The New York Times reports:
"In a speech Tuesday morning to the American Bar Association in Manhattan, Mr. Mukasey condemned the political abuses in his most forceful language to date, saying “the system failed.” He also acknowledged that some critics and commentators had called on the Justice Department to take what he called “more drastic steps,” including prosecuting those at fault and firing those hired through flawed procedures. But he rejected both those approaches.
"'Where there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime, we vigorously prosecute,' he said. 'But not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime.'" (NYT)
In short, Mukasey seems to think that at this point there is no evidence of actual criminal violations on the part of Justice Department employees. If that's the case, so be it.
I have no knowledge of the Hatch Act or the Civil Service laws. Still, given that various probes are still underway, it seems a tad premature to proclaim that there's no evidence of criminal activity.
Memeorandum has commentary.
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