Why Eric Holder’s new job is an insult to the American public

[J_J_]

If Las Vegas took bets on whether recently departed Attorney General Eric Holder would return to corporate law firm Covington & Burling, the casinos would have run out of money faster than Greek banks. Newborn infants could have guessed at a homecoming for the former partner at Covington from 2001 to 2009. Last year, Holder bought a condo 300 feet from the firm’s headquarters. The National Law Journal headlined the news, “Holder’s Return to Covington Was Six Years in the Making,” as if acting as the nation’s top law enforcement officer was a temp gig. They even kept an 11th-floor corner office empty for his return.

If we had a more aggressive media, this would be an enormous scandal, more than the decamping of former Obama Administration officials to places like Uber and Amazon. That’s because practically no law firm has done more to protect Wall Street executives from the consequences of their criminal activities than Covington & Burling. Their roster of clients includes every mega-bank in America: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America. Yet Holder has joined several of his ex-employees there, creating a shadow Justice Department and an unquestionable conflict of interest. In fact, given the pathetic fashion in which DoJ limited punishment for those who caused the greatest economic meltdown in 80 years, Holder’s new job looks a lot like his old job.

You could actually make a plausible argument that Covington & Burling bears responsibility for the Great Recession: In the late 1990s, Covington lawyers drafted the legal justification for MERS, the private electronic database that facilitated mortgage-backed securities trading. MERS saved banks from having to submit documents and fees with county land recording offices each time they transferred mortgages. So it’s unlikely you would have seen mortgage securitization at such a high volume without MERS, and by proxy, without those legal opinions. Of course, securitization drove subprime lending, the housing bubble, its eventual crash and the financial meltdown that followed. Though evidence pointed to MERS’ implication in the mass document fraud scandal that infected the foreclosure process, former Covington lawyer Holder never prosecuted them, and now he’s back with the old team.

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/07/why_eric_holders_new_job_is_an_insult_to_the_american_public/

[randys1]

1. I only know about this story what is in the above post, but I gotta say, Carlin was right

[HFRN]

2. wall street makes shrewd investments

they bought the best AG money can buy

and cleared their getaway on the greatest robbery in the history if the world, the bailout

[hifiguy]

3. Shit, Holder drove the getaway car.

I am SO sick of this kind of crap

[WillyT]

4. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[J_J_]

5. This firm has been controlling the justice department

Holder’s return, along with the return of a half-dozen other Covington lawyers who left in 2009 to join the administration.

Those lawyers include Covington partners Lanny Breuer and Mythili Raman, who each led the Criminal Division under Holder. Breuer, one of the longest-serving Criminal Division assistant attorney generals, is now vice chairman of the firm.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026948260

[KG]

6. holder brokered the marc rich pardon. he knows which side his bread is buttered

[Gidney N Cloyd]

7. I used to think Holder was lacking a spine or judgement. I didn't realize it was integrity until now

[Betty Karlson]

42. My sentiments exactly.

This is pure corruption. No wonder why so many voters are disgusted by politics.

[HFRN]

8. Holder actually eclipsed the Dulles brothers

in a naked conflict of interest

(Dulles brothers were Sullivan and Cromwell partners, premier Wall street firm)

[hifiguy]

31. And THAT is saying something. nt

[HFRN]

9. Holder and Giethner- talk about inside job

wall street got the hope

the citizen got the change - and the bill

[orpupilofnature57]

55. Right after he was elected he said no member of the past administration need try to lobby me,

he hired the face of greed & entitlement with no transparency or explanations for Radical usurping of our Money and rights .

[HFRN]

10. 'If we had a more aggressive media'

the media is absolutely doing its job - it's job is to keep us up to date on the Kardashians while insiders rob us blind in plain sight

[Scuba]

11. More proof that there's no such thing as a "liberal media" in America.

[pa28]

12. "Practically no law firm has done more to protect Wall Street executives."

Holder never really left. Now he's going to collect his payout on the other side.

[Fuddnik]

15. Payment for services already rendered.

I'd like to see a Bill Black as AG under a Sanders Administration.

