by Deb Cupples |
Like many Americans, I've been so focused on our nation's economic crises that some very important news has made it under my radar. The Toledo Blade reports:
"At any other time, what happened in the U.S. Justice Department last week would have been big news. At any other time, when internal reports by Justice Department call for more investigation into a case of unethical, if not criminal, conduct on the part of lawmakers and the White House, the administration would have a lot of explaining to do."
"But the Bush Administration got lucky. As its Treasury and Federal Reserve chiefs warned that the sky was falling and the economic crash and continuing tumult on Wall Street made them seem prophetic, the Justice Department released a nearly 400-page scalding indictment of the administration over the controversial firings of several U.S. attorneys in 2006....
"Investigators from both the department’s Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility found that political pressure did indeed drive the dismissal action against at least three of the nine federal prosecutors abruptly fired.
"At the time, then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales insisted the individuals were all dismissed for inadequate performance, or failure to implement the President’s law enforcement agenda.
"But it appears the longtime pal and adviser to President Bush was lying through his teeth. Turns out the real reason some of the top federal lawyers were removed from the job, according to the Justice Department report, was that either the U.S. attorneys had the audacity to prosecute Republicans or because they failed to aggressively prosecute Democrats." (Toledo Blade)
Yes, this really is a big story. Huge. When the congressional investigation of Justice Department policiticization last year, I became a junky for Judicial Committee hearings (House and Senate, it didn't matter), so I've known for quite a while how huge the issue is.
Yet, I was unaware of the new investigative report until four days after the Toledo Blade printed its article.
Bottom line: if officials at our nation's largest law-enforcement agency would even try to mis-use government power to protect political pals or to go after political enemies, then none of us is safe.
And there's no point in leaving the word "Justice" on that building in Washington with the art deco entrance.
Other Buck Naked Politics Posts:
* Scandal Overview: Fired U.S. Attorneys
* Questionable Prosecution of Gov. Siegelman (video)
* Attorney General Gonzales Blows off Subpoena
* Attorney General Resigns Amid Scandal
* Big Heads Roll at Justice Department
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