Did DOJ Try to Slip Griffin Through?

In an E-mail released Monday from Kyle Sampson to senior Justice Department officials dated Feb. 1, 2007, the then chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales expressed worry about the possible questions a member of Congress might pose to recently fired U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins of Arkansas. Sampson appeared to be concerned that Tim Griffin, who was named to replace Cummins as federal prosecutor, may have mentioned to Cummins that, under new provisions of the Patriot Act, he might avoid Senate confirmation.

In the E-mail to colleagues, Sampson wondered whether a senator might ask Cummins the following question:

"Did Griffin ever talk about being AG appointed and avoiding Senate confirmation?"

The hypothetical question suggests that Griffin had been told -- when and by whom is unclear -- that there was consideration of naming him not subject to Senate confirmation.

About six weeks before Sampson's E-mail, Gonzales had assured Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas that the Justice Department would seek confirmation of Griffin via the Senate. (Subsequently, Griffin announced he would not have his name submitted and would instead serve as interim U.S. attorney until a successor is confirmed.) Last week, after the publication of a first batch of Sampson E-mails from last summer and fall in which he suggested the government might stall the Senate nomination process, Gonzales said he had been unfamiliar with Sampson's E-mail correspondence.

While it remains uncertain how seriously Gonzales pondered using the Patriot Act provision and bypassing the Senate, it's clear that Gonzales's chief of staff had considered proceeding that way and that he had reason to believe that the possibility had been discussed with the nominee himself.