[Gothmog]

13. I disagree with premise of the OP and the article

AG Holder was a partner at this firm before he left for public service and it was only natural to come to his old firm. Is Holder suppose to take a vow of poverty and not work following his public service? AG Holder was a truly great AG and did a great deal to protect voter rights. In Texas, the DOJ played a key role in the Texas voter id trial and paid for many of the key experts who helped the court find that the Texas voter id/voter suppression law was a violation of the voting rights act.

[George II]

16. Very well put....I was thinking along the same lines but was seething too much....

....from the comments here to put it in words, as you have done.

Some people just don't understand the real world.

They get upset when someone with financial background becomes Treasury Secretary, but if someone without that background is appointed they whine that "he doesn't have the right experience"!

Same thing for Holder as Attorney General. Should Obama have chosen a gym teacher? Should Holder go back into the private sector as a used car salesman?

[former9thward]

43. There are many qualified law professors he could have chosen.

There are many qualified judges he could have chosen. So stop with the gym teacher strawman. Someone from a well connected legal firm is bound to have conflicts of interest as DOJ boss.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

53. Quite right!

[Gothmog]

61. Do you understand the job of Attorney General?

A law professor would not have been able to do the job that Holder did.

Bush and company destroyed the civil rights unit of the DOJ with political appointments and idiots like that fool Christian Adams (the idiot who pushed the New Black Panther stupidity). Holder literall had to start almost from scratch to hire attorneys who believed in Civil Rights and voting rights. A law professor would have not been effective here

[former9thward]

63. Yes I do.

There are many law professors or judges who could have done the job. I don't think you understand the job. Holder did not hire attorneys. That is done by various assistants and in the higher ranked positions by the White House.

[Gothmog]

67. Your are wrong-law professors do not make good managers

I have done the big law firm gig and I can assure you that you are wrong. A law professor could not have rebuilt a section of trial attorneys from scratch like AG Holder had to. Bush gutted the Civil Rights division http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/03/AR2010060304938.html

When Thomas E. Perez took over the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in October, he found an office that was a shadow of its historic self.

Nearly 70 percent of the lawyers had left between 2003 and 2007, a mass exodus that came during allegations the Bush administration was politicizing hiring. Internal watchdogs concluded that the division's former head had refused to hire lawyers he labeled "commies" and had transferred one for allegedly writing in "ebonics," allegations the official denied. Civil rights groups said the unit had lost its traditional civil rights focus.

"We had to do some healing," said Perez, 48, a former Maryland official and deputy assistant attorney general under Republican and Democratic presidents. "We had to restore the partnership between the career staff and the political leadership. And frankly, certain civil rights laws were not being enforced."

That is changing: Justice Department officials say the division -- created in 1957 to help the Freedom Riders and students seeking to integrate public schools -- has stepped up enforcement of employment, disability rights and other anti-discrimination laws. Hate crimes and police misconduct are a renewed focus, and several section chiefs from the George W. Bush era have left. More than 30 people have been or are about to be hired as part of an 18 percent budget increase this year, the largest in the division's history. It will bring in 102 new people.

It took people with trial expierence and organizational skills to rebuild the DOJ civil rights division. A law professor would have failed at this job

[bvar22]

57. No.

Obama should have hired a Junk Yard Dog like Robert Kennedy for Attorney General
instead of a Wall Street dependent lap poodle.

There are plenty of good, honest, fearless Democrats to choose from.
Obama didn't need to pick an Accessory (co-conspirator?) to the Wall Street Heist.

[George II]

58. Sadly Robert Kennedy wasn't available when Obama was elected.

[treestar]

60. Two. Just another attempt to

Stir up outrage

[Fred Sanders]

26. I think some folks are just plain old green eyed over the job's pay and perks. Not me, he deserves it all.

Meanwhile the RW snake oil political salesmen make many times more openly defrauding the country...that is my focus.

[kelliekat44]

72. ++1,0000 nt

[JustAnotherGen]

76. I'm with you plus 100!

[PoliticAverse]

28. "AG Holder was a truly great AG" - you've got a really low bar there. n/t

[Gothmog]

59. I volunteer in the voter protection area and AG Holder has done an amazing job in this area

Attorney General Holder has made the presevation of voting rights a high priority for the Department of Justice. In the Texas voter id and redistricting cases, the DOJ has taken a major role in protecting voter rights and helping fund such litigation. The DOJ in particular has funded a number of the key expert witnesses in both the voter id and the redistricting cases. Litigation of these cases is not cheap and it is critical that you have the best expert witnesses.

