I have been waiting for one of our candidates to do more than simply jump on the Gonzo bandwagon, decry the rampant politicization at Justice, and call for his resignation. Its time for a strong statement about what the next president will do to salvage the DOJ. Accordingly, here's what I'd like to hear from Richardson, Obama, Edwards, Clinton, Kucinich -- anyone:
It becomes more apparent every day that for 6 years the United States Department of Justice has been a fraud on the american people. It has not been a separate department -- it has been operated directly out of the white house as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the worst elements of the republican party. It has not been dedicated to justice for americans -- it has been dedicated to winning elections for republican candidates, protecting corrupt officeholders from scrutiny, and embellishing the resumes of young, overly-zealous and minimally-qualified reactionaries. If I am elected, this will stop.
more below.
It is important for the american people to have complete trust in the equal and impartial administration and enforcement of all of the laws. I am committed, therefore, if I am elected, to take the following immediate actions:
- I will move quickly to nominate, as the next attorney general, a lawyer of impeccable legal qualifications, who has demonstrated by his or her actual experience an involvement in and a commitment to the impartial administration of the law. I will not simply appoint someone to this extremely important position from among my personal or campaign advisors. I will not simply name someone so that they can burnish their credentials for eventual appointment to the Supreme Court. And in making my appointment, I will actively seek the advice and input of distinguished legal scholars and practitioners around the country. The next Attorney General will not be a political hack; nor will he or she be the President's lawyer.
- There will be a complete and painstaking review of all personnel at the Department of Justice, followed by a thorough housecleaning. I give fair warning now to each and every current employee at Justice: if you have reason to believe that during the last six years you were hired or promoted because of your political beliefs, your membership in any party or other partisan or religious organization, or your loyalty or allegiance to an individual rather than your commitment to the institution and the constitution, then do not await the results of this review. Leave now, and save the american people the time and expense of searching you out, and investigating your actions while employed at the Department.
- As President, my relationship with the Department of Justice will always be guided by the knowledge that the heart and sole of the Department is not the Attorney General, or any of the other so-called political appointees to that department -- it is the career attorneys of the department: the career attorneys of the once-great civil rights division, who until this administration came along, dedicated themselves to enforcing our civil rights laws, not eviscerating them; the career attorneys of the antitrust division, who until recently dedicated themselves to enforcing the antitrust laws, and not on enlarging loopholes for favored business interests; the career attorneys of the Office of Legal Counsel, whose historic task it has been to tell the President and all the other executive agencies and departments what they can and what they cannot do under the constitution and the law; and the hundreds of career employees in all the other divisions and offices of the Department, whose sole legitimate task, it seems to me, ought to be serving the citizens of this republic rather than the leaders of the republican party.
- And finally, if the Attorney General in my administration ever finds it necessary publicly to evade responsibility for, or even recollection of the important policy and personnel decisions and recommendations that are committed to the discretion of the attorney general, I will immediately ask for his or her resignation.
Now, are there any questions?