The Austin American Statesman reported the following this week:

In a breakthrough in negotiations between Congress and the Justice Department regarding the investigation into the firing of U.S. attorneys last year, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said Thursday evening that the Justice Department will make at least eight current and former employees available for transcribed interviews with House and Senate investigators.

The interviews are to begin at 10 a.m. Friday with Michael Elston, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty.

“The ability to move forward with our investigation with the Justice Department’s cooperation is a big step,” Conyers said. “If we are going to get to the bottom of this, we must talk to those involved in guiding the decision-making process.

“This agreement, which involves on-the-record interviews in advance of possible hearings, helps bring us down that path. We still anxiously await further negotiation with the White House.”

Conyers and other congressional leaders have been involved in negotiations with the Justice Department for weeks regarding interviews with key figures in the inquiry.

Among the other officials that congressional investigators want to interview are [emphasis added]: Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty; Monica Goodling, special counsel to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and White House liaison; William Moschella, principal associate deputy attorney general; David Margolis, an associate deputy attorney general; Michael Battle, former director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys; William Mercer, the U.S. attorney for Montana.

Now, Johnny “House of Death” Sutton is not on that list, but it is interesting that another U.S. Attorney is: William Mercer.

It appears Mercer’s name shows up in the emails the DOJ turned over to Congress on the purge — just as Sutton’s name does as previously reported by Narco News.

From Gannett News Service:

WASHINGTON — Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for Montana, was involved in efforts by Justice Department officials to push eight of his colleagues out the door, according to dozens of e-mails and memos.

… During the first half of 2006, Mercer exchanged e-mails with other Justice Department officials regarding complaints against U.S. Attorneys John McKay of Seattle and Paul Charlton of Phoenix. McKay ran afoul of his superiors for backing an interagency information sharing system that they did not like but that the Navy had endorsed, documents state. Charlton had fallen out of favor for creating a new policy that required FBI agents in his state to tape confessions whenever possible, the documents show.

From March 2006 until July, when he returned to Montana for two months, Mercer was in on e-mails and reports that were critical of Carol Lam of San Diego, who prosecuted former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., on bribery charges. Cunningham was convicted and sentenced to prison.

So if Congress is focused on Mercer, could that mean Sutton might yet end up in the spotlight — and maybe even the House of Death mass murder and cover-up?

I wouldn’t hold my breath, as that would take some real political courage, which goes far beyond the stagecraft of political theater we’ve seen to date. But it is worth pointing out a pattern of interest. It seems Mercer, like McNulty, has risen up the ranks of power at DOJ with the arrival of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales — who took over the AG post in February 2005 if you recall.

From Mercer’s bio on the DOJ Web site:

Bill Mercer has served as United States Attorney for the District of Montana since April 20, 2001. On the recommendation of Senator Burns, President Bush nominated Mercer for the position and he was confirmed by the United States Senate.

In September of 2006, Mercer was nominated by President Bush as Associate Attorney General. Until his confirmation by the Senate, Mercer will continue to serve as United States Attorney for the District of Montana as well.

From June of 2005 through July 8, 2006, at the request of Attorney General Gonzales, Mercer assumed a dual assignment in Washington, D.C., where he served as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General.

But there is one other odd string that connects McNulty, Mercer and Sutton.

Remember this series of facts from the notebook above:

So the AGAC is the board where these pieces all come together — Gonzales, McNulty, Sutton and Battle — over the very issue of U.S. Attorney policies and programs.

And to further cement the connections, Battle, McNulty and Sutton all serve or served on the AGAC. In fact, McNulty was appointed chairman of the committee in May 2005 at the same time Sutton was appointed vice chairman. Sutton was then named by Gonzales to replace McNulty as chair of the committee in March 2006 — and Sutton still holds that position.

So Sutton replaced McNulty as chairman of the AGAC after McNulty’s promotion to Deputy Attorney General. And guess who held the AGAC chair prior to McNulty?

That’s right, Mercer.

From the DOJ Web site:

… Between 2001 and 2005, Mercer served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC), a group of fifteen U.S. Attorneys who advise the Attorney General on policy matters. Attorney General Ashcroft appointed Mercer to Chairman of the AGAC from May 1, 2004, until he was appointed Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General.

I don’t know about you, but I have to wonder if two former chairman of the AGAC are deemed by Congress to be worthy of questioning about the U.S. Attorney purge, then why is Sutton out of the limelight on that front to date — particularly, when like McNulty and Mercer, Sutton also was in the loop about the purge, according to the DOJ emails.

I guess it’s all just one big coincidence.

Stay tuned….