Democrats Should Point Out Goodling & Co.'s Inexperience

In an article that appeared in the Legal Times, and which can be read by clicking on the link in this entry's title, there is a discussion about how an immigration judge named Garry Malphrus got his job. Malphrus had no experience in immigration cases. He had apparently never practiced immigration law. He was, however, politically connected. Indeed he was one of the so-called "Brooks Brothers" rioters who intimidated the Dade County Board of Elections into shutting down its recount. Obviously a person who really respects the rule of law.

According to Monica Goodling's testimony, she was told by Kyle Sampson that political hires could be made for the immigration service. Goodling took this as meaning that she could look into the political background of applicants and take such consideration into account. As it turns out, she couldn't and she was forced to admit this week before the House Judiciary Committee that she broke the law.

Overlooked in all of this is how little experience Monica Goodling had compared to the power she was given. She had no experience as an attorney either prosecuting or defending criminal cases or in handling civil cases. She was a political hack who was given her job precisely because she wasn't qualified. According to Wikipedia, this was her background:

Ms. Goodling worked alongside Tim Griffin as an opposition researcher for the Republican National Committee during the 2000 presidential campaign. She joined the Department of Justice's press office after George W. Bush was elected president. She moved to the department's executive office, which is responsible for budgeting, management, personnel management and evaluation, later becoming deputy director of the executive office.[3] After less than a year, Goodling moved again, to the attorney general’s office, working as the the White House liaison

How in the world does that type of experience qualify a person to be hiring and/or firing United States Attorneys for the various Federal Court districts around the country? It is hard to imagine the presumption of a person like Goodling who would assume that she was capable of carrying out such duties given her lack of experience.

We would love to see some Democrat in the future go through her background and then ask her just why she thought she was qualified for the job she had before she resigned. How in the world could a person who had never been in a courtroom, never presented a civil or criminal case to a jury or a judge, never wrote a brief, or handled a client's legal problem, know who should be an United States Attorney? Only in the Bush Administration could this kind of inexperienced incompetent end up making decisions on who to hire and who to fire.

House Republicans Praise Goodling as She Admits to Violating the Law

Monica Goodling appeared in front of the House Judiciary Committee and admitted to "crossing the line" and looking into the political affilations of people being considered for jobs in the Justice Department. Yet, in spite of this admission, only obtained after she was granted immunity from having her testimony used against her, Republicans on the Committee praised her. Here is one example from the Washington Post article linked to above:

"There not only is no evidence of wrongdoing, but there is no allegation of any wrongdoing on your part," Rep. Steve King (Iowa) told her.

King's remarkable comments are just one more example of the fact that Republicans don't think that the rules apply to them. Republicans like King don't think that Goodling crossed any lines because they believe that, for Republicans, lines don't exist. They are so quick to attack the sins of Democrats and yet so unwilling to recognize their own sins.

As the Washington Post editoral writers wrote in a May 24, 2007 editorial:

It was sad, as well, that so many Republican committee members chose to ignore this ugly fact and heap praise on Ms. Goodling. "I think you have . . . shown people who are here. . . . why people in the Justice Department thought you were worthy of your job," said Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.). "Millions of Americans now know a lot more about you, and they're proud to have somebody like you serving in government," said Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) Violating the law against politicizing the civil service is no grounds for pride.

Sad, but not surprising. One thing that comes through time and time again when detailing the actions of this administration or the Republican party in Ohio: they just don't think that the rules apply to them.

The Real Reason Why Monica Goodling was Going to Take the Fifth?

According to this story in the Washington Post, Monica Goodling, former aide to Attorney General Gonzales is being investigated by the Justice Department for improperly considering the political affiliations of attorneys applying for jobs at that Department.

If you remember, earlier this year Goodling's attorney wrote to both Senate and House Committees and told them that his client wasn't going to testify because of her concern that she would incriminate herself. At the time he made it appear that her concerns centered on the make-up of the Committees. He argued in his letter that he believed that Democrats, especially Sen. Schumer from NY, had already prejudged his client.

Now, however, we find out that his client may have violated Federal law. That makes his concerns over his client's testimony much more understandable. It may have had nothing to do with any alleged "prejudging" by Schumer and much more to do with the fact that Goodling was already a target of an internal investigation. We wonder if Regent University Law School is still proud of this particular alumnus?

Did Regent's University Scrub Its Website After Goodling Resigned?

Earlier this month we posted a story about how Regent University posted on its website the fact that 150 of its alumni either worked or had worked for the Bush Administration. As one of our readers pointed out to us that information appears to be gone from the University's website.

Why was this done? The reader suggests three possible reasons: " Could they be embarassed that the public now knows where Bush's advice comes from? Or maybe the info has been removed because of the Gonzalez Attorneys General scandal? Or perhaps they withdrew the info because their claim was overblown/inaccurate?

It would be interesting if someone would call up Regent's University and ask them about this apparent change. If you do, let us know by posting a comment on our blog.

Insider's View of the Department of Justice Under Alberto

Law.com has an interesting article about the United States Department of Justice under Bubble-Boy's buddy, Alberto Gonzales. (Maybe we can start calling Alberto BBB). Here is a quote from the article: Third, and most significantly for present purposes, there was an almost immediate influx of young political aides beginning in the first half of 2005 (e.g., counsels to the AG, associate deputy attorneys general, deputy associate attorneys general, and deputy assistant attorneys general) whose inexperience in the processes of government was surpassed only by their evident disdain for it.

The reason why young conservatives are so willing to trash government, even as they are profiting from it, is because they don't value government, have no regard for it, and think that its only purpose is to enrich them while they destroy it. It is way past time for these people to just go. Monica Goodling was a start, but many more need to depart.

Profile of Influence of Regent University Law School on Justice Department

Last week we posted an entry on the influence of Regent University, founded by Pat Robertson, in the Bush Administration, especially the Department of Justice. The Boston Globe printed a relatively long piece today, examining Regent University's law school.

This is a quote from the article: Not long ago, it was rare for Regent graduates to join the federal government. But in 2001, the Bush administration picked the dean of Regent's government school, Kay Coles James , to be the director of the Office of Personnel Management -- essentially the head of human resources for the executive branch. The doors of opportunity for government jobs were thrown open to Regent alumni.

The article goes on to note that the law school, from which Monica Goodling graduated, is a "fourth tier" law school, essentially ranked at 136th place among American law schools. The article describes Goodling as follows: Documents show that Goodling, who has asserted her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying before Congress, was one of a handful of officials overseeing the firings. She helped install Timothy Griffin , the Karl Rove aide and her former boss at the Republican National Committee, as a replacement US attorney in Arkansas.

Because Goodling graduated from Regent in 1999 and has scant prosecutorial experience, her qualifications to evaluate the performance of US attorneys have come under fire. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, asked at a hearing: "Should we be concerned with the experience level of the people who are making these highly significant decisions?"

Clearly what matters more than experience or competence or academic achievement with the Bush Administration is being on the right side of conservative issues. A person with as little credentials as Monica Goodling can get hired because she is a true believer.

Pat Robertson's Regent University Places 150 Alumni in Bush Administration

Monica Goodling, the Justice Department official who announced that she will take the Fifth Amendment rather than testify truthfully to the Congress about the fired U.S. Attorneys issue, is a graduate of the law school at Regent University. Regent University was started by Pat Robertson. According to its website 150 alumni have taken jobs with the Bush Administration. This is just one more example of the marriage between the religious right and the Bush Administration.