Politics - Gonezalesgate

Abu Proffers the Abhaya Mudra

Update: My bad. That is not the Abhaya Mudra. It is the Vitarka Mudra.

In a comment on this post, reader Jim writes:

In relation to Ms. MAry Beth Buchanan, your post is a little misleading. To date, Ms. Buchanan has launched no investigations against Republicans. Instead, she has launched many politically motivated lawsuits to quench the Republican fringe groups. Just look at the Republican Issue for the day (Immigration, Porn, Education, Veterans, etc.) and there is going to be a news release from Ms. Buchanan's office saying how she has moved forward with some sort of investigation on the topic.

As for investigations on Democrats, Ms. Buchanan has used her office to investigate the elected officials Mayor Tom Murphy, the late Mayor Bob O'Connor, Sheriff Pete Defazio, and now Cyril Wecht. Here's a little tid bit on Cyril. Ms. Buchanan claims he misappropriated funds, yet can not provide a $$ amount for the indictment. Additionally, the individuals alleged to be harmed from Dr. Wecht's alleged crimes refute the claims of Ms. Buchanan's office.

I followed up on some of the links Jim provided, and my, my, my Ms. Mary Beth Buchanan is quite the loyal Bushie.

In an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Thomas J. Farrell, former assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2000 during the Clinton administration, writes of Ms. Buchanan:

Ms. Buchanan has been a devotee of the administration's policies. She has aided the effort to inflate the law-enforcement successes in the war on terror by misclassifying routine immigration and false-document cases as "anti-terrorism cases." For a time, the Western Pennsylvania District topped the nation in the number of "anti-terrorism" prosecutions, largely because dozens of Iraqi immigrant truck-drivers were prosecuted for paying off a motor-vehicles official to obtain commercial-drivers licenses. All of them did it to get work; none had terroristic intentions; all received sentences of probation.

Ms. Buchanan has cast herself as a champion of the Patriot Act by repeating in articles and public debates some of the administration's falsehoods. [ ... ] By advocating the administration's demand for increased law-enforcement power, she sacrificed her own credibility when the administration abused those powers, as was most recently evident in the inspector general's report on the FBI's misuse of national security letters.

Ms. Buchanan has spent considerable official time and taxpayer money to advance the administration's agenda and her own ambitions. She has employed a full-time press agent -- a novelty to her office -- and misused senior staff to ghost-write her speeches and articles. While she is prosecuting Dr. Cyril Wecht, a Democrat and devoted public official, for allegedly abusing his office for private gain, she is employing taxpayer dollars to further her own career. She has reinforced this impression by making court appearances in high-profile cases in which she has had no personal involvement. [...]

Why apparently no investigation into Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy's use of government office staff to support his campaign -- which is not unlike what happened in the Allegheny County sheriff's office? Ms. Buchanan also left to local authorities the prosecution of Republican state Rep. Jeff Habay after similar accusations arose.

And what of ex-U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, Ms. Buchanan's political sponsor? He misrepresented his family's residency in order to obtain state-funded cyber schooling for his children. Yet there appears to have been no investigation.

Unbelievable. That is to say, I'm flabbergasted. Holy shit. Rick Santorum? Not be investigated for being the lying, cheating, sanctimonious, hypocritical, smarmy, sexually obsessive mumblewit that he is???

Mr. Farrell ends with a call for the replacement of Ms. Buchanan. I can see why.

Stumble It!