Bud Cummins

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Cummins received national attention when he was dismissed by United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales despite having received positive job reviews. [5]

Bud Cummins
Bud Cummins.jpg
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas
In office
December 20, 2001 –December 20, 2006

Cummins was informed in June 2006 that his resignation would be desired, and as part of the transition, his replacement, Tim Griffin, had worked for Cummins' office as a special assistant United States attorney since September 2006 onward. [6] [7] [8] Cummins resigned effective December 20, 2006. He was called "one of the most distinguished lawyers in Arkansas". [9]

Early in the congressional investigations of the firings, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testified that Cummins was removed for no reason except to install a former aide to Karl Rove: 37-year-old Tim Griffin, a former opposition research director for the Republican National Committee. [10] [11] Cummins, apparently, "was ousted after Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, intervened on behalf of Griffin." [12] In fact, White House emails uncovered during investigations showed that Griffin laid the groundwork for the dismissal of Cummins, telling staff members in the White House that Cummins was widely seen by members of the Arkansas bar as "lazy" and "ineffective." Sara Taylor and Scott Jennings later testified that they believed Cummins to be a sub-par attorney based solely on statements made by his intra-party rival, Tim Griffin. Cummins told the Senate Judiciary Committee "that Mike Elston, the deputy attorney general's top aide, threatened him with retaliation in a phone call [in February 2007] if he went public." [13] Emails show that Cummins passed on the warning to some of the other Attorneys who were fired. [14]

Reportedly Monica Goodling, who formerly worked for Tim Griffin at the Republican National Committee, "took a leading role in making sure that Griffin replaced Cummins. Documents released to Congress include communications between Goodling and Scott Jennings, Rove's deputy." [15]

Cummins answered a House Judiciary Committee interrogatory about the experience: [16]

Cummins had been investigating the administration of Republican Missouri Governor Matt Blunt regarding allegations that certain individuals who worked for Blunt had violated the law in the awarding of fee offices. [17] On October 4, 2006, Cummins himself announced that the investigation had concluded and that no charges were filed against anyone. "Cummins' statement at the time included a specific reference to Blunt, which he acknowledged was unusual, but was consistent with department policies and justified in light of leaks and erroneous reporting. The statement made clear that 'at no time was Governor Blunt a target, subject, or witness in the investigation, nor was he implicated in any allegation being investigated. Any allegations or inferences to the contrary are uninformed and erroneous.'" [18] Cummins has said multiple times that he does not believe the Missouri investigation had anything to do with his dismissal.

Role in Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory

On November 24, 2019, Cummins' name came to light in relation to the Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory. In response to inquiries from reporters with Talking Points Memo [19] and ABC News, [20] Cummins confirmed that as early as October 2018 he had acted "as an intermediary between certain Ukrainian interests and federal law enforcement." [19] Cummins had been hired to represent Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko and connect with "high level" U.S. authorities to present allegations of corruption by Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Lutsenko had worked with president Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to press for a Ukrainian investigation of Hunter Biden. [21] Cummins said he "knew precious little about Ukrainian politics at that stage," and that Lutsenko "may or may not be a credible guy." [22] His role emerged in a letter from Giuliani to senator Lindsey Graham on the previous day, November 23. Although Giuliani did not name him, Cummins confirmed that he was the former U.S. attorney referenced in the letter. Cummins noted to the reporters that he had not vetted the Ukrainian interests who contacted him, whom he declined to name. He further noted that, in his communication with Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney for Manhattan, he said he could not vouch for the veracity of the Ukrainian information, but was passing it along as a matter he considered appropriate for further investigation by an appropriate federal law enforcement agency. Cummins noted that he took no further actions in this matter once Giuliani's role became public. [20]

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References

  1. ↑ "A Guide To The Congressional Races: Arkansas". Time. November 4, 1996. Archived from the original on January 27, 2010.
  2. ↑ "The Electoral College". May 20, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Congressional Record: Daily digest". Government Printing Office. November 30, 2001: D590.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ↑ at 14:30, John Leyden February 23, 2006. "Acxiom database hacker jailed for 8 years". www.theregister.co.uk. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  5. ↑ Johnston, David (March 8, 2007). "Inquiry Into Ouster of U.S. Attorneys Moves Toward Subpoenas at Justice Department". The New York Times . Retrieved March 16, 2006.
  6. ↑ Dan Eggen and Amy Goldstein (March 23, 2007). "E-Mails Show Machinations to Replace Prosecutor". The Washington Post . Retrieved March 24, 2007.
  7. ↑ Sabin, Warwick. End around: Senators question U.S. attorney appointment. Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Arkansas Times, December 28, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
  8. ↑ Hartley, Allegra (March 21, 2007). "Timeline: How the U.S. Attorneys Were Fired". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  9. ↑ Cohen, Adam. Editorial Observer: Why Have So Many U.S. Attorneys Been Fired? It Looks a Lot Like Politics The New York Times , February 26, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  10. ↑ Kevin Johnson (February 6, 2007). "Prosecutor fired so ex-Rove aide could get his job". USA Today .
  11. ↑ Eric Lichtblau, Eric Lipton (August 11, 2009). "E-Mail Reveals Rove's Key Role in '06 Dismissals". The New York Times . Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  12. ↑ David Johnston (February 16, 2007). "White House Is Reported to Be Linked to a Dismissal". The New York Times .
  13. ↑ Robert Schmidt (March 6, 2007). "Fired Prosecutor Says He Was Warned to Keep Quiet (Update2)". Bloomberg News.
  14. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 30, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Emails release by the House Judiciary Committee, email of February 20, 2007, page 17
  15. ↑ "Who is Monica Goodling?". McClatchy Newspapers. March 26, 2007. Archived from the original on April 9, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  16. ↑ Q & A from Committee for Bud Cummins Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (no date). United States House Committee on the Judiciary Retrieved May 18, 2007. (Written responses by Bud Cummins to committee interrogatories, post-hearing.)
  17. ↑ Springfield Business Journal - Online Edition
  18. ↑ http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/D015454DE6563E4C862572A10003B69A?OpenDocument%5B%5D
  19. 1 2 Kovensky, Josh (November 24, 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: Bud Cummins Tried To Interest US Law Enforcement In Ukraine Dirt On Bidens". talkingpointsmemo.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  20. 1 2 Levine, Mike (November 24, 2019). "Before working with Giuliani, Ukrainian official hired Trump-linked lobbyist to relay anti-Biden claims in US". abcnews.go.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  21. ↑ Neumeister, Larry (May 25, 2021). "US got ex-Ukrainian officials' data in Giuliani probe". Associated Press.
  22. ↑ Levine, Mike (November 24, 2019). "Before working with Giuliani, Ukrainian official hired Trump-linked lobbyist to relay anti-Biden claims in US".
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