![](http://www.slabbed.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/billy-tauzin.jpg)
People are plain mad at the political class these days, after all who isn’t mad after being snookered by self-serving double-dealing politicians such as Chris Dodd, Max Baucus, David Vitter or Dick Shelby all of whom recommend people for important government positions such as US Attorney. With the election of Barack Obama in 2008 we found out here in Mississippi that the duty of recommending people for such jobs then falls to the House members when both senators are in the party out of power.
Back in the year 2000 the kingmaker in Louisiana was Billy Tauzin, at least for the southern part of the state. For now, lets circle that fact as Slabbed explores why a succession of US Attorneys failed to clean up the systemic corruption in New Orleans for years ending with the now disgraced Eddie Jordan. Jim Letten on the other hand has enjoyed far more success, so much so that the Republican Letten has stayed on to serve the Democrat Obama due to the popular outcry in favor of keeping him on. People everywhere yearn for clean and above-board government and Jim Letten has delivered it. But as a reader reminded us, it was almost business as usual back in the day. A Baton Rouge Advocate story from February 3, 2002 as memorialized by the National Organization for Women fills in the gap:
Acknowledging there is a previously undisclosed allegation of abuse, a Louisiana Republican congressman said Saturday the FBI has completed an expanded investigation of the U.S. Attorney-designee of Fred Heebe of New Orleans and cleared Heebe of all allegations that he abused three women.
“It’s a clean slate,” said U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-Chackbay. In addition to re-investigating the allegations made by an ex-wife and a former girlfriend of Heebe’s, the FBI “investigated this so-called third woman and has filed a report back to the White House,” Tauzin said. Continue reading “That Eau de Landfill smell gives me the Heebe-Jeebies: Slabbed looks back at Baby Bushie as we tie a few things together.”