A Politicized Justice Department?

The Soviets were famous for their show trials. Trials that where the decision of guilt or innocence was known in advance. That is a form of politicized justice, but at least at this point that's not what we're talking about here in the current Washington scandals. But it does appear that the Justice Department, under Alberto Gonzalez, has become increasingly politicized, so that the US Attorney firings may just be the tip of a very large iceberg. Whether or not crimes have been committed, it is obvious that the White House and the Justice Department have misled Congress and the American public.

E.J. Dionne takes up this issue in a well worded column this morning. Entitled "Inserting Politics into Justice", Dionne compares the current efforts by the Bush administration to stonewall Congress by claiming executive privilege. Yes, Bill Clinton did much the same thing on White Water, but back then it was the GOP that was crying foul, now they're trying to hide behind it. Dionne writes:

To investigate Clinton -- even his Christmas card list -- was God's work. To investigate Bush is "to head down the partisan road of issuing subpoenas and demanding show trials," as the president put it this week.

Ironically, the President is trying to cast this issue as a partisan battle on the part of the Dems, and yet the question surrounds whether partisan politics is driving the Justice Department. And thus:

There may be innocent answers to all these questions, but the questions need to be asked. The administration should not be allowed to turn attention away from substantive issues by pretending that this is only a "partisan" battle over "subpoenas" and "show trials."

This administration came into office claiming that it would restore integrity to the White House, apparently we were misled then too!