A Pass at Justice

No legal actions are going to be pursued on those wonderful Bush appointees that used political considerations to hire non-political positions. I know that comes as a big surprise. You can read more about it in the Post here.

This is the decision of Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey:

He told delegates to the American Bar Association annual meeting, "Not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime. In this instance, the two joint reports found only violations of the civil service laws."

Gee, only a violation of civil service laws. So nothing is going to happen to Monica Goodling and her partner in civil service violations D. Kyle Sampson. Guess they got a way with one. I do have to say I'm not sure what they could have been charged with. But, there should be some sort of punishment for politicizing career positions at the Justice Department.

At least the Democrats are not letting willing to settle for this:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said Mukasey "seems intent on insulating this administration from accountability."

The Vermont Democrat said Mukasey's remarks "appear premature based on the facts and evidence that congressional investigators and the inspector general have uncovered so far" in the hiring scandal. "We must continue to pursue the truth and facts, and hold any wrongdoers accountable," Leahy said.

I think the question has to be asked if these two bozos were acting on their own or if this was being orchestrated at a higher level. If you decide not to pursue and sort of charges, you loose any leverage you might have on these two to find out anything further.

If there is a silver lining, and it is a very slim one, Mukasey urged those who were not hired to apply for open positions in the Justice Department. Of course that doesn't mean they get those jobs. But at least they will have a level playing field as opposed to the one they had.