Obama’s Department of Politics

We’ve written repeatedly about President Obama’s politicization of the Department of Justice under Eric Holder. In this week’s Weekly Standard, Jennifer Rubin does a fine job of recapitulating the case so far. Given that we are barely six months into Obama’s term, the picture is a stark one. Signs of overt partisanship are a symptom of what is going on beneath the surface:

While the Bush administration was investigated for seeking out conservative lawyers and staff, the Obama administration has been given a pass for going to the other extreme and stocking Justice with ultra-left leaning partisans. Overt signs of political activity and support now are on full display throughout the department. While it was unheard of to display campaign literature or paraphernalia during the Bush years, in the Holder Justice Department “Yes we did!” signs are fully evident, as are copies of reverential Obama campaign posters.

The bottom line is a degree of politicization that we have not witnessed in modern times:

Any demarcation between the Obama administration’s political agenda and the impartial administration of justice is being eradicated. “Holder is the most political, partisan attorney general I can remember,” says Frank Wolf. A former Justice Department official says that “the entire equilibrium of the department is out of whack.” Lamar Smith, too, is dismayed. He says he has met with Holder several times. “You hear the words but there is a disconnect with the actions. We keep hoping for better.”

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