"When Governments Go Bad" David Brooks

"Everyone is treating the I.R.S. issue as a bigger deal, but the Justice Department scandal is worse. This was a sweeping intrusion that makes it hard for the press to do its job. Who is going to call a journalist to report wrongdoing knowing that at some future date, the government might feel perfectly free to track the phone records and hunt you down? I would have thought a dozen Justice Department officials would have risen up and splashily resigned when they learned of the scope of this invasion. Aren’t there some lawyers in the Justice Department, and, if so, did they go to law schools where the Constitution is left unassigned?"  David Brooks

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Brooks has it right here.  In the last years I have had occasion  to watch the Justice Department increasingly behave not as a servant of the constitution but rather as a single minded instrument for obtaining convictions desired by the administration, and willing to lie, cheat and suborn witnesses in order to get them.  In one case in which I was a witness, (now long settled) Justice Department lawyers  with the support of an FBI agent changed  the status of a character witness to that of a fact witness and then carefully abstained from informing the defeense of that change until after the defendant had been convicted and sent to prison.  This change in status was accompanied by the promise of a fee to be paid to the witness after conviction of the accused.  The amount of the fee was many times that allowed by federal guidelines. Several months elapsed before this malfeasance  was discovered  by the US Attorney for that district when the miscreants submitted a voucher for payent of the fee.  In that period the convicted man had resided in prison.  If you think that is an isolated case theink of the case of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska.

And then we have the behvior and language of Erc Holder testifying before  a House committee this week.  His behavior was contemptuous and insulting and he should have been so cited.  pl  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/opinion/brooks-when-governments-go-bad.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130517&_r=0

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/05/16/why-house-republicans-and-eric-holder-hate-each-other/

Comments

[John Minnerath]

Increasingly scandalous behavior throughout the present administration are providing whole kegs of nails to drive into the lid on BHO's plans.
Things are going to Hell in a handbasket.

[oofda]

Colonel,
The DOJ problem goes back several years; there were serious DOJ issues under the Bush administrations as well. The conviction of former Alabama governor Siegelman is a case point. The US Atty engaged in some dodgy ethical conduct and such have recused herself. 44 former state atty generals of both parties have filed petitons with House and Senate judiciary committees requesting an investigation of that case. DOJ needs a good housecleaning. Period.

[Matthew]

Col: All good points. However, contempt is the appropriate reaction to any committee which includes Rep. Gohmert.

[William R. Cumming]

The modern DoJ only has existed since 1933. It should returned to its pre-1993 role of conducting litigation on behalf of the US as a party and opining in public issued opinions on various issues for which a uniform legal policy for the Executive Branch is required. Certainly, the FBI, DEA, Bureau of Prisions should and could be housed in DHS. With TSA returning to DoT and the US Coast Guard going to DoD!

[w. patrick Lang]

matthew

A personal opinion of a committee of congress is one thing. Publicly expressed contempt for congress by a cabinet secretary is another. pl

[Matthew]

Agreed. But Gohmert makes Texas look terrible almost every day. Surprisingly, the people of his distict are very decent people. His success is a puzzle.

[Tyler]

Obama has been president for the last five years and yet some of you still keep dragging Bush II into everything as a way to try and defend your chocolate messiah. "B-b-b-but Bush did it!" Yeah, and it was wrong when he did it as well.

What a shock that Holder, who has turned the DOJ into a weapon of settling racial greivances, thinks he's above the law. The man has the blood of BPA Brian Terry on his hands - what's a little unconstitutional wire tapping?

The press conference a few days ago was hilarious for all the wrong reasons. He went on and on about how this was the most major national security leak he'd ever seen, and that was 'no hyperbole', but when asked why it was simply ran behind "uh I can't disclose that".

This is America in 2013?!

[s]

Holder pulled a Rumsfeld.

[Walrus]

Tyler, the rot had well and truly set in when John yo wrote his infamous memo legalising torture.

[kao_hsien-chih]

This is indeed an example of how excess partisanship is poisoning American politics. What is wrong is wrong because it's wrong, not because of Bush or Obama. Apparently, however, in today's universe, a Republican wrong makes a Democratic wrong right, and vice versa...

[CK]

The AP has historically been a pliant arm of the CIA and the executive. Spying by the DOJ on the AP is just another example of keeping your friends in line and just a wee bit worried about the strength of their "friends."

[optimax]

Gohmert was making a speech in the House on CSpan which I caught some of while eating lunch. He was ranting about Sharia law replacing the Constitution as a if it were a really happening. "Don't cast aspersions on my asparagus" is the line he will be remembered for.

[steve]

Holder should resign, or be removed from office.

At this point, I wouldn't much oppose the removal of Obama as well.

