Bush picks Abramoff prosecutor for federal judgeship / Democrats wonder about the timing of president's move

Bush picks Abramoff prosecutor for federal judgeship / Democrats wonder about the timing of president's move: "Friday, January 27, 2006

Washington -- The investigation into Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a provocative new turn Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush.

The prosecutor, Noel Hillman, is chief of the department's Office of Public Integrity, and the move ends his involvement in an investigation that has reached into the administration as well as into the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.

Democrats swiftly questioned the move's timing and called for a special prosecutor as Bush faced a barrage of questions about why he would not make public 'grip and grin' photographs of himself with Abramoff. The photographs apparently show Bush and Abramoff smiling at White House Hanukkah parties and Republican fundraising receptions."