Obama Must Not Fire Blagojevich Prosecutor Fitzgerald

When Bill Clinton took office in January 1993, he was hearing the footsteps of Little Rock U.S. Attorney Charles A. Banks, who was hot on his heels as he probed charges of corruption that swirled around the Whitewater land deal. President Clinton decided, in one of his first acts, to fire all 93 U.S. attorneys, claiming he wanted a clean slate. But many insiders suspected that the other 92 bodies were a cover for firing Banks and replacing him with Clinton ally Paula Casey.

The indictment of Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich by United States Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald raises a similar question as Barack Obama prepares to take office. Will the new president fire Fitzgerald? In view of the close relationship between Blagojevich, Obama and other key members of the incoming administration, it would be a travesty of justice were Fitzgerald's head to roll just when he is exposing the corruption that strangles Illinois politics.

Consider the facts:

— Fitzgerald has already indicted and convicted Antoin Rezko, Obama's friend and key financial backer, who may have arranged for the then-state senator to acquire his home and adjoining property on advantageous terms.

— Obama and his incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, were part of an intimate circle of advisors who clustered around Blagojevich when he first ran for governor in 2002. Emanuel says that he and Obama and two other Blagojevich aides "participated in a small group that met weekly when Rod was running for governor. We basically laid out the general election, Barack and I and these two."

— Obama advisor and media guru David Axelrod worked for Blagojevich in his races for Congress before he ran for governor, although Axelrod — a consultant of uncommon integrity — refused to work for Blagojevich when he ran for governor.

— Even though U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald signaled that he was investigating the governor, following up "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud," and noted that he had "a number of credible witnesses," Obama vigorously backed Blagojevich for re-election.

Fitzgerald has gone out of his way to signal that his investigation does not involve President-elect Obama, but who knows whether or not it might lead to others in the Illinois Democratic Party who make up the new president's coterie of advisors and aides? If Fitzgerald stays on the job, we can be sure the investigation will be pursued honestly and thoroughly.

He is obviously no partisan. Fitzgerald pursued the investigation of Dick Cheney aide Scooter Libby past the point of absurdity. After he found out that no crime had been committed in leaking Valerie Plame's name to the media and that Libby wasn't the one who had done it, in any event, he still indicted and convicted Libby for perjury, a crime that would never have been committed had he never investigated. But Fitzgerald's Inspector Javert-like pursuit of the Plame scandal, aimed at the heart of the Bush administration, should be more than enough proof of his non-political credentials.

Despite the furor over Bush's decision to fire a number of U.S. attorneys, allegedly for political reasons, it is entirely fair for an incoming president to replace the U.S. attorneys and fill them with men and women who reflect his law enforcement priorities. That is how democracy works. When Ronald Reagan took office, he replaced all the U.S. attorneys, and Bush-43 replaced all but two of them when he took over (he fired some of them later, which caused the controversy).

Obama should replace the other 92 U.S. attorneys if he wishes. He should also not hesitate to replace Fitzgerald once his work is done. But if he removes the Illinois U.S. attorney after this indictment, we will be left to wonder, for four years, if he did so to cover something up.

To find out more about Dick Morris and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 DICK MORRIS AND EILEEN MCGANN

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