9:45 a.m. inappropriate
who said what: As I recall, there was never an "official" reason given for any of the eight US attorneys who were fired.
For McKay to imply differently is simply stealth political activism, which really has no place in the operation of a US Attorney's office (if he did it while he was employed there).
The most likely reason (not confirmed by the Justice Department) for McKay's firing was that he failed to pursue rather substantial evidence showing that the Washington governor's election was fraudulently counted, and therefore violated the Voting Rights Act.
He made his choice to decline to formally investigate AND declined to call a grand jury to hear the evidence that he found insufficient.
Still, this version is not an official reason. It is a political office and McKay lost the confidence of the President. Nothing more.
Posted Tue, Oct 16, 10:40 a.m. inappropriate
RE: who said what: Justice shouldn't be partisan.
Posted Tue, Oct 16, 11:19 a.m. inappropriate
And they're also contending that this will increase risks to people and property within King County. Yet, they're constrained by ethical considerations from engaging in campaign activities. Willing to talk with the press (most likely off the record), but unable for the moment from publicly expressing their views, they're in a real box.
There's a story there for some intrepid nose-for-news slueth who's interested in more than simply working campaign press releases and superficial interviews into the daily grind.
The Piper
Posted Tue, Oct 16, 12:40 p.m. inappropriate
1678 illegal votes: Chelan County judge Bridges found 1678 illegal votes in the 2004 guv race. Federal prosecutors and US Attorney McKay were asleep and not on the case.