PERSON: Bud Cummins
Employer
Eastern District of Arkansas (fmr.)
Position
U.S. Attorney (fmr.)
Biography
Harry Earnest “Bud” Cummins III (born August 6, 1959) is a former United States Attorney of five years in the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Cummins was born in Enid, Oklahoma. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he eventually moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, working for a time in various management roles in the construction business. In 1989, Cummins obtained a law degree from the William H. Bowen School of Law, known then as the UALR School of Law. Subsequently, he served as a law clerk for United States Magistrate Judge John F. Forster, Jr., and later was clerk to Chief United States District Judge Stephen M. Reasoner. After his federal clerkships, he set up a private law practice.
In 1996 he ran as a Republican for Congress, losing roughly 52 percent to 48 percent, to Democrat Vic Snyder. He later served as Governor Mike Huckabee’s Chief Legal Counsel. In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Cummins as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, where he served until 2006.
Cummins received national attention when he was dismissed by US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales despite having received positive job reviews. Cummins was informed in June 2006 that his resignation would be desired, and as part of the transition, his replacement, Tim Griffin, worked for Cummins’ office as a special assistant United States attorney from September 2006 onward. Cummins resigned effective December 20, 2006. He has been called “one of the most distinguished lawyers in Arkansas”.
Early in the Congressional investigations of the firings, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testified that Cummins was removed for no reason except to install a former aide to Karl Rove: 37-year-old Timothy Griffin, a former Republican National Committee opposition research director. Cummins, apparently, “was ousted after Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, intervened on behalf of Griffin.” In fact, White House emails uncovered during investigations showed that Griffin laid the groundwork for the dismissal of Cummins, telling staff members in the White House that Cummins was widely seen by members of the Arkansas bar as “lazy” and “ineffective.” Sara Taylor and Scott Jennings later testified that they believed Cummins to be a subpar incumbent, based solely on statements made by Griffin. Cummins told the Senate Judiciary Committee “that Mike Elston, the deputy attorney general’s top aide, threatened him with retaliation in a phone call [in February 2007] if he went public.” Emails show that Cummins passed on the warning to some of the other Attorneys who were fired.
Reportedly Monica Goodling, who formerly worked for Tim Griffin at the Republican National Committee, “took a leading role in making sure that Tim Griffin, a protege of presidential adviser Karl Rove, replaced H.E. “Bud” Cummins as the U.S. attorney in Arkansas. Documents released to Congress include communications between Goodling and Scott Jennings, Rove’s deputy.”
— Wikipedia
Cummins was born in Enid, Oklahoma. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he eventually moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, working for a time in various management roles in the construction business. In 1989, Cummins obtained a law degree from the William H. Bowen School of Law, known then as the UALR School of Law. Subsequently, he served as a law clerk for United States Magistrate Judge John F. Forster, Jr., and later was clerk to Chief United States District Judge Stephen M. Reasoner. After his federal clerkships, he set up a private law practice.
In 1996 he ran as a Republican for Congress, losing roughly 52 percent to 48 percent, to Democrat Vic Snyder. He later served as Governor Mike Huckabee’s Chief Legal Counsel. In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Cummins as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, where he served until 2006.
Cummins received national attention when he was dismissed by US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales despite having received positive job reviews. Cummins was informed in June 2006 that his resignation would be desired, and as part of the transition, his replacement, Tim Griffin, worked for Cummins’ office as a special assistant United States attorney from September 2006 onward. Cummins resigned effective December 20, 2006. He has been called “one of the most distinguished lawyers in Arkansas”.
Early in the Congressional investigations of the firings, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testified that Cummins was removed for no reason except to install a former aide to Karl Rove: 37-year-old Timothy Griffin, a former Republican National Committee opposition research director. Cummins, apparently, “was ousted after Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, intervened on behalf of Griffin.” In fact, White House emails uncovered during investigations showed that Griffin laid the groundwork for the dismissal of Cummins, telling staff members in the White House that Cummins was widely seen by members of the Arkansas bar as “lazy” and “ineffective.” Sara Taylor and Scott Jennings later testified that they believed Cummins to be a subpar incumbent, based solely on statements made by Griffin. Cummins told the Senate Judiciary Committee “that Mike Elston, the deputy attorney general’s top aide, threatened him with retaliation in a phone call [in February 2007] if he went public.” Emails show that Cummins passed on the warning to some of the other Attorneys who were fired.
Reportedly Monica Goodling, who formerly worked for Tim Griffin at the Republican National Committee, “took a leading role in making sure that Tim Griffin, a protege of presidential adviser Karl Rove, replaced H.E. “Bud” Cummins as the U.S. attorney in Arkansas. Documents released to Congress include communications between Goodling and Scott Jennings, Rove’s deputy.”
— Wikipedia
ClipsBank
Full
Compact
NewsBase
Full
Compact
RadioBank
Full
Compact
PodBank
Full
Compact
TranscriptBank
Full
Compact
No data found
