Ashcroft: U.S. Attorney Scandal Has Not Damaged The Justice Department

Yesterday, former Attorney General John Ashcroft spoke at the National Association of Attorneys General conference in Atlanta. When approached by a reporter about the U.S. attorney scandal, he claimed that it hasn’t hurt morale at the Justice Department:

Former US Attorney General John Ashcroft said today that the scandal surrounding the firings of 8 federal prosecutors has not damaged the Justice Department. [...]

Asked by The Associated Press if the firings had hurt the Department’s integrity or reputation for independence, he responded simply, “no.” Ashcroft then walked away, declining to elaborate, and took no additional questions.

Despite being ignored and disrespected by the White House on the wiretapping program, he’s still shilling for President Bush.

In reality, the attorney scandal has jeopardized many convictions won by federal prosecutors. Defense lawyers are “raising questions about the motives of government lawyers who have brought charges against their clients…citing the furor over the U.S. attorney dismissals as evidence that their cases may have been infected by politics.”

Additionally, the morale of career professionals at the Department is plummeting, which even Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has “acknowledged.” Some examples:

“There has been a very substantial decrease in morale. There’s no doubt about that. The other 93 U.S. attorneys don’t know who is up next.” [Sen. Arlen Specter, 4/22/07]

“I’ve talked to several U.S. attorneys since this broke, and they confirm that morale is bad: They’re figuring they are no longer wearing white hats.” [Ousted U.S. attorney David Iglesias, 5/10/07]

“Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales endured blunt criticism Tuesday from federal prosecutors who questioned the firings of eight United States attorneys, complained that the dismissals had undermined morale and expressed broader grievances about his leadership.” [New York Times, 3/28/07]

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