1115.org

We have been hearing for a while about how there must be a flip side to the prosecutor purge scandal. If several U.S. Attorneys were fired for not going “Yes, boss!” when they were instructed to prosecute Democrats without probable cause, or to ease up on prosecuting Republicans regardless of cause, then how many U.S. Attorneys kept their jobs only by proving what loyal Bushies they could be when shown either the carrot or the stick?

Now we have emerging evidence of possible wrongdoing by a U.S. Attorney in order to keep his job. The alleged scene of the crime? Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. The alleged criminal? The Milwaukee, Wisconsin U.S.A.

Last year, Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle was facing a tough re-election battle, when U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic brought corruption charges against Doyle’s state purchasing supervisor.

Last week, federal judges summarily dismissed Biskupic’s case in an unprecedented manner, going so far as to berate the U.S. Attorney for bringing charges when “the evidence is beyond thin.”

In a stunning reversal, a federal court of appeals struck down a state worker’s fraud conviction that Wisconsin Republicans used in efforts to paint Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration as corrupt.

Attorneys on both sides of the case said the three-judge panel likely overruled the trial jury’s conviction of former state purchasing officer Georgia Thompson within hours of oral arguments due to a simple lack of evidence.
[...]
During oral arguments Thursday, one of the members the three-judge panel said the charges against Thompson were unfounded.

“I have to say it strikes me that your evidence is beyond thin,” federal Appeals Judge Diane Wood told prosecutors. “I’m not sure what your actual theory in this case is.”

That’s quite a judicial smack-down.

Now evidence emerges of what may have prompted Biskupic to bring the charges in the first place. The short version? Karl Rove.

Sources tell No Quarter that Rick Wiley, then the executive director of the state GOP, directed a staffer in 2005 to prepare a 30-page report on election abuses in Wisconsin so Wiley could pass it along to a top White House official.

That document, entitled “Fraud in Wisconsin 2004: A Timeline/Summary,” turned up last week in the horde of White House and U.S. Justice Department records released by the House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

“The report was prepared for Karl Rove,” said a source with knowledge of the situation. “Rick wanted it so he could give it to Karl Rove.”
[...]
So the head of the state party went to the political arm of the White House with a report supposedly documenting widespread abuse of election laws in Milwaukee, violations that the party clearly believed weren’t getting the attention they deserved. In late 2005, U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic, a Bush appointee, announced that his probe found no evidence of a conspiracy to steal the 2004 election here.
[...]
Last month, Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said that, beginning in mid-2004, the White House received complaints that federal prosecutors were not vigorously pursuing complaints of voter fraud in Philadelphia, New Mexico and Milwaukee. She said the president met with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in October to discuss those concerns, among other things.

White House Counsel Dan Bartlett made it clear in a March 13 press briefing who specifically was coming under criticism.

“Over the course of several years, we have received complaints about U.S. attorneys, particularly when it comes to election fraud cases - not just New Mexico, but also Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.”

I’ll just diagram the dots, and then you can connect them yourself.

The executive director of the state GOP complains to Karl Rove that Steven Biskupic is not vigorously pursuing allegations of election abuses by Democrats. These complaints come to the ears of Alberto Gonzales and George Bush. Biskupic investigates these allegations, and concludes they have no merit. It is not known at this time whether Biskupic’s name was on the list of U.S. Attorneys who were shortlisted for being fired. It is not known at this time whether Biskupic was told that his name was on the list. It is not known at this time whether, like David Iglesias, Biskupic received calls from any member of the House of Representatives (three of whom are Republicans), putting pressure on him to bring charges against a member of Doyle’s administration. What is known is that Biskupic brought laughably thin charges against Georgia Thompson. What is known is that Republicans exploited these charges to great political effect in last fall’s gubernatorial election. What is known is that Biskupic kept his job. What is known is that Biskupic is not answering any questions at this time on any of this.

For the record, Michelle Jacobs of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Milwaukee (”Biskupic’s number two and spokesperson”) denied over the weekend that the Thompson prosecution was politically motivated. Here’s her ringing denial:

“I can tell you that from our perspective it was not, but that is as far as I’m going to go.”