The Politicizing of Justice

Many have commented how ironic it would be to have the person to take down a powerful arm of the Administration if her name was Monica. The New York Times has an article up about this very thing.:

She also insisted that she be given final approval in hiring assistant United States attorneys in offices where there was an interim chief prosecutor. Interim United States attorneys always had to seek permission for hiring, but the review was typically lower level and involved checking that sufficient slots were available, current and former employees said.

But Ms. Goodling’s reviews delayed hiring decisions for weeks or months, creating problems in busy offices, and her concerns at times appeared to be for partisan reasons.

In one case, Ms. Goodling told a federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia that she was not signing off on an applicant who had graduated from Howard University Law School, and then worked at the Environmental Protection Agency.

“He appeared, based on his résumé, to be a liberal Democrat,” Ms. Goodling told Jeffrey A. Taylor, the acting United States attorney in Washington, according to two of the department employees who asked not to be named. “That wasn’t what she was looking for.”

Mr. Taylor ultimately found a way to go around Ms. Goodling in hiring the applicant.
She appeared to take similar concerns about political leanings into account when making decisions about promotions and special assignments for Justice Department lawyers.

I love the fact that this is the woman who wanted to plead the fifth when asked to testify to Congress. In the past pleading the fifth has been used so that you don't incriminate yourself in a crime. Well, this would be the huge smokestack rising from DoJ that lets us know that there is definitely fire where we believe it is. A judge has recently granted an immunity deal to Ms. Goodling in regards to her testimony to Congress. I don't have the details with me, but she more or less can only be charged with perjury after this, no criminal actions. I don't believe this has anything to do with Iglesias filing a Hatch Act complaint either, just what is brought up during Congress.

Now we will see the lady who is such a die-hard Republican and Christian if she will actually stick to her Christian teachings and not lie under oath. She says she expects to tell the truth when testifying, which I will be pleasantly surprised to see, but I expect we will hear much of the same as we've heard during this entire process. A good amount of I don't recall, I can't remember, I've searched my memory and have no recollection, you know things of that nature.

I won't lie, I'd love to see this topple the house of cards that the administration built because Karl Rove never expected to lose the power base they had in Congress. The politicizing of DoJ may only be the tip of the iceberg, with Congress intent on finding how far down the rabbit hole really goes.