The Justice Department broke civil service laws and the country’s heart by “deselecting” qualified young applicants linked to Democrats and liberal groups (“weed out the wackos and wack jobs”). It’s the saddest news we’ve heard from the District in a long time — maybe since the plumbers taped the door locks at the Watergate Complex.
No civic betrayals cut deeper than those by men and women sworn to protect us, but who instead abuse their power in order to mow down political opponents. Our real enemies, they forget, are those who confuse the loyal opposition with enemies of the State.
The temptations of power should never be underestimated. We can all fall from grace at any time — but for grace itself. Still, some news weighs on the spirit. As Ellen Podgor wrote in her blog, “It is pretty frightening to think that the department that will monitor elections has been compromised and continues to be compromised by political hiring practices.”
She’s right. Who’s guarding our liberties?
Fortunately the news from Washington can’t keep the sun from rising. This morning the sky was beautiful and our breakfast fruit hit the spot. Then it was time for some chores so we turned to the screen. First stop — the latest FCPA enforcement news from the DOJ’s criminal division.
But the usual businesslike homepage was missing –replaced by a cheerful greeting and more:
Thank you for visiting the U.S. Department of Justice!
You have been randomly selected to take part in a survey, presented by Foresee Results, to let us know what we are doing well and where we need to do better.
The coincidence was jolting. The DOJ wanted our opinion about its performance. We couldn’t wait.
Once you leave this site, the survey will appear in this window. In the meantime, please ignore this window and continue browsing our site in the other window.
Maybe there were too many windows. Maybe we closed something we shouldn’t have. Anyway, the survey never appeared and we lost our chance.
There was, however, one small dialogue box still open:
ForeSee may disclose personal information in response to a judicial or other government subpoena, warrant or order.
Which reminded us again: Who is guarding our liberties?
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