The Mukasey Doctrine = blog by Scott Horton

[L. Coyote]

No Comment - http://harpers.org/archive/2008/08/hbc-90003387
By Scott Horton
August 12, 3:20 PM
The Mukasey Doctrine

Prior to his confirmation, Michael Mukasey fessed up, in a written response to Senator Dick Durbin, to a meeting the White House arranged with a group of movement conservatives. The team he met with had a simple agenda: They wanted his assurance that he would not appoint special prosecutors to go after administration figures involved in serious scandals at the Justice Department, including the U.S. attorneys scandal and the introduction of torture with formal Justice Department cover, and they wanted his assurance that Justice would continue to provide legal cover to “the Program.” The team who met Mukasey included figures on the periphery of the scandal who may have had personal reasons to fear an investigation. But Mukasey is clearly keeping the understanding that brought him to the cherished post of attorney general. And that’s bad news for the Justice Department and its reputation.

Today he addressed the annual convention of the American Bar Association, and expanded upon what may be known to future generations as the “Mukasey Doctrine.” This doctrine holds that political appointees in the Justice Department who breach the public trust by using their positions for partisan political purposes face no punishment for their crimes. In the Mukasey view, this is all simple political gamesmanship—“boys will be boys”—and sufficient accountability is provided by exposing their games to the public limelight.

After reviewing in the briefest terms the recent internal Justice Department probe into the politicization of the hiring process in the honors program, with respect to immigration judges and in other areas, here’s what Mukasey has to say:

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[barbtries]

1. it is so frustrating

this rogue administration and their legions of enablers. good-bye to the rule of law in the bush states of america.

[L. Coyote]

2. Calling them an "Administration" just enables more crimes. They are a JUNTA!

That much should be plain to everyone by now, but it won't be if we keep referencing them with legitimizing terminology!

[barbtries]

5. i have a similar pet peeve with regard to the

"surge" - it is and was an escalation of the war. the rogue bush regime. i'll go look up junta.

[L. Coyote]

6. The timing of the "surge" seemed directed at derailing the Dem Congress

and its ability to end the war.

The "surge" was paraded out when Dems took control of Congress.
The "surge" immediately altered the dialogue about the war and gave Bush back the upper hand.

[ToeBot]

3. "...legions of enablers" - Inclucing Feinstein and Schummer. nt

[spanone]

4. mukasey is also a product of diane feinstein and chuck schumer....dems could have stopped this

instead they chose to be enablers.....

[Supersedeas]

7. you'd expect such maneuvering from a Political Appointee, but a Federal Judge!?!

what a freaking HACK!!

[L. Coyote]

8. kicking for a good read