'Hit List' Included North Florida U.S. Attorney

Two McClatchy journalists today report that Alberto Gonzalez' Justice Department "last year considered firing two U.S. attorneys in Florida and Colorado, states where allegations of voter fraud and countercharges of voter intimidation have flown in recent years... ." The primary source for the report includes investigators working for either the House or Senate Justice committee.

The surprise is that the Florida U.S. Attorney is not Paul Perez, the former U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Florida. Perez' recent resignation inspired U.S. Senator Bill Nelson to wonder whether it was in retaliation for sending a letter that Washington bigwigs considered disloyal to George W. Bush.

Instead, McClatchy reports the marked man in Florida was Gregory Miller, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Miller's office serves the northern tier of the state from Pensacola to Jacksonville.

"You're telling me something I didn't know," Miller told McClatchy News Service. He denied "Washington" Justice Department officials ever voiced criticism about his office over any issue, including toeing the Bush administration line over supposed voter fraud.

Pointedly, however, when "asked whether activists outside Washington had asked his office to look into any controversial voter fraud allegations" Miller declined to comment. He said "Justice Department policy prohibits prosecutors from commenting on closed or ongoing cases."

First he says the Justice Department in Washington didn't say anything, then when asked about anyone "outside" D.C. Miller suddenly remembers prosecutors aren't supposed to talk about "closed or ongoing cases"?

The heavy implication of Miller's non-denial is that someone in Florida was pushing the northern district's federal prosecutor to feed Karl Rove's voter fraud fetish. Maybe it was Rove himself. After all, he maintains a home right here in the Panhandle.