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Posts published in “Day: January 16, 2007”

The U.S. attorney ousters

John McKay
John McKay

We didn't take more than ordinary notice last month when John McKay, the U.S. attorney for the Western Washington federal justice district, announced his resignation from that job (not with the plan of landing anywhere else in particular).

It was a little unusual in that McKay resigned effective the end of this month. And it coincided with a turndown on his application to become a federal judge. And the Seattle Times article on the departure only hinted that McKay's resignation wasn't his own idea, and left extremely vague what was: Nowhere in the story does McKay actually say why he's leaving. There's no new job on the horizon (though he's doubtless plenty employable), and he doesn't even cite the usual "family reasons." The implication is that he is leaving because he was told to.

With that in mind, consider what is coinciding with McKay's departure: The abrupt departure as probable ousters, within the last month, of seven or eight U.S. attorneys (at a minimum) around the nation.

California Senator Dianne Feinstein pulled some of this together in a speech today on the Senate floor. (She cited a U.S. attorney in Washington state, though not by name.) Her web site notes that in her comments there she "expressed concern about the fact that a number of U.S. Attorneys have been asked by the Department of Justice to resign their positions prior to the end of their terms and without cause. In a little noticed provision included in the Patriot Act reauthorization last year, the Administration's authority to appoint interim U.S. Attorneys was greatly expanded. The law was changed so that if a vacancy arises the Attorney General may appoint a replacement for an indefinite period of time – thus completely avoiding the Senate confirmation process."

During his tenure, McKay picked up positive marks for doing a professional job as U.S. attorney. One wonders what is considered, by the Department of Justice in the other Washington, preferable. But we may soon learn.

Sudden snow

snow in the valley

Was a quick snow, predicted only on the fringes and seemingly catching a lot of people west of the Cascades by surprise. Certainly it snagged the roads pretty well.

Snoqualmie Pass this morning
Snoqualmie Pass this morning

The Cascade Mountain passes seem solidly blocked; the judge from the roadcams, Snoqualmie is rough, and Stevens is much worse. Considering the cold of the last few days, the Gorge area has to be lousy with ice. Even the flat roads in the valleys, though, are slick because of the recent cold that hasn't allowed for a quick melt. It's not the kind of storm, happily, that will shut off a lot of power (the region has had quite enough of that). But it may keep a lot of people home.

For those east of the Cascades: It's coming your way. Possibly in diluted form, but still.

Fine print

Most governors highlight their initiatives and approaches to governing in their state of the state or sometimes inaugural speeches. Idaho's Butch Otter appears not to be one of those governors; his changes are showing up later, in the fine print of the budget books. Not that these moves are necessarily bad or wrong; just that Otter has seemed determined not to shine a light on them. They poked out of the ground on their own - in the first instance, literally so - and in the process seem to show off Otter's more libertarian roots, and maybe his approach to governance.

Three major examples have emerged just in the last few days. They will, almost certainly, not be the last.

The first was Otter's action on the Statehouse construction. He made clear enough in his campaign last year that while he supported Statehouse renovation, he did not support digging two new underground levels under the building, at substantial cost. (We have expressed concern about that, too.) After his election, though, he went silent on the issue, a major and highly visible subject where he works. It went unmentioned in his inaugural speech, and was so strikingly absent from his state of the state that reporters asked him about it afterward.

Then last week, Otter issued a stop-work order - construction work on the Statehouse would stop, including work preparatory to the big dig. That, his people explained, was partly to buy time to negotiate with legislators on the subject. Apparently it also had to do with his budget proposal, which explicitly did not include money for underground office construction. This head-to-head with the legislature is just beginning to play out.

The second item was the dropping of a second shoe.

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