Comments on: Breaking: OIG And OPR Confirms Politicization Of Hiring At DOJ

By: highllama

highllama — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:48:53 +0000

It’s going to get interesting? Please tell me when.
I find it disgusting.
Congress won’t stand up to Bush. The European Community leaders don’t stand up to him.
How and when are we going to see some accountability for all of this shit, the worst abuses of American democratic law in decades if not a century?
The only 2 options I see now are General Strike and something like a Class Action suit against this administration. How far can executive privilege possibly go? No action on the environment is protected by executive privilege? Of course: because changing course on the environment will mean a commitment to ENDING WARS and these assholes are committed to keeping the war machine lubed and operational.
How the hell can something like RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY even be considered? What a farce! The Bushes have been painting this picture since 1985 when they began seeking immunities from international war crime courts, then sealing presidential records until safely sunsetted, and now this onslaught of cover-up and obscene misuse of power. It is nothing short of treason. And they do it with their hand on the bio-bull, pledging allegiance to that Great White god in the Sky before any consideration to the once-upon-a-time protections for all creeds and colors provided by a Constitution.

Any lawyers here ready to board the High Crimes and Misdemeanors Express?
We need some representation and we need it now.
Well, we needed it in late 2002…

By: tbsa

tbsa — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:29:42 +0000

Holy crap Batman. This is finally going to get interesting.

By: newtonusr

newtonusr — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:43:45 +0000

From the report, page 47, concerning 2006 Honors applicants that were rejected by the screening commitee:

In 2006, the Screening Committee was chaired by Michael Elston, the Deputy Attorney General’s Chief of Staff. The other two members were Daniel Fridman, an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) from the Southern District of Florida on detail to the Deputy Attorney General’s office, and Esther Slater McDonald, a Counsel to the Associate Attorney General. Elston and McDonald were political appointees, and Fridman was a career prosecutor.

snip

Appeals of Deselected Honors Program
Candidates
As noted above, 7 components appealed the deselection of 32
Honors Program candidates to Elston. Elston granted 16 of the
appeals, and those candidates were added to the list of interviewees.
Eleven additional appeals were withdrawn by the components before
Elston acted on them. In this section, we describe the experience
encountered by several components in appealing deselected Honors
Program candidates.

For example, Carol Lam, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District
of California, appealed the deselection of a candidate and pointed out to Elston in an e-mail on October 11 that the candidate had graduated from Stanford Law School with distinction and had a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals clerkship. Lam told us she speculated that the Committee may have deselected the candidate because the candidate was clerking for a judge who was a Clinton appointee or because she had written an article on gender discrimination in the military. In her e-mail to Elston, Lam asked for an explanation for the deselection.

Elston replied by e-mail that most deselections were for poor
grades. He acknowledged, however, that poor grades did not appear to
be the issue with this candidate, and he offered to check into the
application and let Lam know whether an appeal would be successful.
Elston replied later that day: “I have reviewed her application
materials, Carol. I do not think an appeal will be successful. If it helps, she was not selected by the other components to which she applied.”
Lam responded: “Thanks Mike. Just curious, though – I don’t see
anything unacceptable in her online application that was made
available to us. Do the other components see something that I don’t?”
Elston replied: “Not that I know of, Carol.”

By: earlofhuntingdon

earlofhuntingdon — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:23:38 +0000

Does anyone think that the DOJ was the only department of the federal government where Bush’s top lieutenants used illegal political considerations in making career hiring decisions? I have a lollipop for those who do.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:59:38 +0000

I’m writing this up for my scandals list. Monica Goodling is mentioned as wanting to keep the politicized screening committee. And well, shades of Monica Goodling, Rachel Paulose and others, Esther Slater McDonald who catches heat in the report was appointed by Bill Mercer the Acting Associate AG (No. 3 at the DOJ) is described in this way:

McDonald had been at the Department less than a month when she received this assignment and was only 3 years out of law school. (p. 93)

The report notes that investigators could find no one who told her what she was supposed to do or how she was supposed to do it. IOW just another young Bushbot, plug in and walk away.

By: BlueStateRedHead

BlueStateRedHead — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:43:56 +0000

That’s it. Flipped her hair at the SJC as if it were the finger. Will we ever see these people brought to justice, CHS?

By: BlueStateRedHead

BlueStateRedHead — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:42:46 +0000

Bushie@19 asked over at EW’s:

If the politically correct people were hired under a cloud, can their employment status be reviewed within Civil Service SOP? As stated sometime ago, many appointees are being converted to full time positions so the Federalists/Bush ideology can remain.
reply

I though negative, but too modest to quote myself. Anyone know,

By: Christy Hardin Smith

Christy Hardin Smith — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:39:58 +0000

That was Sara Taylor, wasn’t it?

By: BlueStateRedHead

BlueStateRedHead — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:38:11 +0000

No, it was the Rove Exec assistant who was part of the USA scandal and she got lectured by Leahy. Who did not point out the whole government that demanded personal alleigance oaths from employees was Hitler’s.

Anyone remember her name?

By: nonplussed

nonplussed — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:29:32 +0000

first in his law school class at Georgetown University, had clerked for a federal district court judge, and was currently clerking for a Second Circuit judge. [footnote 41: This candidate also had worked as a law clerk for Senator Russell Feingold, a Democrat, and for Human Rights Watch,

Couldn’t hang with the wunderkind from Regent Law…