Do the right thing.

Ashcroft has opted out of the Plame game, recusing himself in favor of Peter Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Although there were a few ruffled feathers when Fitzgerald was appointed -- he's not a native son of Chicago, but rather a carpetbagger from New York (so to speak) -- all accounts are that he's nonpartisan, sharp, and relentless.*

This is an excellent decision by Ashcroft. But why now?

Well, one possibility is that the investigation has reached the stage at which witnesses are going to have to be called, and that some of those witnesses are in the White House. The sideshow of having an AG, who (rightly or wrongly) is viewed as highly partisan, question the staff of his patron and employer would simply be too much to bear -- ethically or politically. This, then, may be one of those happy times when the politically smart thing to do happens to coincide with the ethical thing to do, making the Ascroft's decision to recuse a no-brainer.

Just a guess. Can you do better?

von

*I used to practice in the Northern District of Illinois.

Comments

[Harley]

Relenteless sounds good. Marshall has more over at Talking Poins Memo.