Smoking guns on the US attorneys?

Take a close look at this Seattle Times/McClatchy piece and the associated ThinkProgress post which seems to fairly clearly point to Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, and the then Washington State GOP chairman blowing out the Seattle US Attorney for not pursuing a voter fraud case that had already been researched and cleared by his office and the FBI.

Also: Josh Marshall has another McClatchy piece,

In an e-mail dated May 11, 2006, Sampson urged the White House counsel's office to call him regarding "the real problem we have right now with Carol Lam," who then the U.S. attorney for southern California. Earlier that morning, the Los Angeles Times reported that Lam's corruption investigation of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., had expanded to include another California Republican, Rep Jerry Lewis.

Still not dead on concrete, but the timing certainly suggests that Lam was being blown out because her prosecutions of Republican corruption were about to reach a new level.

Later: TPM has a timeline around this email.

Also, I don't think it should be underestimated that my state's shame, Sen. John Cornyn (R - Crazyland,) is not jumping to Alberto Gonzales' defense. He was the Texas AG tied deeply into the Bush machine with Al Gonzales.

"I have known the attorney general for a long time as a personal matter, and I'm concerned," he said. "But I know the person, and I'm willing to give him an opportunity to come forward and explain himself. I will have to agree with Senator Leahy that the appearances are troubling. .....

Mr. Cornyn, R-Texas, said he has advised Mr. Gonzales to create a buffer between his office and the White House. "There's a perception that the White House is calling the shots," Mr. Cornyn said.

"It's the lack of separation between the White House and the Department of Justice that's created this problem."

It sounds to me like this very inside insider is urging Gonzales to take the fall to coverup the White House connection.

(It sounds like that's the growing administration insider position.)