Reply #48: Former George H.W. Bush Attorney General, Dick Thornburgh, Says Prosecution Was Political [View All]

Former AG Thornburgh Says Prosecution Was Political
BY Scott Horton October 19, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/10/hbc-90001447

On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will be holding hearings on politics and the Bush Justice Department. The focus will be on a series of cases in which it is alleged that the Justice Department brought charges to advance the political agenda of the Republican Party, and not for proper law enforcement purposes. The case surrounding Alabama Governor Don Siegelman is the centerpiece, and is still reckoned by most observers as the most overpowering case for prosecutorial abuse so far. On Tuesday, more evidence linking Karl Rove to the Siegelman prosecution will be put forward.

And now it appears that a Bush Attorney General will testify that he has examined one of the cases and concludes that it was in fact motivated and driven by improper political factors. The charges will be leveled by Dick Thornburgh, the Attorney General of President George H.W. Bush, and they will focus on the Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney’s prosecution of a coroner. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has just reported:

Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh will testify before a subcomittee of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday about why he feels the prosecution of former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht is politically motivated. ......

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