Commentary from Jack the Blogger….

It’s funny how politicians view things. It’s 2007 and politics are nastier than ever. That’s the way our elected officials work these days. Sad.

For example the deal with Montana’s U.S. Attorney William Mercer and his pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate as the Associate Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice. Mercer was nominated to this position in September 2006. All he needs is a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Western Word (TWW) has commented on the Mercer issue and the issue with Gonzales a few times in the past. To say the least, Gonzales has not done well explaining himself to the Judiciary Committees in the Senate or the House, but if President Bush wants him to stay, he will stay.

Today, there are new developments with the Mercer issue that needs a commentary, so here goes:

Montana’s two democrats in the U.S. Senate, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, signed on to a bill by U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., that will be introduced Monday and, if passed, would ensure that U.S. Attorneys reside in the districts where they are appointed to serve.

It will make Mercer “pick a job” one reporter wrote. It was on the local news and there’s an AP story floating around. Of course, it has the famed “unnamed source” aspect to it as we’ve seen in many stories in the last couple of years. It’s interesting to TWW that the press is reporting about a bill that has not even been introduced yet. They must have wanted to get the story off their desks on Friday so they wouldn’t have to work on it Monday. Maybe they are taking Monday off.

Basically Feinstein’s bill, if passed, will overturn this section (below) in Public Law 109-177 of the ‘‘USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005’’
SEC. 501. RESIDENCE OF UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS AND ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS.
“Pursuant to an order from the Attorney General or his designee, a United States attorney or an assistant United States attorney may be assigned dual or additional responsibilities
that exempt such officer from the residency requirement in this subsection for a specific period as established by the order and subject to renewal.’’

Currently there are four U.S. Attorneys who are working out of their districts according to a press release on Feinstein’s senate website.

It’s ironic, but it looks like that Feinstein and Baucus voted for the conference report on this bill in March 2006 as it passed the Senate 89-10.

TWW asks, “Did ya EVEN read it?” By the way, Tester was not in the U.S. Senate at that time.

Depends, Depends, Depends…
All this comes down to who nominated Mercer and it all depends on who’s in the White House and it depends on which political party you belong. It also depends on who has the majority. It’s all political, period. The reporters seem to suck this up as news, but fail to see it’s all politics.

Yes, the other side of the aisle does the same things.

Mercer was recommended by a Republican and a Republican President nominated him to these posts. If Mercer had been selected for the number three position by Janet Reno, who was President Bill Clinton’s Attorney General, then Montana’s two democratic U.S. Senators would not have said a word about him working two jobs until his confirmation by the U.S. Senate. They would have been screaming for his confirmation by the Senate Judiciary committee.
TWW believes if Baucus and Tester really wanted an end to this, then they would request a confirmation hearing for Mercer. One way or the other, he would have only one job. But they selected the political route and besides, there’s not much press coverage out there for standing up for a fellow Montanan and getting him a hearing.

Another darn political thing…
Federal judges are also political appointees, but one difference between them and U.S. Attorneys is a Federal Judge is appointed for life. It’s also funny, if not sad, that the Federal District Judge in Montana who has complained about Mercer holding two jobs was nominated to his position in April 1996 by, you guessed it, a democrat named Bill Clinton. A little ganging up? Maybe. Politics, politics, politics…

Don’t hold your breath…
When will the Senate Judiciary Committee hold a hearing for William Mercer? Don’t hold your breath. They are getting a lot of traction out of this deal and the deal with Gonzales. The sharks smell blood.