U.S. Attorney Bogden stood up for his office, and that got him fired

At least that’s the version Karl Rove, Bush’s political operative, provided the House Judiciary Committee in a closed-door hearing July 7.

Rove’s claim that Bogden resisted prosecuting immigration cases is a new allegation, and one that doesn’t ring true. I’m told there were more than 1,000 people prosecuted on immigration-related charges during Bogden’s tenure.

But even Rove said Bush officials admitted it was a close call whether Bogden deserved to be fired. In the end, he received a call on Pearl Harbor Day saying he was being fired despite being a loyal Bushie for more than five years as Nevada’s top federal prosecutor.

He wasn’t given a good reason in that phone call, and the reasons have been hazy ever since despite continuing probes into whether the firings were politically motivated. One Justice official said Bogden was fired because he "lacked energy and leadership."

In 2008, federal investigators said they couldn’t uncover who put him on the firing list or why. However, it was noted, he was placed on the list a week after butting heads with the head of the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force over whether to prosecute an Internet pornography case. Bogden thought the case was weak.

Rove testified he was told Bogden was replaced because "he refused to prosecute immigration cases, which obviously is a problem in Clark County, Las Vegas, and that he also refused to prosecute Internet child pornography cases. Again, these were budget issues. He felt he had inadequate resources and said: ‘I can’t do these unless I get more resources.’"

Rove didn’t recall the names of those who told him about Bogden, saying they were from the White House counsel’s office and the Justice Department. The unnamed officials "went out of their way to say that this was a close call, that he was an otherwise excellent attorney, ran a very fine shop … and it was a close call for them."

Rove said there was no discussion about specific cases Bogden was prosecuting.

Bogden has been nominated to return to his old job by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. President Barack Obama recommended him on July 31, and he’s awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate, which will confirm him despite my previously reported concerns about his poor management ability.

There was speculation he was fired because he didn’t actively prosecute voter registration and fraud cases in Nevada, but Rove said that wasn’t the reason.

Rove said state and local officials handled the fake registrations, which included "a large number of Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and all the members of Oceans 11" registered multiple times in Clark County.

Rove’s lawyer, Robert Luskin, joked, "So in Clark County, Donald Duck only votes once."

Rove said U.S. Sen. John Ensign tried, but failed, to persuade the Bush administration to undo Bogden’s firing. Ensign, who recommended Bogden for the position, called Rove to complain that firing Bogden was stupid because he was a good guy, doing a great job, was easy to get along with and worked well with everybody.

Ensign took his pitch to the White House counsel’s office but couldn’t persuade officials to reverse their actions. Those who crafted the list of prosecutors to be fired didn’t want to reverse themselves on one prosecutor. Administration officials felt if they reversed themselves and unfired Bogden, then other prosecutors would feel enabled to say they wouldn’t do cases without more money and more resources, Rove said.

From Rove’s testimony and the 2008 report, Bogden was dumped by the Bush administration, not for political reasons, not for incompetence, but because he stood up to the Justice Department and said his office needed more people to prosecute certain cases.

Bogden’s sin was refusing to kowtow to what he saw as unreasonable demands on his office by Bush’s Justice Department.

In an interview with me in 2003, after he’d been on the job for two years, Bogden laughed when told he had been described as "a bureaucrat" who was "obedient" and willing to follow the orders of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to the letter.

Based on Rove’s testimony, Dan Bogden gets the last laugh about that description.

But apparently, obedient bureaucrats were exactly what the Bush administration wanted.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.