The rightwinger whine that it's okay for Bush to politicize the Justice Department is okay because Clinton replaced the previous administration's US Attorneys isn't holding water. According to Glenn Greenwald of Salon:
"It is equally vital to note . . . that President Bush asked for the resignation of all U.S. attorneys at the start of his administration, and that (correctly) did not provoke any controversy because that action is routine and proper. "As a matter of fact, even rightwinger blowhard Rush Limbaugh admitted in 1993 that it was proper for a new administration to replace all the US Attorneys. From Limbaugh's March 23, 1993 broadcast of his television show:
JANET RENO (US Attorney General): I haven't asked for Stephens' resignation. I've asked for the resignation of all the US attorneys as part of an orderly transfer to a new administration, so that the new administration can choose its US attorneys which it re--thinks is absolutely integral to the Department of Justice ought--and based on what we think the qualifications for US attorney should be.And then, we have this from the New York Post in 2001 before Dubya's inauguration - regarding who might replace Clinton appointee Mary Jo White as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. It seems they too thought that it was just a matter of routine for a new administration to replace the previous administration's appointees:
LIMBAUGH: Now this happens. She's right. New administrations just come in and get rid of all the US attorneys.
"It is anticipated White and the other U.S. attorneys around the nation will be asked to submit letters of resignation, standard operating procedure when the White House changes hands."
