Speaking of appointments to the court...

ABC says the White House is preparing itself for the possibility (but not likelihood) of a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court shortly after the current term lapses at the end of this month.

But if President Bush tries to appoint a right-wing ideologue to the high court, it's going to be tough sledding on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is controlled by Democrats, including a big bunch of liberal stalwarts.

That would be fun, wouldn't it?

Rockford guy focus of wider DOJ probe

The Justice Department's inspector general and the department's Office of Professional Responsibility have notified the Senate Judiciary Committee of an expanded investigation into hiring practices at the agency.

The wider probe involves, among other things, allegations of improper practices by Rockford native Michael Elston in the operation of the department's Honors Program and Summer Law Intern Program.

Elston, who was chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, already has been questioned by congressional investigators behind closed doors in connection with the controversy over the firing of eight federal prosecutors.

Elston has been accused by several of those cashiered prosecutors of threatening them with retaliation if they made a fuss over their dismissals.

Background on Elston's role in the Attorneygate scandal can be found here and through the links therein.

This should be fun

U.S. Attorney Gen. Alberto Gonzales testifies today before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the matter of the Bush administration's questionable dismissals of eight federal prosecutors, an issue that most Americans consider worthy of investigation, despite arguments to the contrary from die-hard supporters of the White House gang.

Madison blogger Griper Blade offers some background.

UPDATE: Dick Durbin gives Gonzales some pushback when the attorney general says criticism of him is criticism of dedicated career staffers in the Justice Department. See the video here.