Can Bush's DOJ do its job in protecting Obama?

-- by Dave

Troy Eid, the Rove-appointed U.S. Attorney in Colorado who tossed off the case of the would-be Obama assassins, is deeply concerned about meanie bloggers he blames for the resulting spate of bad press. He might better spend his time reading his own affidavits.

Here's the AP version of what was in the affidavit:

Johnson later told a federal agent that the men talked about assassinating Obama only because he was black, according to a federal arrest affidavit. Johnson said he also heard Adolf say that he wanted to kill Obama "on the day of his inauguration" and that he would "find high ground to set up and shoot Obama," the affidavit said.

And yet in his press conference announcing there wasn't "enough evidence" to pursue conspiracy charges against the men, Eid said:

"You know, they didn't, they didn't reveal a plan. I think what you can see in the affidavit was, uh, a lot of racist rantings and a lot of dislike for the idea of Senator Obama as an African-American person of color being able to pursue that office."

Not only did these men have a plan, they had the material for carrying it out and appeared to be in the early stages of doing so. Investigators found high-powered rifles, ammunition, disguises, walkie-talkies, and maps, all indicative of a coordinated plan to assassinate Obama.

As Brad Jacobson at Media Bloodhound notes, you couple all this with the admission by one of the participants, and it's clear that Eid's office had before them (as the FBI made clear in recommending charges be filed) evidence of motive, intent, and plan -- as well as both the means and the capability of carrying it out. Moreover, as is always critical in conspiracy cases, they evidently took steps to do so.

This is the same U.S. Attorney who was forced upon Coloradans by Karl Rove, despite being profoundly compromised by his associations with Jack Abramoff. Not only was Eid hired while Monica Goodling was calling the shots, his chief deputy was "vetted" by Goodling.

Two questions arise -- one minor, one major:

-- How often has Troy Eid ignored the FBI's recommendations in the past when it comes to filing charges in cases of this nature? (We know when it came to a black man inside a prison threatening John McCain -- despite a clear lack of capability of actually carrying out the threat -- Eid was eager and willing.)

-- Is this administration -- and particularly this Justice Department, as deeply compromised as it has become by the Bush White House's crass politicization -- capable of ensuring that true threats against Democratic figures like Obama are taken seriously and dealt with appropriately?

[Cross-posted at Firedoglake.]