Do ya THINK...? Oh, by the way... 'Scuse me... Got a light...? [UPDATE]

The judge in the racketeering case against cigarette makers on Wednesday questioned whether "additional influences" prompted the government to drastically reduce a sanction it is seeking against the industry. [...] "Big Tobacco is one of the top donors to Republicans, and it is getting what it paid for," New Jersey Democrat Frank Lautenberg said in a statement.

lessee... "additional influences...?" hmmmmm... rove...? bush...? cheney...? gonzales...?)

[UPDATE]

(thanks to think progress...)

A person familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the change was "forced on the tobacco team by higher-level, politically appointed officials of the Justice Department," including Associate Atty. Gen. Robert McCallum, who oversees the civil division.

but WAIT...! there's MORE...!

Before his appointment in the Justice Department in 2001, McCallum had been a partner at Alston & Bird, an Atlanta-based firm that has done trademark and patent work for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco.

what absolutely, positively BLOWS ME AWAY, is that these characters don't even TRY to keep up appearances... even having mccallum on the justice department payroll, much less as asst. atty general, stinks like a dead skunk under the back porch...

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