White House Purging Unfriendly U.S. Attorneys?

Here's a developing scandal of Nixonesque arrogance to keep an eye on...

It first came out in January that numerous U.S. Attorneys had been pushed out at the behest of the White House, and replaced with political cronies. A little-known provision of the Patriot Act made all of this possible (what a wonderful bill, isn't it?). The White House has been in full spin-mode ever since, with some promises of confirmation mentioned and the most egregious crony appointments (ie. a former associate of Karl Rove) being withdrawn.

It's a complicated story to follow but, with a number of Senators now looking into it and with even more damning revelations about GOP machinations behind this, it's going to pick up steam very soon.

Salon has a great analysis up on this, for those new to the story.

More summaries/updates from Talking Points Memo and Washington Monthly.