ACS Executive Director Says Mukasey Offers Weak Response To DOJ Hiring Scandal
American Constitution Society Executive Director Lisa Brown sharply criticized Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey’s comments regarding the politicization of hiring for career positions within the Department of Justice as “woefully inadequate” and “disheartening." Speaking before the American Bar Association earlier this week, Mukasey acknowledged two Justice Department watchdog reports revealing that former Justice Department aides "violated civil laws that govern the hiring of career employees and summer law interns." But Mukasey said no action would be taken against the former aides. According to Mukasey, “not every wrong, or even every violation of the law is a crime.”
Brown responded, "It may be, as Attorney General Mukasey says, that 'not every wrong, or even violation of the law, is a crime.' But it does not follow that every violation of the law is to be met with blank indifference. What the Attorney General apparently does not grasp is that failing to address widespread and systemic wrongs at the nation's highest institute of justice undermines the very mission of the Department and the confidence that Americans have in their government and its ability to pursue justice." Brown’s entire statement is here. The two reports from the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility revealing the use of political criteria to hire career attorneys and immigration judges are here and here. More information about the hiring scandal is here.