The voter suppresson trial starts next week in North Carolina and again it appears that the DOJ is taking a major role in that case.

Attorney General Holders efforts in the area of protection of voting rights are amazing

[GeorgeGist]

66. Cliven Bundy showed him up to be the coward he is. eom

[Fred Sanders]

74. What? Holder is a coward or Bundy is a coward? Choose wisely, this IS not a far left liberal site.

Or RW.

[PoliticAverse]

71. I agree with you he's made a good effort in the voting rights area. n/t

[Fred Sanders]

73. Keep going. There are about two dozen things Holder has done you could agree with also.

Propaganda works because it is sublet and absorbed without even noticing.

Holder is a racist's and Koch's worst nightmare....that alone should tell you enough not throw Holder under the bus so suddenly on a liberal site.

Making perfection the enemy of the good leads directly to hypocrisy...... which is a RW thing.

[GeorgeGist]

65. He also did a great job of ignoring Wall Street criminals.

[Gothmog]

70. Read post 46

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6949023

[Fuddnik]

14. Ok, just waiting for the 2 guys who are auditioning to replace Jon Stewart.

They'll defend anyone.

Guys, the job is already taken.

[Fred Sanders]

17. Going back to your old law firm you were partner in for years is not what folks are pretending it is.

But, hey, do not let me with my little 'facts' dilute the Crap-Fest on yet another progressive black man political leader and legal hero at liberal DU.

Folks without a clue about the wide areas of legal practise this law firm engages in are not worthy of debate.

It is all just getting hilarious now.

Amnesia is not just a RW thing, it seems.

[jalan48]

18. How many Wall St. banksters did Holder prosecute?

[Fred Sanders]

20. How many logical fallacy arguments can one muster?

Ad hominem and tu quoque
Definitions: Like the appeal to authority and ad populum fallacies, the ad hominem (“against the person”) and tu quoque (“you, too!”) fallacies focus our attention on people rather than on arguments or evidence. In both of these arguments, the conclusion is usually “You shouldn’t believe So-and-So’s argument.” The reason for not believing So-and-So is that So-and-So is either a bad person (ad hominem) or a hypocrite (tu quoque). In an ad hominem argument, the arguer attacks his or her opponent instead of the opponent’s argument.


False dichotomy
Definition: In false dichotomy, the arguer sets up the situation so it looks like there are only two choices. The arguer then eliminates one of the choices, so it seems that we are left with only one option: the one the arguer wanted us to pick in the first place. But often there are really many different options, not just two.

Hasty Generalization

Definition: Making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it is atypical or too small). Stereotypes about people (“librarians are shy and smart,” “wealthy people are snobs,” etc.) are a common example of the principle underlying hasty generalization.

[jalan48]

22. ? He either did or didn't go after those responsible for the 2008 crash.

I would think a 'Progressive' President would have done so as well.

[Fuddnik]

21. It's called a revolving door, aka, "Corruption".

Holder has shown that he was about as fit to serve as AD, as Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia were to sit on the Supreme Court.

[Fred Sanders]

23. "False equivalency" fallacy.

[Fuddnik]

24. It's called a personality cult.

[Fred Sanders]

25. False equivalency double down, plus just general everyday smearing.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

30. Please, proceed. nt

[raindaddy]

19. He never really left his old job!

[onenote]

27. Holder's new job is with one of the top pro bono firms in the country

Indeed, on more the one occasion, it has been named by multiple sources as the top pro bono firm.

Among the many cases the firm has taken on as pro bono work the last few years:

Death penalty cases, obtaining reversals of death penalty convictions.
Civil rights actions challenging stop and frisk policies in NY and racial profiling in Arizona
Marriage equality matters, assisting in the drafting and enactment of marriage equality legislation in MD
Gitmo inmates -- representing, and earning the everlasting hate of the RW for doing so, a number of Gitmo detainees.

There are other big firms that represent banks and corporations etc etc but don't do a fraction of the pro bono work that Covington does. All in all, I don't think Holder needs to be ashamed about going back to Covington.

[Gothmog]

29. Attorney General Holder will be go down in history for his efforts to protect voting rights

Please do not be suprised when the media ignores this story because it has no basis in the real world.

