http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/22129New Signs Point to the White House
Submitted by davidswanson on Fri, 2007-05-04 00:00. Evidence
By Dan Froomkin, washingtonpost.com
Yesterday brought considerably more evidence of direct White House involvement in the overt politicization of the Justice Department -- not only in terms of purging U.S. attorneys who may have been considered insufficiently partisan in their pursuit of criminal cases, but also in terms of filling career positions with attorneys who passed a political litmus test.
Dan Eggen and Amy Goldstein write in The Washington Post: "The Justice Department has launched an internal investigation into whether Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's former White House liaison illegally took party affiliation into account in hiring career federal prosecutors, officials said yesterday.
"The allegations against Monica M. Goodling represent a potential violation of federal law and signal that a joint probe begun in March by the department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility has expanded beyond the controversial dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys last year."
Evan Perez and Jess Bravin write in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "Unlike U.S. attorneys, who are presidential political appointees, assistant U.S. attorneys are career employees not meant to be subject to political litmus tests in order to get or keep their jobs. Justice Department policy and federal law prohibit the department from considering political affiliation, among other factors, in deciding whether to hire or fire them."
more...
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