While I felt the same about Bush regarding his high crimes and misdemeanors, unfortunately, years ago Nancy Pelosi set the bar very high for impeachment putting it "off the table".

To make a pedestrian analogy, presidents seem nowadays to be like rowdy kids in an out of control classroom with a substitute teacher--they keep pushing and pushing with no rules in sight and no rules enforced, and revel in their good fortune.

And they will keep it up until they are stopped.

[MS2]

Holder filed a $5 billion lawsuit against a cornerstone of Wall Street, and they will have his head, regardless of whether his arrogance extends beyond that. I have no confidence in my ability to sort out the legitimacy of the ensuing public evisceration with info from the press.

Elsewhere I saw an attempt to link this to the political problems of AGs going back 30+ years. There is no comparison between this and the Meese problems, this is quite opposite; Holder is engaged in profitless, incompetent, objectively evil pseudo-sophisticated fatuity of the same variety as the Syria policy. Maybe that would cover Yoo too.

[William R. Cumming]

To state what I inferred in prior comments, the modern DoJ is not bipartisan or non-partisan but highly partisan. The number of political appointees in DoJ has skyrocketed over the last several decades. Why? It contends with the WH counsel office to see who can demonstrate the highest loyalty to the President and his/her office.

[Anna-Marina]

Right. That the Siegelman case has not been investigated is a huge and stinky blot on DOJ.

[ISL]

Tyler, I dont think you went far enough. Holder doesn't think he is above the law, he knows he is, and I doubt (sadly) anyone will disprove him. he has already noted the big banks are above the law. But then again assassination of the child of an american absent any due process. Welcome to the new brave world.

[Will Reks]

What racial grievances has the DOJ settled?

I don't mean this as an insult but it's apparent to me from months of reading your comments (most of which are insightful) that a lot of your gripes are projections of your own racial grievances and obsession with race.

I agree that Bush shouldn't be used as a foil for Obama's failures. In many ways the "Chocolate Messiah" is worse as he's continued many objectionable Bush-era policies and legalized them.

[Tyler]

Holder has stated that the malefactors in Wall Street are 'too big to prosecute'. How that alone isn't grounds for removal I don't know except....

America in 2013!

[Alba Etie]

Tyler
And the horrible torture that was also done in our 'behalf" -all of these actions including abu Gharib should have had senior leadership civilian & military charged and at least tried ..

[Edward Amame]

Perhaps a House committee can hold hearings on how congress has allowed the DOJ to assert such wildly broad powers to obtain phone records and such post 9-11. THAT is the scandal, what Holder did was merely wrong. The AG is supposed to pretend to have respect for the likes of committee member Rep. Louie "Asparagus" Gohmert and he did not.

[William R. Cumming]

The end of the annual term for SCOTUS is almost upon US! Beware for the June surprises of SCOTUS and also note how few cases the US through its Solictor General won this term.

Remember Obamacare was upheld Constitutionally as a tax after both many members of Congress and the Executive Branch in the runup to decision by SCOTUS stated flatly it was not a tax.

SCOTUS is not last because it is is right but right because it is last. Holder or any AG is almost last in any legal controversy involving the Executive Branch and Congressional enactments.

[Tyler]

Pigford 'Settlement', New Black Panther Party, threatening to prosecute St. Paul, Minn if it went ahead with a reverse racism case, suing Arizona for SB1070, minority voter fraud, refusing to go after illegal aliens, investigating Zimmerman for 'civil rights violations' for shooting St. Trayvon of the Skittles in self defense.

That's just off the top of my head. You want to sit with your head in the stand pretending we're living in a paradise of egalitarianism except to scream at anyone pointing out the Emperor has no clothes, be my.guest.

[Tyler]

Gotta pin it on those evil Republikkkkans no matter what right? Any port in a storm I guess.

[Mark Logan]

The committee is also supposed to pretend to have respect. This is a circus of almost nothing but clowns and naifs.

The presence of three "squirrels" at once has the press exceptionally dizzy at the moment. Details such as Holder recusing himself at the beginning of the investigation because he is a suspect are not being reported. It's entirely plausible that he didn't know, it's entirely true that it would have been inappropriate for him to have known. Simple, obvious things that do not gain "clicks" and ratings. The whole story needs to be told. Have to bear in mind the government notified AP themselves, yet the comparisons to Nixon predominate the coverage. Have to wait and see.

Holder seems a guy who just wants to be AG. He has no big ambitions to do anything with the job. No grand vision. If he wanted fame he wouldn't have put a weak simpleton like Breuer on the Wall Street issue. It's especially unfortunate for him to have this job, as he is not well suited emotionally to handle openly contemptuous questioning. Had he more skill and cleverness at that he might have avoided many of his troubles.