[Fred Sanders]

32. I second that emotion. So sad to see RW talking points infest DU.

The OP is an insult to memory.

[jalan48]

33. I don't recall the RW calling for the prosecution of banksters.

[1StrongBlackMan]

46. They didn't; but, you also don't recall Holder's prosecution of the bankers ...

Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.
09/08/14 Matthew Martoma, convicted SAC trader, sentenced to 9 years in prison plus forfeiture of $9.3 million, including home and bank accounts

And that doesn't include the multi-million/Billion dollar settlements of criminal cases.

[jalan48]

49. Thank you for the info.

[1StrongBlackMan]

50. I'm apologize if I came off agressively ...

I'm just tired of the patently false narrative.

And, be warned, if you re-post this to show the narrative false, it will be ignored or you will get some version of "yeah, but he didn't prosecute the right bankers" or, "$500,000,000 settlement?!? That is pocket change for the banksters!!!"

[jalan48]

52. I didn't find you aggressive at all.

You obviously spent some time researching this and I appreciate the info. I honestly need to do more research myself to be better educated on the topic.

[Gothmog]

62. Great post

I am so glad that you are posting on this thread

[1StrongBlackMan]

64. That (and this) will probably be my only contribution to this thread ...

First, DU hates Holder, one of the most (positively) significant AGs in recent memory, is almost as hated as the President that selected him, largely because they do not have a clue as to how the American Legal System works ... greed is not a crime, nor is a really, really, bad result. Those wanting Dimon imprisoned haven't a clue about WHY corporations, and zones of authority within corporations, were developed as they were ... Hint: to insulate top executives from criminal and civil liability, should they "Thomas Becket" directives lead to unlawful conduct.

Secondly, those critical of Holder's after AG life are: a) ignorant as to the nature and structures of law firms ... an attorney (even a partner) is unlikely to have cross divisional knowledge or influence, i.e., an attorney in the pro bono/public interest division will have no clue as to/influence over what the corporate lobby division is doing (beyond the conflict check); and b) are disconnected from both reality AND what they would be likely to do ... post government service, one is fully expected to maximize their employment opportunities ... does his former AG stature contribute to his leverage? ... Hell, Yeah! And anyone here claiming they would not take advantage of that leverage is either: lying (to themselves) or full of crap; but, either way, is unlikely to ever be in the position to put their "integrity" to the test.

Holder indicated that he will pursue employment in the field of developing socially responsible enterprise ... Go o your thing AG Holder!

[Gothmog]

68. I was in a couple of major law firms and I understand the job that Holder did

Holder liteally had to rebuild the civil rights division of the DOJ after bush and the bushies gutted it. The bushies put idiots like Christian Adams in non-political slots in the DOJ and these idiots had to be weeded out and fired. Christian Adams was the fool who pushed the New Black Panther stupidity

[-none]

36. That's what I was wondering, reading down through this thread.

If Holder is so bad, then why do the conservatives hate him so much? Something does not compute here.

[Javaman]

40. perhaps, the obvious...

he's not a republican?

I know, call me crazy.

[-none]

44. Then why do some Democrats?

Do I dare say it?

[1StrongBlackMan]

47. Because he's a republican ...

Wait!

[-none]

48. Actually, I think you are on to something there.

[Octafish]

41. Great. I'll remember him for letting the Banksters, Warmongers and Traitors skate.

Other than that, he's a fine fellah.

[Wellstone ruled]

34. Never ruffle the feathers Holder.

Always picking the no brainer's. There will be more stories to come about how the conflict of interest rules the day in D.C.. It is all about the Social Club Circuit in D.C.. Lots of CYA and I got the money.

[tularetom]

35. I'm not a Holder fan by a long shot but WTF was the guy supposed to do?

And what did he do that was any different from what his two immediate predecessors, Gonzales and Ashcroft, did?

If memory serves me correctly neither of them are working as greeters at wally world.

[Angry Dragon]

39. He was supposed to protect the people of this country

not just a few

[Oilwellian]

37. It was obvious the game was rigged

when Obama appointed Geitner and Holder. Third Way Dems and Wall Street are joined at the hip, and now it's payola time for all who helped cover up the crimes. It's what they do.

