"Politicized justice".
Politicized justice
Don't be lulled by the sweet nothings cooed by the outgoing president in his last speech from the White House last Thursday evening. The short farewell could have been his version of "My Way":
Regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention …
We have no trouble in summoning a major regret: How the Bush administration's Justice Department was politicized, and how its reputation was besmirched, if not ruined, by poor leadership and noxious, if not illegal, stewardship -- and this is apart from its waterboarding rulings.
An Inspector General's report released just this week concluded the department's Civil Rights Division during the Bush years "considered political and ideological affiliations in hiring career attorneys and in other personnel actions," which violates federal anti-discrimination law.
The report also found that managers in the division "failed to exercise oversight" -- which we read "looked the other way" -- of the Bush appointee who ran roughshod over everyone and made a gross mockery of the Civil Rights Division from 2003-06.
And that said appointee, by the name of Bradley Schlozman, "made false statements about whether he considered political and ideological affiliations when he gave sworn testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee."
In fact, he referred to career attorneys in the Civil Rights Division as "mold spores" and "commies" and promised in an e-mail to "gerrymander all of those crazy libs right out of the section." He also said he was getting rid of longtime employees with good performance records to make way for "good Americans" -- in his view, verifiably Republican or conservative.
Naturally, Mr. Schlozman was not punished by the Bushies for this egregious behavior: Then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appointed him as an interim U.S. attorney, a job he left in 2007.
Mr. Schlozman can't be disciplined by the Justice Department because he doesn't work there anymore -- as if that would happen with this crew. And, despite the unambiguous findings about Mr. Schlozman's false statements to Congress, the U.S. attorney's office in Washington has said it will not prosecute him for perjury.
Ladies and gents, that was their way. Starting Tuesday, there's a new way.
Attorney General-designate Eric Holder told the Senate that, if confirmed, he would look into the decision not to prosecute Mr. Schlozman. He also said Mr. Schlozman's behavior was "antithetical to everything the department stands for and everything I'm familiar with."
Don't be lulled by the sweet nothings cooed by the outgoing president in his last speech from the White House last Thursday evening. The short farewell could have been his version of "My Way":
Regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention …
We have no trouble in summoning a major regret: How the Bush administration's Justice Department was politicized, and how its reputation was besmirched, if not ruined, by poor leadership and noxious, if not illegal, stewardship -- and this is apart from its waterboarding rulings.
An Inspector General's report released just this week concluded the department's Civil Rights Division during the Bush years "considered political and ideological affiliations in hiring career attorneys and in other personnel actions," which violates federal anti-discrimination law.
The report also found that managers in the division "failed to exercise oversight" -- which we read "looked the other way" -- of the Bush appointee who ran roughshod over everyone and made a gross mockery of the Civil Rights Division from 2003-06.
And that said appointee, by the name of Bradley Schlozman, "made false statements about whether he considered political and ideological affiliations when he gave sworn testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee."
In fact, he referred to career attorneys in the Civil Rights Division as "mold spores" and "commies" and promised in an e-mail to "gerrymander all of those crazy libs right out of the section." He also said he was getting rid of longtime employees with good performance records to make way for "good Americans" -- in his view, verifiably Republican or conservative.
Naturally, Mr. Schlozman was not punished by the Bushies for this egregious behavior: Then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appointed him as an interim U.S. attorney, a job he left in 2007.
Mr. Schlozman can't be disciplined by the Justice Department because he doesn't work there anymore -- as if that would happen with this crew. And, despite the unambiguous findings about Mr. Schlozman's false statements to Congress, the U.S. attorney's office in Washington has said it will not prosecute him for perjury.
Ladies and gents, that was their way. Starting Tuesday, there's a new way.
Attorney General-designate Eric Holder told the Senate that, if confirmed, he would look into the decision not to prosecute Mr. Schlozman. He also said Mr. Schlozman's behavior was "antithetical to everything the department stands for and everything I'm familiar with."
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 12:04 PM
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