AP News, June 15th, 2007
At times wiping away tears, a former interim U.S. attorney who became a key figure in the firing of eight federal prosecutors said his six-month tenure led him to believe that public service was "not worth it."
Tim Griffin, a former aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove, said the allure of working at the White House and National Guard commitments that took him to Iraq kept him away from Arkansas and his wife too long.
"It's not worth it. I'm married now and have a kid," Griffin, 38, said in a 90-minute address Thursday at the Clinton School of Public Service. "I'm sorry I put my wife through this and I'm trying to move on."
Griffin replaced Bud Cummins, one of eight federal prosecutors either fired or forced out last year. Griffin said Cummins had told him in April 2006 about his coming departure as chief federal prosecutor in Arkansas' eastern district.
"So when I heard from Bud he had been asked to leave in the summer of 2006, I wasn't surprised," Griffin said. "But no one promised me the U.S. attorney position, nor could they, because the president personally decides that. I knew that I had friends in the administration who valued my service."
Documents released to congressional investigators, however, show the Justice Department had identified Griffin to replace Cummins as early as January 2006.
Justice officials have said Griffin was selected by then-White House counsel Harriet Miers, raising questions about how involved the White House was in managing the traditionally independent department.
Additionally, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty told senators Cummins was the only prosecutor whose ouster was not performance-related _ indicating that he was ordered to resign solely to make way for the politically connected Griffin.
Griffin, who did not take questions from reporters, did not specifically address his political future. He has been mentioned as possibly taking a position with potential Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson's campaign.
After Griffin was appointed to replace Cummins, congressional Democrats began probing Cummins' firing and others across the country. As the probe continued, Griffin told reporters he would not seek confirmation because the investigations had turned into a "political circus," but said he would serve as long as the president wanted him. Griffin quit June 1.
"Ultimately, I wanted to be confirmed by the Senate and naively perhaps thought that I would be. ... I had to take into account the infinitesimal probability that Senate hearings would focus fairly and objectively on the actual merits of my qualifications ... despite the highly polarized political environment we have today in Washington," said Griffin, a Magnolia native.
McNulty has announced his resignation, effective later this summer, and the congressional investigation continues with subpoenas to White House aides.
