Word: marston
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PRESIDENT CARTER'S DECISION to fire David W. Marston, the Republican U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia, reeks of more than just political patronage and forgotten campaign promises. It is one in a series of White House faux pas that produce indignation on the part of all Americans regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum. As one observer of Philadelphia politics told a national magazine last week, "It's frightening. He (Carter) doesn't even know what's going on here--and he's supposed to be dealing with the Russians and the Chinese...
THERE ARE MANY unanswered questions that have surfaced in the aftermath of the "Marston Massacre," the Philadephia Story, or what has come to be known as simply the Marston case. Why did Congressman Eilberg personally call Carter last November to ask for Marston's immediate removal? Did Carter know that Marston had launched an investigation of Eilberg because of questionable financial dealings? Was Benjamin Civiletti, the head of the criminal division of the Justice Department, informed of the Eilberg investigation by one of his high-level aides...
More important, though, why did Carter mislead the public about the Marston case at his January 13 press conference? It is distressing that the American people have watched their born-again president lie and subsequently be caught on two cases involving Justice Department investigations. Equally upsetting is the arrogance marking Carter's explanations of his blatant deceptions. Somehow, the president wants us to believe he is uninformed or maybe he simply thinks we are naive. But to whitewash his sins by publicly denying any prior knowledge, and citing the news media as his only source of information...
...FACT demonstrating the administration's penchant for containment is confirmed by a reenactment of a similar string of events two months later. On November 4, Congressman Eilberg called Carter to tell him that Marston was using his office to advance his political career and he and his fellow Pennsylvania Democrats felt the Republican attorney should promptly be removed. Either three or four days later--the record is still not clear--Carter called Bell to inquire about the Marston case to ask him about the status of the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia. Bell answered that he expected to replace him within...
...Attorney General Bell have crossed the Rubicon as far as Marston is concerned, but the new U.S. Attorney "of merit" in Philadelphia had better follow through on the investigations of local politicians now serving in Congress...