Daily Nonsense

In yet another travesty of justice by Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the Justice Department officials implicated in the illegal hiring practices issues can rest easy tonight.  They no longer have to fear prosecution from Still President Bush’s tool, Mikey Mukasey.

Stating that "not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime." Mukasey gave hope to Alberto Gonzales and his group of cronies that persecution prosecution wouldn’t soon follow.  And for the next 160 days, that’s probably true.

Can you believe that the highest law enforcement officer in the nation (that’s Mukasey, eh) said (and in public) that not every violation of the law is a crime?  I was under the opposite impression for some reason, that laws defined crimes.  I wonder how that defense might go over the next time I’m tagged for a parking violation?

It’s also interesting to note that none of the NeoCon, Christian, anti-abortionist employees who were the spawn of the illegal hiring practices will be fired or reassigned.  I wonder what might have happened if the Democrats had benefited from this type of abuse of privilege.  Would they still have jobs after a Mukasey ‘investigation’?  I think not.

Mukasey: No prosecutions in Justice hiring scandal

By MARK SHERMAN

The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 12, 2008; 12:13 PM

NEW YORK — Former Justice Department officials will not face prosecution for letting improper political considerations drive hirings of prosecutors, immigration judges and other career government lawyers, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Tuesday.

Mukasey used his sharpest words yet to criticize the senior leaders who took part in or failed to stop illegal hiring practices during the tenure of his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales.

But, he told delegates to the American Bar Association annual meeting, "not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime. In this instance, the two joint reports found only violations of the civil service laws."

Other intrusions of Bush administration politics into department hirings and firings remain under investigation. Mukasey said he is awaiting reports on the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the hiring practices in the department’s civil rights division.

The political controversies prompted Gonzales’ resignation last year.

An internal investigation concluded last month that for nearly two years, top advisers to Gonzales discriminated against applicants for career jobs who weren’t Republican or conservative loyalists.

The federal government makes a distinction between "career" and "political" appointees, and it’s a violation of civil service laws and Justice Department policy to hire career employees on the basis of political affiliation or allegiance.

Yet Monica Goodling, who served as Gonzales’ counselor and White House liaison, routinely asked career job applicants about politics, the report concluded.

Mukasey, who once served as a federal judge in New York, said the Justice Department has taken steps under his leadership to prevent a recurrence of the hiring scandal.

"I have made repeatedly clear…that it is neither permissible nor acceptable to consider political affiliations in the hiring of career department employees," Mukasey said.

If the problems were to recur, Mukasey said he is confident department employees would speak up.

That did not happen during Gonzales’ tenure, he said. Gonzales appeared unaware of the political hiring process outlined by Goodling and his then-chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, the report said.

"There was a failure of supervision by senior officials in the department. And there was a failure on the part of some employees to cry foul when they were aware, or should have been aware, of problems," Mukasey said.

The ABA has been at odds with the Bush administration on a range of issues, including treatment of prisoners suspected of terrorist ties and the need for a federal law to shield reporters from subpoenas.

Mukasey said that on the issue of politics in his department, there was no disagreement with the lawyers’ group.

"Professionalism is alive and well at the Justice Department," he said.

Some candidates for career Justice Department jobs who were excluded because of politics could be invited to apply for new positions, Mukasey said.

He also ruled out firing or reassigning those who were hired under the now-discarded evaluation process.

"Two wrongs do not make a right," he said. "People who were hired in an improper way didn’t themselves do anything wrong."

[Thanks, Washington Post]