by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math
Most of the action on the U.S. Attorney firings has centered around Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM), but in addition, the office of Rep. Richard Hastings (R-WA) has landed in the mix. Hastings Chief of Staff, Ed Cassidy, called Washington State USA John McKay to ask about a possible federal investigation into the Great Washington Gubernatorial Re-Recount and Ensuing Bogus Lawsuit of 2004-2005. McKay waved off the call to prevent Cassidy from violating House ethics rules. I'm sure Glenn Greenwald has penned an eloquent diatribe on the dangers inherent in this sort of conversion of the entire state apparatus into a means for exacting retribution on one's political adversaries.
Via TPMMuckraker (and by the way, how great is it to have a news outlet, even if it's partisan, that's willing to keep tabs on all this stuff?), Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) is at least willing to go on the record in favor of an ethics investigation into Hastings conduct. It's not clear that he's willing to back his tough talk with a formal complaint, but it's nonetheless nice to see that the faux ethic "truce" of the late nineties and early aughts is fading away.
