Washington Memo: Of Longhorns And Loyalty

There is something intensely familial about the scandal now engulfing the Bush Administration over the dismissal of eight U.S. Attorneys last year. The key players--Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former White House counsel Harriet Miers, political shaman Karl Rove--all rose from the tight web of Texas loyalists who owe their careers to George W. Bush and followed him to Washington in 2001. Bush even chose a member of his Texas tribe who wasn't implicated, counselor Dan Bartlett, for the task of defending those who were. Said Bartlett of the firings: "All the decisions ... were proper decisions."

Pressured by Congress, the White House released e-mails that backed up the charge that G.O.P. lawmakers had lobbied to have some of the prosecutors fired. The documents also proved the White House was far more involved in the dismissals than its spokesmen had previously acknowledged. In 2005, Miers--whom Bush would later fail, calamitously, to promote to the Supreme Court--suggested firing all 93 U.S. Attorneys. Deemed impractical, that idea was replaced by the more modest hit list of eight. "Circulate it to Karl's shop," read one DOJ missive.

Even close families have favored sons and daughters. Rove has that status with Bush, which may explain why, in the official explanation of what had happened, he emerged the least tainted. A little less firmly, Bush also stood by Gonzales, even as Senator John Sununu (R.-N.H.) joined Democratic calls for his resignation.

More immediately accountable was the Attorney General's chief of staff, who did resign. And then there was Miers. She was no longer at the White House, so cable news ran old footage of her, attaching her face to yet another Bush fiasco and reminding us yet again of the risk involved when Presidents value loyalty over competence. Relishing the spectacle, Democrats are now demanding that four White House officials, including Rove, and six senior aides to Gonzales testify under oath. And, of course, Miers. If they balk, Democrats will issue subpoenas. At which point some of the President's loyalists may have to retain attorneys of their own.