The Federal Trade Commission has closed an investigation it had opened into a completed hospital merger in Texas, the agency announced today.

The deal had closed in April.

King Daughters, an acute care facility, was in poor financial health, and Scott & White planned to turn it into a children’s hospital.

The commission, along with the Texas Attorney General’s office, stepped in, arguing that the merger eliminated the only independent competitor to Scott & White in one Texas county.

In order to address the agencies’ concerns, Scott agreed to offer to sell King to another interested hospital chain.

The other potential buyer, the Seton Family of Hospitals, declined the offer, citing King’s deteriorating condition since the merger.

The FTC then closed its investigation.

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who’s now teaching a class at Texas Tech University, offered students some advice  in an article published today in the student newspaper.

“Dream big but be patient,� Gonzales told The Daily Toreador. “You never know when the next George W. Bush is going to come along and give you a once in a lifetime opportunity like he gave me, but you have to be patient.�

Gonzales resigned in September 2007 amid an uproar over allegations that the Bush White House fired U.S. Attorneys for political reasons. He was also portrayed in several books about the Bush administration as a rubber-stamp for controversial national security policies pushed by Vice President Dick Cheney and Cheney’s powerful chief of staff, David Addington, including illegal warrantless surveillance and torture.

“We live in a great country, where the son of a cotton picker can become the attorney general of the United States. It’s a country where dreams still come true,” Gonzales told the student newspaper.

Alberto Gonzales (Getty Image

Texas Tech hired the native Texan this summer to teach a political science course and help recruit minority students. Several professors at the university have come out against his one-year, $100,000 contract. They argued Gonzales shouldn’t have been hired because of his role in Bush-era scandals. He  was Attorney General from 2005 to 2007 and before that served as Bush’s White House counsel.

The ex-Attorney General told the newspaper he is open to renewing his teaching contract when it is up next year.

“I’m a component. Hopefully a helpful and useful component,� Gonzales told The Toreador. “We’ll see what happens after a year, you know, the contract may be renewed. If Tech wants me back and I think it’s best for me and my family, it’s something I would certainly consider continuing.�

Gonzales told the newspaper that the students in his junior-level political science seminar, Contemporary Issues in the Executive Branch, were a little shy at first, but they are starting to open up about politics in his class.

He told The Toreador he encourages his students to “press and push convictions and positions.”

“We’re getting into subject areas that are controversial and I have encouraged [the students] to speak out and to not hold back, to come forward and give your opinions,� Gonzales told the newspaper.

John Cornyn (gov)

With the White House unwilling to consider his pick for Dallas U.S. Attorney, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Thursday eased up in his fight to get Sarah Saldana nominated, The Dallas Morning News reported. Although he still prefers the North Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney for the job, Cornyn said during a conference call with reporters that he is willing to consider other candidates, The Morning News reported.

Cornyn and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) have been squaring off with Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) over whether Republicans or Democrats will be in charge of recommending U.S. Attorney candidates to the White House. Cornyn has threatened to block any nominee who was not approved by a screening committee set up by the Republican senators. Doggett has insisted that Texas Democrats will have the final word.

During the Thursday call, Cornyn’s tone seemed to soften. “The ball is really in the White House’s court,” the senator said. He said he would characterize his discussions with the White House as “a negotiation,” The Morning News reported.

Doggett said on Thursday said in a statement: ”Since there are a number of well-qualified individuals for U.S. attorney, I have no doubt this will be resolved from our delegation’s recommendations.”

According to Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D), Texas Democrats are unwilling to recommend Saldana, The Morning News reported. While they have yet to publicly announce their choices for the Dallas-based job,  Democrats have recommended Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Terri Moore and Dallas civil lawyer Roger Williams to President Obama, The Morning News has reported.

Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said the senator is waiting for an answer from the White House as to why Saldana is not being considered, The Morning News reported. “She’s an arguably liberal Democrat who’s been endorsed by [abortion rights group] NARAL and a lot of liberal organizations who Senator Cornyn does not have anything in common with,” McLaughlin said, adding, “It’s not like it’s Antonin Scalia,” he added, referring to the conservative Supreme Court justice.

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will be on the Texas Tech University payroll for only a year. But that’s not stopping several professors from protesting their soon-to-be colleague’s new job, the college’s student newspaper reported today.

Alberto Gonzales (DOJ)

A nine-page petition signed by 70 professors and obtained by The Daily Toreador said it was unethical to hire Gonzales to teach a political science class this fall and help recruit minority students. The document said Gonzales shouldn’t have been hired because Texas Tech chancellor Kent Hance, who served in the U.S. House for six years as a Democrat before becoming a Republican in 1985, was a “good friend” of Gonzales. Professor Walter Schaller, who created the petition, told The Toreador that the chancellor’s job is only “to raise money and deal with the legislature.”

“The idea [to hire Gonzales] came from Hance and it’s very difficult to say no to the chancellor,” Schaller told the newspaper.

