Tainted Justice: NOT Routine Partisan Politics

Our View On Tainted Justice: Not Just Another Case Of Routine Partisan Politics

By USAToday | 30 July 2008

If any more proof were needed that the Justice Department became just another political arm of the White House under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, it came Monday in a devastating report by the agency's own independent investigators. For nearly two years, according to the report, young aides to Gonzales sought to pack the agency with prosecutors and immigration judges who adhered to conservative political views, even though the jobs called for independence and objectivity— and, under law, were supposed to be non-political.

This is not a trivial matter, nor is it just standard partisan politics. Until now, presidents of both parties have understood that both the quality of the Justice Department and the credibility of the justice system depend on hiring the very best talent to enforce the law neutrally.

The White House abandoned that principle. One key aide, Monica Goodling, rejected a prosecutor for a job, in part, because Goodling suspected she was a lesbian. Another job applicant got a positive review because of his views on "god, guns + gays." An award-winning prosecutor was denied a counter-terrorism slot because his wife was a Democrat. The job went to a junior lawyer with far less experience. [[And you wonder why this has been the most corrupt and incompetent White House of this century; RN was never so vile and was certainly NOT inept.: normxxx]] So much for the department's aggressive pursuit of terrorists.

The incidents were part of a broad pattern that inserted politics into the department— from choosing how to enforce the law to firing nine top federal prosecutors across the nation. The firing scandal, which burst into the headlines last year, forced Gonzales to resign, but the stain on the department remains. Monday's report was another blow.

It's now up to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Gonzales's successor, not only to fix the problems internally but also to restore public confidence in the nation's premier law enforcement agency. That will take more than quiet, institutional change and limp statements, such as the one he issued Monday through spokesmen. It will take loud, clear public action, and Mukasey has plenty of opportunity for that.

Monday's report found that Goodling and Gonzales Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson "violated federal law and department policy" by inserting politics and ideology into job selections. If laws were violated in a department where they should be sacrosanct, the violators should be pursued. Further, the actions of the lawyers and judges hired by Sampson and Goodling should now be analyzed for independence. It's up to Mukasey to investigate and report publicly.[[ One cannot help but wonder how that would be possible in a "w" administration, with it's celebrated disregard for any law— even the U.S, Constitution.: normxxx]]

A strong statement by Mukasey, and better yet, by the president would go a long way toward making clear such actions won't be tolerated. A skeptical public may believe that everything in Washington is political. And much of it is. [[Trust 'w' to ferret out the remaining bastions of neutrality and subvert them.: normxxx]] But one exception has always been the ranks of career prosecutors at the Justice Department and in U.S. attorneys' offices around the nation. No matter who was president or attorney general, no matter how political Justice's upper ranks became, the public could count on prosecutors who had been chosen for smarts, integrity and an allegiance to the law.[[ In the "w" presidency, "smarts" is suspect (I guess nobody is allowed to be 'smarter than' the president) and has been replaced by "ideological purity"— witness what happened in FEMA and Iraq.: normxxx]]

The Bush administration changed that. Before leaving town in January, it should do its best to put things back the way they were.[[ Hah!: normxxx]]

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Normxxx    
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