The DoI/DoJ revolving door.
Most people think of a governmental "revolving door" involving individuals moving between the private and public sectors; however, in the Bush Administration, there's also the movement between particular departments, and even specific offices. Take the apparent career track between the Department of the Interior's Solicitor's office, and the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) at the Department of Justice, the office which purportedly has oversite over all DoI issues. George Bush's first Assistant Attorney General for ENRD, Thomas Sansonetti, was the Solicitor of the Interior under Ronald Reagan, and led the Interior's Transition Team in 2001. One of Sansonetti's first hires was William Myers III, a partner at Sansonetti's BigEnergy lobbying firm, Holland and Hart. When Myers left the DoI after being nominated by Bush for the 9th Circuit Court, Norton placed her deputy chief of staff, Sue Ellen Wooldridge in the Solicitor's office. It was two deputy assistant AGs at ENRD, Kelly Johnson and Jeffrey Clark who, along with White House special assistant Kyle Sampson, who attempted to force Special Trustee Tom Slonaker to alter his Congressional testimony, and when he refused, had Steven Griles fire him.
When Tom Sansonetti himself left ENRD in late 2004, after the Jack Abramoff scandal began to implicate his close friend, Steve Griles, Sansonetti's chief assistant, Kelly Johnson took over at "acting" AAG. In November, 2005, when her romantic partner and boss at the DoI, Steve Griles, was lying before a Senate committee, Sue Ellen Wooldridge moved from Solicitor to AAG of ENRD. Kelly Johnson "retired" to spend more time with her new lobbying firm, Holland and Hart, where Sansonetti and Myers just happened to have found positions as well.
When Wooldridge moved to DoJ, she brought DoI Deputy Solicitor, Matthew McKeown, a former Kempthorne lackey and Deputy AG from Idaho. When Wooldridge abruptly resigned from the DoJ last spring, when her relationship with Griles was made public (along with her purchase of a vacation condo with a BigEnergy lobbyist), McKeown stepped in as "acting" AAG of ENRD.
A little birdie emailed me yesterday to let me know that McKeown "is returning to the DOI Solicitor's Office, as Deputy Associate Solicitor for the Division of Mineral Resources later this month". This is a career position according to the 2004 Plum Book. McKeown will report to David Bernhardt, who, not surprisingly, followed Sue Ellen Wooldridge from Gale Norton's Deputy Chief of Staff to the Solicitor's office. Will Bernhardt follow tradition and head over to the DoJ?
Comments
Nice chronology. Maybe someday someone will write a sequel to War Against the Greens detailing how Wise Use consolidated its power under Baby Bush.
Posted by: Jay Taber | July 10, 2007 03:45 PM
Every time I allow myself to be optimistic about improvements under a future administration, I'm jerked back to earth by facts like these. You rightly emphasize the most ominous phrase in the post, career position.
The prospect of rooting out the corrupt interlocking directorate that's installing itself into the career civil service is deeply discouraging. These criminals are going to exploit what's left of civil service protections under their regime in order to stay in position to block any new policies. They'll fight like hell in the unfortunately unlikely event that a Dem administration has the political will for the struggle.
Or the research to know where to wage it -- though your reporting and that of others would be invaluable to anyone who was serious about gathering the information now that could help make it possible for new policies to be implemented.
Posted by: Nell | July 21, 2007 12:22 PM