The petition also said the former Bush official had several “ethical failings” during his tenure as White House counsel and Attorney General that tarnish his credibility. These “failings” included the U.S. Attorney purge, denying habeas corpus and supporting President Bush over the Constitution, according to the petition.

“Gonzales’s appointment is a troubling example of a ‘celebrity hire,’” the petition said. “It is unclear what Gonzales has done that makes him deserving of employment at Texas Tech. Does he have a noteworthy academic record? Does he have a record of publishing in law reviews? Was his service to his country particularly distinguished?”

The former Attorney General told The Toreador he disagrees with the petition.

“We live in a country where, in the academic world, people can express publicly their approval and disapproval of various issues,” he said. “What I’m focused on, is demonstrating that I’m serious about this teaching responsibility. I’m also serious about promoting diversity within Texas Tech. I hope that people will treat me fair and give me an opportunity to demonstrate that.”

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will make $100,000 for his one-year job as a professor and administrator at Texas Tech University, the college’s student newspaper reported today.

Alberto Gonzales (DOJ)

We reported Tuesday that the controversial Bush official will teach an undergraduate course called “Contemporary Issues in the Executive Branch� and will help recruit minority students for the college. One unnamed professor told The Daily Toreador that Gonzales was not worth the money.

“I think it’s preposterous for him to come here,” the faculty member told the paper. “They’re trumping up some fake position to bring him in, and I don’t know what his responsibility will be, but I’m certain it won’t be commensurate with his pay. If you look at his teaching load, it’s incredibly reduced.”

Students also aren’t happy with their new professor. They have expressed themselves through Facebook groups including “Alberto Gonzales Doesn’t Belong At Texas Tech” and “Texas Tech Students and Alumni Against Employing Alberto Gonzales.” The Toreador said in a staff editorial that the controversy surrounding the former Bush official far exceeds Texas Tech’s employment of hotheaded coach Bobby Knight, who infamously threw a chair across a basketball court.

“He was involved in so many scandals,” senior Reagan Tatsch told the paper . “One of Texas Tech’s mottos is strive for honor. That kind of goes against it by hiring him.”

Top university officials lauded Gonzales in a statement this week. Texas Tech chancellor Kent Hance said the former Attorney General will “prepare our students for success.”

Gonzales told The Blog of Legal Times in an interview yesterday that he is excited about his new job — his first one since he resigned as Attorney General almost three years ago. He added that he expects to fit in at the conservative college town. Read the full post here.

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales found his first post-Bush administration job as a professor and administrator at Texas Tech University, according to a news release from the Lubbock, Texas college.

Alberto Gonzales (DOJ)

He will teach a junior seminar at Texas Tech this fall titled, “Contemporary Issues in the Executive Branch” and will be a guest lecturer in other political science classes at the university.  Gonzales will also work on recruiting minority students for Texas Tech and Angelo State University.

The controversial Bush official left his post almost two years ago after members of Congress called for his resignation. During his nearly three years as Attorney General, the Justice Department was embroiled in a number of scandals including the 2006 U.S. Attorney purge.

University officials are excited about their new professor despite his checkered past.

Texas Tech chancellor Kent Hance said in the news release: “He will help Texas Tech and ASU prepare our students for success and to be future leaders in the State of Texas and beyond.”

Lawrence Schovanec, interim dean of Texas Tech’s College of Arts and Sciences, added: “Judge Gonzales brings a unique experience to our classroom. His career in law, government and public service will provide our political science students a rich perspective of the executive branch and issues and challenges facing our nation.”

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the leader of Texas’s House Democratic delegation, told Main Justice in an interview today that his state’s two Republican senators can go ahead and screen all the candidates they want for Texas’s four U.S. Attorneys jobs. But Texas Democrats will have the final say on recommendations to the White House, he said.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and President Obama (Gov)

The Austin Democrat said he certainly welcomes the informal advice of Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison. But he added:

“I think the screening committee is frankly not very helpful,” Doggett said. “The screening that will make the final determination is the screening from our Democratic delegation.”

We reported earlier this week that the senators have tried to keep their hold on the recommendation process by adding some Democrats to their traditionally all-Republican screening committee. Cornyn and Hutchinson have maintained that only senators can provide the president with advice and consent on nominations. White House counsel Greg Craig and his office have been mediating the dispute since March.

Deputy White House Counsel Cassandra Butts reassured the Texas Democratic delegation at a meeting last week that the White House would not nominate any U.S. Attorneys in Texas without the approval of the state’s Democrats.

“I think (the senators’) thoughts on this are important to have,” Doggett said. “But I’m not sure there is yet a recognition by Sen. Cornyn of the election results and that this will not be like the last eight years where they decide because the people of America have spoken and even the justice system in Texas must change.”

Although Texas House Democrats have told the White House they expect to be in control of U.S. Attorney recommendations, the state’s Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn have plowed ahead with their own screening committee.

