The list of dire problems facing the new President is mind-numbing. But major surgery to save the Department of Justice from its demise during the Bush Administration has got to be near the top.
In any typical Presidential election year, it’d be possible to count on one hand the number of urgent problems or crises awaiting a new head of state. This year is quite different. Begin with the somber fact that the country is skidding into what, at best, appears to be a severe recession, with major industries hanging by a proverbial thread. Throw in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, global climate change, a dysfunctional health care system, a non-existent energy policy, and so forth, and even the best man, or woman, would struggle to know where to start.
And still one thing is absolutely clear. Reform of the U.S. Justice Department cannot wait. Over the weekend (November 8-9) National Public Radio posted its first “Memo to the President” outlining a “representative” list of fourteen key issues awaiting President-elect Obama. To NPR’s credit, the first issue-specific “Memo to the President” is out this morning (Monday, November 10th) entitled: “Justice Leader’s Job, Renew A Battered Agency.”
This morning’s memo is from NPR’s Ari Shapiro and, to his and NPR’s credit, it is unsparing in its critique of the Bush Justice Department. Here’s an excerpt:
These used to be principles people could take for granted at the Justice Department, but that’s no longer the case.
Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, describes the Justice Department as the backbone of the federal government. “And that spine has really been injured,” she said.
Former Justice Department Inspector General Michael Bromwich goes even further, saying the agency has seen “some of the roughest passages that it’s ever had to face over the last four years.”
The whole piece is worth a read and includes audio and links to previous NPR reporting on the subject.
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