Thomas Taylor – 8/15/08

This page was last updated on August 17, 2008.

Mukasey a failure as attorney general; Thomas Taylor; Beaver County Times; August 15, 2008.

Mr. Taylor’s previous letter was entitled “Impeach Bush and Cheney.” That tells you pretty much what you need to know about this letter.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Tuesday that he regards illegal hiring practices in the Department of Justice only as violations of civil service laws and not as crimes.”

[RWC] Mr. Taylor failed to mention the source of at least some of the comments he makes in this letter. They are from an interview of Jonathan Turley (a self-described “liberal” law professor and pundit) by Keith Olbermann.

“He has also said he would not prosecute what is defined as a war crime in the case of torture.”

[RWC] I’d like to see the quote, source, and context before passing judgment.

“He would not prosecute on the electronic surveillance crimes. He has been standing in the way of investigations.”

[RWC] What “electronic surveillance crimes?” To date, courts have found no wrongdoing.

“And now, he’s just throws up his hands and implies, ‘You know, they got away with it and what can I do about that?’

“The attorney general — the highest law enforcement official in the land — has actually said ‘not all violations of the law are crimes.’”

[RWC] I believe you’ll find the full quote is “Not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime. In this instance, the two joint reports found only violations of the civil service laws.”

“Well then, what are they?”

[RWC] Many laws are civil laws – including DOJ hiring practices – and have no criminal penalty. There are usually penalties (fines, etc.) for civil laws, but technically they are not crimes. As “the highest law enforcement official in the land,” Mr. Mukasey’s comment was correct.

“If the attorney general refuses to do his job and prosecute people breaking laws, it is time for him to resign, be fired, impeached or somehow removed from office.”

[RWC] Blah, blah, blah.