In a concession to political reality, however, the Republican senators have enlisted Democrats to help review U.S. Attorney candidates for recommendation to President Obama, The Dallas Morning News reported yesterday.

The fact that the Republican senators are even going ahead with their search committee at all is an affront to the leader of Texas’s House Democratic delegation. Rep. Lloyd Doggett told the Morning News:

“No one will serve in these positions without the approval of our Democratic delegation. The White House reaffirmed this position only this week. We continue to welcome the input of the senators, using whatever process they prefer.”

Read our previous story here about the struggle — mediated by White House counsel Greg Craig — between the Republican senators and the House Democrats over who will control the recommendation process. 

The GOP senators asked former Northern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins, a Clinton appointee, and other high profile Democratic lawyers to join the screening committee, The Morning News said. The panel met last Friday, marking the first time in 14 years there has been Democratic input on the committee, according to the newspaper.

Coggins told The Morning News that during his own nomination process he couldn’t rely on the Texas Democrats alone. The former Clinton-era U.S. Attorney said he was able to get his nomination after he went against the Justice Department’s wishes and reached out to the Texas Republican senators.

“Obviously I respect the Texas Democrats,” Coggins told The Morning News. “But I have to say this. Having gone through the process, regardless of what role the senators play, they will play a role.”

The Morning News reported a partial list of the high-profile lawyers who sit on the committee. They are:

-James Ho: Texas Solicitor and the former Cornyn legal adviser and clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

-Dan Hedges: Selection committee chairman and former Southern District of Texas U.S. Attorney from the Reagan-era

-Tony Canales: former Southern District of Texas U.S. Attorney from the Carter-era

-Dee Kelly: of Fort Worth, Texas attorney

-Andy Taylor: Republican redistricting lawyer

-Victor Vital: Represents the wife of Democratic Dallas council member Don Hill in a city hall corruption trial that started today

Leaders of faith based organizations across North Texas have sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on behalf of former Mayor Pro Tem of the city of Dallas Don Hill, reports the Dallas Observer.

Hill has repeatedly claimed that he was subjected to prosecution by the Bush-led Justice Department because he is African American and a Democrat.  The case against Hill involves taking bribes to push through low-income housing projects.  In July of last year, his attorney Ray Jackson filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the Hill’s prosecution was political, excerpt below:

It appears that Mr. Hill and his co-defendants have been singled out for criminal prosecution because the U.S. Attorney’s Office has targeted them because of their politics or because of their race. If the stories written about the Justice Department over the past year have shown anything, they have shown that federal prosecutors often targeted people because of political and other inappropriate reasons. Given that the so-called illegal conduct – promoting business interests of contractors and consultants among public officials who are allowed to have business careers – is engaged in by lots of people, including white public officials on the Dallas City Council, but only the black public officials have been charged, there is reason to question how that selection was made.

The prosecution in this case raises at least the appearance of improper selection, including charging only minorities for more widespread behavior and targeting those of an opposite political party who only recently have been able to make elective gains. While government oppression of political opponents and minorities is a lot more subtle that when states passed Jim Crow laws, it has now become clear that, at least in this Administration, it is completely proper to question the motives behind why certain cases are brought.

Although more than a century has passed since the ratification of the Civil Rights Amendments, black Americans still have not been widely elected to political office in the State of Texas. Mr. Hill is part of a group of black men and women in this State who have sought to change this.1 The Republican Party, which counts but a few black Texans among its members, has held a virtual lock on the political process in Texas for the past two decades. The Democratic Party, however, is emerging from exile and members of the black community, including Mr. Hill, have been at the forefront of that movement. Indeed, Democrats now hold a majority of the seats on the Dallas City Council and, but for this prosecution, Mr. Hill would have been able to run a much more successful campaign for Mayor this last year.

You can find Hill’s bio here.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) came out on National Public Radio yesterday against the recent comments made by conservatives  Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is a racist.

Here’s what they said:

Gingrich wrote Wednesday on Twitter: “Imagine a judicial nominee said ‘my experience as a white man makes me better than a Latina woman.’ New racism is no better than old racism.”

Limbaugh fired off on his show about Sotomayor’s vote to uphold a Connecticut affirmative action program saying: “So here you have a racist. You might — you might want to soften that, and you might want to say a reverse racist. And the libs, of course, say that minorities cannot be racists because they don’t have the power to implement their racism. Well, those days are gone, because reverse racists certainly do have the power to implement their power. Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist, and now he’s appointed one.”

Cornyn — who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and represents a state with a high Hispanic population — said their comments were “terrible.”

“This is not the kind of tone any of us want to set when it comes to performing our constitutional responsibilities of advise and consent,” he said.

The Texas senator then went on to dismiss the high profile conservatives.

“Neither one of these men are elected Republican officials,” he said. “I just don’t think it’s appropriate. I certainly don’t endorse it. I think it’s wrong.”