TheAgitator.com
Mary’s Buggin’
Thursday, April 10th, 2008You may remember her from such hits as "the persecution of Dr. Bernard Rottschaefer," "the first federal obscenity case in 20 years," and "the railroading of Tommy Chong."
Now it seems U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan may have finally stepped in it but good. This week, a federal jury hung on the 41 public corruption charges Buchanan brought against Pennsylvania medical examiner Dr. Cyril Wecht. A majority reportedly voted to acquit. This after a two-year investigation, a very sympathetic judge, and a bizarre trial in which the defense rested without calling a single witness. A loss or even a hung jury is rare for a U.S. attorney. Their conviction rate is over 95 percent.
Wecht’s attorneys—including former GOP Attorney General Dick Thornberg—say the case was entirely driven by politics (Wecht is an outspoken Democrat). They point out that the trial itself cost about $200,000, while the total amount of money Wecht is alleged to have used from his public position to aid his private practice amounts to about $1,700.
In one post-trial interview, the jury foreman seemed to agree. The feds immediately announced plan to try Wecht again.
What I’m wondering is how the Department of Justice can see fit to spend two years and likely seven figures in taxpayer dollars to investigate a medical examiner for sending personal faxes on his publicly-owned machine, but thus far has seen no reason to look into Mississippi’s Dr. Steven Hayne.
I’ve argued before that the real scandal with this Justice Department is not that it fired a bunch of prosecutors who didn’t share the administration’s priorities and political agenda. The real scandal is just how screwed-up those priorities and that agenda actually are.
Because their boss is one of the slimiest little hacks ever to sit in the Oval Office.
Seriously, you’re surprised that a man who made his personal fortune off of eminent domain laws, land theft and tax hikes isn’t above using the DOJ to persecute people who merely criticize him?
http://www.pensitoreview.com/2005/11/08/more-on-bushs-eminent-domain-14-mil-windfall/
Radley, you are making an assumption that the US Attorneys march in lockstep with some central DOJ mandarin’s marching orders. In fact, the best way to view a US Attorney is as a fairly independent petty baron with a small fiefdom. Some are good, some are bad and some are incompetent. The US Attorneys prosecuting Wecht and not prosecuting Hayne are two different petty barons who have made very bad decisions.
chsw
CHSW,
US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan is known as a Bush zealot. Sorry to burst your bubble, but she is not independent. Since taking on her office, Mary Beth has been pushing the priorities of the Bush White House in order to curry favor. She has been appointed to the Director of the Executive Office of US Attorneys where she was implicated in being involved with the US Attorney firings. She also was appointed to the Director of the Violence against Women’s Office or something like that.
Hell, her initial appointment is known in Pittsburgh as being a result of her pulling strings in the Republican party.
I’m sorry, but she is not independent and as I read more about other US Attorneys such as Rachel Paulose, it is clear that GW Bush and Co. put political hacks in these offices that would not act independently at all.
Oh, if I did not make it clear. Mary Beth Buchanan is part of the central office of the DOJ and has been for sometime now. She has held dual positions in the central DOJ office and the US Attorneyship in Western PA. Recently she had to give up her central DOJ responsibilities because congress threatened to put forth a bill preventing an acting US Attorney holding another position outside their district in Washington DC. The nerve of congress attempting to get US Attorneys to concentrate on fighting crime in their districts opposed to pushing their political ambitions in DC.
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review ran an article this morning about how the FBI are harassing the former jury in the first Wecht trial. The article notes how many lawyers disagree with US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan’s assertion that the FBI contacts of the jury are routine.
Additionally, please note that the prosecution has already decided to retry the case without polling the jury. There really is limited reason they should be contacting the jury now since the retrial decision was already made.
Also, please understand the judge in the Wecht case improperly told the jury to refrain from talking about the case to anyone (even though they lawfully could). I’m sure having the FBI contact them would never intimidate a jury after the judge’s statements to them.
Here is the link to the article. It also notes that the majority of the jury felt the case was political.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_561792.html
The politicization of the DOJ has been greatly accelerated in the last 8 years. The DOJ doesn’t function the same way it used to function. We now have an AG arguing it’s possible for an administration to immunize itself from the rule of law simply by having an opinion (no matter how wrong or inane) written that says doing something is legal.
It’s a shame, but the reality is you put people in charge of government that argue government does not work, you will get government that does not work.
If they make government work, they’ve destroyed their entire message.
Obscenity cases are the new black:
http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/wfo040808.htm
“The politicization of the DOJ has been greatly accelerated in the last 8 years.”
It’s been “greatly accelerated” longer than that - it started in the Clinton years, though as best I can tell, Bush has cheerfully continued the process.
These links send you to a local paper op-ed as well as letters to the editor on the case. It pretty much speaks to the predominant sentiment in Pittsburgh about this one.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08104/872531-149.stm
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08104/872530-35.stm