Abramoff prosecution interrupted?

Let's go back a couple of posts, where it's reported that it's reported that the director of the Justice Department office responsible for prosecuting Abramoff has been kicked upstairs and replaced.  By a Republican Party hack, named.

Prompted by some speculation heard on the radio today, let me raise the possibility that it won't be that hack but yet another one:  Todd McClellan, brother to Scotty (you know) and Mark (FDA, also Bush appointee).  This may be apocryphal; I could have misheard. 

But there is a connection which is solid and should be kept in mind. Joe Conason reminds us of Bush's earlier bail-out of Jack Abramoff:

Abramoff served on the Interior Department's transition team -- where he was exquisitely positioned to advance the interests of his clients in the Mariana Islands and on Indian reservations -- and subsequently raised more than $100,000 for Bush's campaign. The lobbyist and his aides met with or contacted administration officials on at least 195 occasions to promote client interests during the first several months of Bush's first term, according to Abramoff's billing records.

And then there is the most intriguing instance of a presidential action that, wittingly or not, served Abramoff's interests. On Nov. 18, 2002, the federal prosecutor in Guam issued a subpoena to court officials on the Pacific island, who had secretly retained the lobbyist to stop legislation in Congress that would have curtailed their authority. The subpoena demanded all the records concerning the strange Abramoff contract from the administrative director of the Guam Superior Court.

On the day after U.S. attorney Frederick Black issued the subpoena to Abramoff's covert clients in Guam, the White House announced the president's decision to replace him. A career federal prosecutor who had held the Pacific island post for a decade, Black was demoted to a staff position. His replacement was a lawyer recommended by the Republican Party on Guam. Rove received the recommendation from another lobbyist for government officials Black had been investigating.

And of course, Bush's firing of Black killed the investigation of Abramoff's secret dealings with the Guam court officials, as the Los Angeles Times reported last August.

So okay, how far do you think the current prosecution will go?