Debbie Schlussel: Should Chertoff (& Myers) Be Disbarred?: Officer of the Court Did Not Report (or Do Anything) About Payments to Terrorists
Earlier today, I told you how Michael "Serpenthead" Chertoff, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, did nothing as Assistant U.S. Attorney General, when he discovered that a U.S. company was making payments to a terrorist group.
As an attorney and officer of the court, he had a duty to report this to his boss, Attorney General John Ashcroft. And as Assistant Attorney General of the United States, overseeing all criminal investigations, he had a duty to take action to stop the criminal payments from going on. Instead, he did nothing and tacitly agreed to the continuation of the illicit payments.
That makes him criminally culpable as a co-conspirator, but is also certainly grounds for a grievance against him as an attorney. I'm not sure to which State Bar(s) he belongs, though I'd suspect he, at least, belongs to the State Bar of New Jersey, where he was a Judge and Justice Department official. Maybe other attorneys or DHS employees have some insight on this.
But certainly Mr. Chertoff should be investigated by the body which issues his license to practice law.
Then, there's Julie L. Myers, Chieftess of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a/k/a "The ICE Princess." She surely knew about Chertoff's silence on this matter, as the White House personnel person, vetting candidates for the job. As such, since she, too, is a licensed attorney (again, I don't know where; perhaps, Missouri), she had a duty to report Chertoff to the Bar. And she had a responsibility to report him to criminal authorities. Then, there's the question--since she worked for Chertoff at Justice--whether she was in on the meeting disclosing the Chiquita-terrorist payments or otherwise knew of them in that capacity. If so, she had a duty to report this to Ashcroft, etc. If she knew and didn't, then she, again, is vulnerable to a grievance.
And to think, President Bush reportedly wants to make this woman a Federal Judge. Oy vey.
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Also, did the ICE Princess report her friend Wayne L. Baker, when he used his position as her ICE attorney to get federal agents and Assistant U.S. Attorneys to drop the case against his brother-in-law, James P. (J.P.) Ronayne (formerly McCarthy) [USA v. Ronayne, Case No. 1:07cr207, U.S. District - New Mexico (Albuquerque)], indicted on federal drug charges?
If not--since as an attorney, she had a duty to report him--that's also grounds for a serious grievance.
Posted by Debbie on August 2, 2007 02:38 PM to Debbie Schlussel