Kyle Sampson, Chief of Staff to Alberto Gonzales, rated Patrick Fitzgerald as among those who had "not distinguished themselves." That assessment was provided to Harriet Miers while they were figuring out which prosecutors to fire. And, coincidentally, it was in the middle of Fitzgerald's CIA leak investigation:
Mary Jo White, who supervised Fitzgerald when she served as the U.S. attorney in Manhattan and who has criticized the firings, said ranking him as a middling prosecutor "lacks total credibility across the board."In Bush world, receiving an award for distinguished service means one is undistinguished.
"He is probably the best prosecutor in the nation -- certainly one of them," said White, who worked in the Clinton and Bush administrations. "It casts total doubt on the whole process. It's kind of the icing on the cake."
Fitzgerald has been widely recognized for his pursuit of criminal cases against al-Qaeda's terrorist network before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and he drew up the official U.S. indictment against Osama bin Laden. He was named as special counsel in the CIA leak case in December 2003 by then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, who had recused himself.
Fitzgerald also won the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service in 2002 under Ashcroft.
Oh, but there were no politics involved. That's what the Bush operatives are saying -- and we know they would never, ever lie. Ever.
