Word: curran
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...hard argument to sustain. Not only was Bell a Democrat, of course, but he was an old friend of the Carters' and of Lance. Faced with increasing criticism, Bell last week finally decided to put the probe into other hands. His choice was highly qualified: Paul Jerome Curran, 45, who not only is a Republican but had been the U.S. Attorney in New York City...
...turned out, Bell's problems were far from over. Trying to resist any comparison with Watergate, Bell made Curran a "special counsel," not a "special prosecutor," the title carried by Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski when they led the investigations that helped to bring about Richard Nixon's downfall. There was one important difference: unlike the special prosecutors, Curran would not have the power to charge anyone on his own. He would first have to get the approval of Assistant Attorney General Philip Heymann...
Bell promised that Curran would not be overruled unless "the special counsel's decisions were grossly inconsistent with well-established prosecutorial standards." The Attorney General also said that any veto by Heymann of Curran's request would be reported to Congress and the public. In those circumstances-and the certainty that Republicans would be screaming, "Cover-up!"-Heymann would have needed very strong nerves indeed to veto any request by Curran to prosecute. Said Heymann last week: "I can't imagine...
...criticism confined to the Republicans. None other than Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd took to the floor to express keen disappointment in Bell's action. He thought that the Attorney General should have named Curran as special prosecutor, and he asked that the appointee be given "explicit protection against removal except for extraordinary improprieties...
That was enough for Bell. Two days later he called a press conference to announce that Curran would not have to get Heymann's approval if he wanted to prosecute someone. One restriction upon Curran's authority does remain. He still must get approval from Justice before asking a court to grant a witness immunity from prosecution. Bell said, correctly, that Jaworski himself had operated under a similar restriction. Bell added that Curran could be removed from office "only for extraordinary impropriety, physical disability, mental incapacity or any other condition that substantially impairs [his] performance...