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A couple of days ago I spoke
about the fact that Noel L. Hillman, chief prosecutor in the
Jack Abramoff case was stepping down. The Abramoff case
is probably the biggest US political scandal that ever made
its way to the light of day.
After thinking about this
and reviewing news reports, or the lack thereof from various
news agencies, I doubt very much that Hillman stepped down
voluntarily. I don't believe he would have voluntarily
accepted a judgeship from Bush, as was reported. I
personally think he was given "an offer he couldn't
refuse."
In a working Democracy, his leaving his
post would have been front page news. If he were
stepping down voluntarily it would not have been the Justice
Department that made the announcement; it would have been
Hillman himself. I don't even know if he is alive or
dead.
In the absence of other evidence I will believe
that Hillman is an honorable public servant who has succumbed
to forces he could not control. His removal from office
might very well be the smoking gun that marks the last nail in
the coffin of our late Republic.
Mark A. Goldman
www.gpln.com
Prosecutor Will Step Down from Lobbyist Case
By Philip Shenon and Elisabeth Bumiller
The New York Times
Friday 27 January 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/politics/27judge.html?_r=1
On
Citizenship
“Liberty
lies in the hearts and minds of men and women;
when it dies
there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it;
no
constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it…”
—Judge
Learned Hand
Note:
This just in... Apparently, this is not the first time Bush
removed a prosecutor who was hot on Abramoff's tail: http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=9951>Bellaciao
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