[Angry Dragon]

38. I am just waiting for the day that the rich once again rule the world

Long live the kings and let the serfs do all the work

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

54. I don't think you'll have too long of a wait.

[Angry Dragon]

75. Either do I

[Octafish]

45. Revolving Door, Department of Just Us Division

That MERS info just made my hair stand on end.

'An Economic Philosophy That Has Completely Failed'
William K. Black
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-k-black/an-economic-philosophy-th_b_810950.html

[olddots]

51. you got it right ,its called Just Us not justice

those that hate communism and or socialism most are creating it most .

[Octafish]

56. Two Rules of Law: The Rich and Everybody Else

For example, this fascistic bit of under-reported news:

Wall Street Pays Bankers to Work in Government and It Doesn't Want Anyone to Know

by David Dayen
The New Republic, Feb. 4, 2015

EXCERPT...

The handouts recently received attention when Antonio Weiss, the former investment banker at Lazard now serving as counselor to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, acknowledged in financial disclosures that he would be paid $21 million in unvested income and deferred compensation upon exiting the company for a job in government. Weiss withdrew from consideration to become the undersecretary for domestic finance under pressure from financial reformers, but the counselor position—which does not require congressional confirmation—probably still entitles him to the $21 million. The terms of the award are part of a Lazard employee agreement that nobody has seen.

These payments are routine at major banks, several of which have explicit policies, found in filings with the SEC, outlining automatic awards for executives who rotate into government. Goldman Sachs offers “a lump sum cash payment” for government service, for example.

Other banks’ policies are subtler. Banks often defer certain types of compensation in order to retain talent. When an executive terminates employment, unvested stock options and other forms of deferred compensation are usually forfeited. But several companies let executives’ equity options continue to vest if they leave for a government position, or allow them to keep retention bonuses that would otherwise be returned to the firm. A 2004 tax law banned accelerated payments but made an exemption for employees who leave for government service. Critics wonder whether the gifts are intended to fill the government with friendly faces who will act in their former employer’s interests.

“It fuels the revolving door between banks and the government,” said Michael Smallberg, an investigator for the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), whose 2013 report detailed these types of compensation agreements. The average executive branch salary is substantially less than these millions in awards, so the bonuses effectively supplement the lower pay, raising questions about who the government officials actually work for.

SNIP...

Last November, Trumka wrote letters to seven mega-banks—Citi, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Lazard—asking their compensation committees to explain why giving incentives to executives for government service benefits shareholders or the company. The labor federation holds shares in many public companies through its pension funds. “We oppose compensation plans that provide windfalls to their executives unrelated to performance,” the letter states.

CONTINUED...

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120967/wall-street-pays-bankers-work-government-and-wants-it-secret

Goes a long way toward explaining why, no matter how hard we work for change, the rich keep getting richer and the wars go on and on and on.

[Gothmog]

69. Attorney General Holder literally had to rebuild the civil and voting rights sections of the DOJ

Here is a good report on the damage done by the bushies to the civil rights and voting rights divisions of the DOJ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/us/politics/03rights.html?_r=0

The 180-page report, obtained by The New York Times, is densely packed with statistics about civil rights enforcement by the division’s sections. The accountability office also examined a sampling of matters that were closed without further action, finding several cases — including the curtailed voter intimidation inquiry — in which supervisors rejected the recommendations of career lawyers to go forward.

The report represents a comprehensive review of the division’s litigation activity in the Bush administration. When compared with the Clinton administration, its findings show a significant drop in the enforcement of several major antidiscrimination and voting rights laws. For example, lawsuits brought by the division to enforce laws prohibiting race or sex discrimination in employment fell from about 11 per year under President Bill Clinton to about 6 per year under President George W. Bush.

The study also found a sharp decline in enforcement of a section of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits electoral rules with discriminatory effects, from more than four cases a year under Mr. Clinton to fewer than two cases a year under Mr. Bush.

Joseph Rich, a civil rights lawyer who has been invited by Democrats to testify and was among those given an early copy of the report, said it provided hard data that the division was politicized in the Bush years.

The report “confirms the types of problems we have been discussing for several years, particularly with respect to the enforcement record of the Bush administration,” said Mr. Rich, who spent 37 years in the Civil Rights Division and led its voting rights section.