Turley Re: Mukasey Doctrine: "Discretion NOT Just To Prosecute But To DEFINE What Crimes are"

Turley: Attorney General Mukasey acting 'without principle'
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Wednesday August 13, 2008

The announcement by Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Tuesday that he regards illegal hiring practices in the Department of Justice only as violations of civil service laws and not as crimes came under withering criticism from legal expert Jonathan Turley on MSNBC's Countdown.

"The attorney general would have had a lot more credibility if he actually prosecuted government officials on occasion," Turley told Keith Olbermann. "He said he would not prosecute what is defined as a war crime in the case of torture. He would not prosecute on the electronic surveillance crimes. ... He has been standing in the way of investigations. And now ... he's just saying, 'You know, they got away and what can I do about that?'"

"He is not prosecuting government officials," Turley summed up, "and I'm afraid he's doing it without principle."

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"He seems to believe that he has the discretion not just to prosecute but to define what crimes are," Turley explained. "He is treating himself as the sole decision-maker. ... In so doing, he's making a wonderful argument for re-instating the independent counsel act."

Turley added that although the recent rejection by an appeals court of Valerie Plame's civil suit against government officials responsible for her outing may have been legally correct, it provides another argument for restoring the independent counsel act. "It shows that there is no independent basis to protect people like Plame," Turley emphasized. "She was done wrong."

more at:
file:///C:/Users/kathy/Favorites/POLITICS/The%20Raw%20Story%20%20A%20rational%20voice%20-%20Alternative%20news.url

and all you (alledged) Democrats who voted for Mukasey. This is what "compromise" gets you.

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