Says DOJ Sacrificed Homeland Security in the Name of Partisanship

Washington, D.C.-    Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) today blasted the Bush Administration for what a Department of Justice report deemed the illegal use of political influence in the hiring process of US Attorneys. The report cites an example of a highly qualified U.S. Attorney from Western New York who Bush appointee Monica Goodling, the report says, passed over based on his and his wife’s political affiliation, giving the position to a far lesser qualified candidate who is a registered Republican.   

"The war on terror has purportedly been the Bush Administration's first priority - by passing over a highly qualified prosecutor for a prosecutor with lesser credentials and no counter-terrorism experience, they demonstrated that the war on terror is secondary to Republican cronyism on their priority list," Congressman Higgins said. “The sustained pattern of gross misconduct that was permitted and even encouraged by this Administration and its Department of Justice leadership sacrificed our nation’s homeland security at the altar of partisan loyalty. Make no mistake, as a consequence of this deliberate and partisan misconduct, our nation was made less safe.”

In a letter to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, Higgins called on Mukasey to use subpoena power to investigate whether political influence went beyond that of the officials examined in the report  and the role of former Attorney General Gonzales in directing these policies, as well as to investigate whether former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Monica Goodling or other administration officials committed perjury when testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on May 23, 2007.  Higgins has also demanded immediate structural reforms within the Department of Justice to ensure such violations may never occur again.

To Mukasey, Higgins wrote, “The public’s trust in this Administration and the Department of Justice has been shaken by this appalling report.  As the head of this august agency it is incumbent upon you to take decisive action to restore that trust by aggressively investigating and prosecuting those who are responsible for it, and by acting decisively to institute safeguards to ensure that our homeland security is never again sublimated to such flagrantly partisan considerations.”

The full text of the letter is below:

Attorney General Mukasey:

I am writing to express my serious concern and incredulity about the report issued yesterday by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of the Inspector General regarding the illegal and improper political influence in hiring and personnel decision-making under this Administration.

The sustained pattern of gross misconduct that was permitted and even encouraged by this Administration and its Department of Justice leadership sacrificed our nation’s homeland security at the altar of partisan loyalty.  In my own congressional district an Assistant United States Attorney (referenced in the report as “Candidate #1”), an accomplished and experienced terrorism prosecutor who investigated and prosecuted a terrorist cell operating in Western New York in one of the most significant counterterrorism cases in United States history, was denied a counterterrorism position in the Department of Justice.  The report found that he was passed over because of his wife’s political involvement in the Democratic Party, in favor of an applicant who was deemed a sufficiently loyal partisan but who did not even meet the basic requirements for the job.  Make no mistake, as a consequence of this deliberate and partisan misconduct, our nation was made less safe.

Of further concern are media reports that you find the dilution of our counterterrorism capabilities and the brazen violation of our civil service laws in the furtherance of a conservative movement jobs program to be merely “disturbing”.  I find it to be so much more troubling than that.  That is why I demand that you use your subpoena power to investigate whether the improper and illegal political influence went beyond the officials examined in the report, and to determine the extent to which Attorney General Gonzales and other White House officials were involved in directing these policies.

Further, I demand that the Department of Justice undertake an immediate investigation into whether Attorney General Gonzales, Monica Goodling, or other Administration officials committed perjury when they testified before the House Judiciary Committee on May 23, 2007 and downplayed the egregiousness of these deplorable policies and practices. 

Lastly, it is imperative that your office take immediate action to institute structural reforms to make sure violations of this magnitude never happen again, under future Republican or Democratic administrations.  I am sure that, in light of this shocking report, my colleagues and I in Congress will initiate legislative measures to ensure such reforms.  However I submit that such reforms can be taken administratively in the interim, and request information on exactly what reforms you propose to take and when they will be implemented. 

The public’s trust in this Administration and the Department of Justice has been shaken by this appalling report.  As the head of this august agency it is incumbent upon you to take decisive action to restore that trust by aggressively investigating and prosecuting those who are responsible for it, and by acting decisively to institute safeguards to ensure that our homeland security is never again sublimated to such flagrantly partisan considerations. 

I look forward to your response and action and proposed response to the actions requested in this letter. 

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