by Deb Cupples | In June, the Justice Department's inspector general released a report concluding that Department hiring practices had been politicized, in violation of Department policies and civil service laws that prohibit consideration of political affiliations. Yes, this includes the time that ex-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was in charge, and he's being sued over his apparent misconduct.
Reportedly, a Justice Department official decided that we taxpayers should pay "up to $24,000 per month" for a private lawyer to represent Mr. Gonzales -- and Congress wasn't informed. Understandably, Congress isn't happy.
House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers and Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy wrote a letter to our current Attorney General Michael Mukasey, which states in part:
"Under section 50.16 of
title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Department may provide for a
private attorney for a current or former employee sued individually for conduct
within the scope of his employment, but the Government should not pay for
private representation if the Attorney General or his designee 'determines that the employee’s actions do not reasonably appear to
have been performed within the scope of his employment' or that 'representation is not in the interest of the United States.'
"There is precedent for disclosure of information to Congress about this type of arrangement. In May 2003, for example, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the release of similar information regarding fees paid by the Department of the Interior to private attorneys to defend its employees in a class action lawsuit. Judge Lamberth wrote that 'the Court believes that Congress should have all available information at its disposal' in order to inform the process of appropriating funds for court-appointed officials and attorneys’ fees in the case." (Letter)
Conyers and Leahy also set forth some questions that they'd like Mr. Mukasey to answer.
The first word that comes to mind is "typical."
I mean, this is a Justice Department that fired U.S. Attorneys with perfectly good performance reviews -- apparently because those prosecutors either went after Republican officials or didn't go after Democratic officials viciously enough.
This is a Justice Department that went after a Democratic governor, apparently for political reasons.
This is a Justice Department, according to a September letter from House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers, that has failed or refused to prosecute some of the folks at the U.S. Interior Department despite some severe misbehavior.
I cannot wait to see whether Mr. Mukasey even bothers to respond.
Other Buck Naked Politics Posts:
* Mukasey Bills Taxpayers $150,000+ for Personal Travel
* Scandal Overview: Fired U.S. Attorneys
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