In some ways, it seems the scandal surrounding the Bush administration and the fired U.S. Attorneys has run its course. To be sure, the seriousness of the controversy was never really in doubt, at least for the reality-based community. The unthinkable became all too real: the Bush gang used federal prosecutors “to help the Republican Party win elections.” When nine effective, qualified U.S. Attorneys demonstrated independence, they were fired. Then the Bush gang lied about the whole thing.
A year after the scandal first emerged, it’s easy to look back at the controversy and think that it ended on a high note. The wrongdoing was exposed, most of the Justice Department’s leadership was forced out, and an absurd Attorney General resigned in disgrace. As “overblown personnel matters” go, the purge scandal certainly left its mark on the administration.
And while the administration would surely prefer the country to think of the scandal as “old news,” which was effectively resolved with Alberto Gonzales’ departure, the NYT notes in an editorial that there are still some important unanswered questions — which the White House should be compelled to answer.
Congress must hear from all of the major participants. The House Judiciary Committee has voted to hold Joshua Bolten, the White House chief of staff, and Ms. Miers in contempt for ignoring Congressional subpoenas. The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to do the same for Mr. Bolten and Mr. Rove. The full House and Senate should affirm those votes and refer the witnesses for prosecution if they still will not cooperate.
The attorney general also must do more. There is evidence of impropriety in several recent prosecutions, including that of Don Siegelman, a former governor of Alabama who is serving a lengthy prison sentence. Mr. Mukasey needs to investigate Mr. Siegelman’s case and others that have been called into question to ensure that no one was wrongly put in jail by his department, and that anyone who acted improperly is held accountable.
The integrity of the Justice Department is precious. The fair application of the law is the cornerstone of American justice and American democracy. A halfway resolution of this scandal is not enough. It needs to be investigated vigorously and completely.
Sounds right to me.
This isn’t about being vindictive, of course, it’s about accountability. This scandal has produced some very positive results…
The list of people connected to the scandal who resigned their jobs includes Ms. Miers; Mr. Rove; Kyle Sampson, the chief of staff to then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; Monica Goodling, the Justice Department’s White House liaison; and Mr. Gonzales himself.
Reforms were instituted. Congress passed a law taking back the power it had unwisely given the president to appoint United States attorneys without Senate confirmation. That should make it harder for future presidents to put political operatives in these sensitive posts. More recently, Attorney General Mukasey issued new guidelines restricting contacts between the Justice Department and the White House, which appears to have been the conduit for the orders to politicize prosecutions.
…but we’re not quite there yet.
When the scandal broke, important players either refused to testify before Congress — like Harriet Miers, a former White House counsel, and Karl Rove, the presidential adviser — or professed ignorance. Then these officials began to slink away.
They have answers to share; stonewalling shouldn’t be rewarded.