Posted on 11/23/2016 7:56:10 AM PST by Kaslin
President-elect Trump’s decision last week to nominate Sen. Jeff Sessions to serve as America’s 84th Attorney General signals a return to a Justice Department that reflects a more traditional, real-crimes based approach to federal law enforcement policy, as opposed to the control-oriented, social policy-heavy approach under which that Department has operated for the past eight years.
The fact is, the Department of Justice, when formally established in 1789, was not meant to serve as the heavy-hand of law enforcement; but rather as a relatively small federal agency to focus limited federal resources on the handful of crimes that truly were “federal” in nature – forgery, immigration, interstate fraud, customs matters, robbery of federal facilities, and the like.
Understandably, over the decades as the size and scope of the federal government has grown, so has the Justice Department in size and responsibilities. Unfortunately, during the past four decades or so, one Administration after another, and one Congress following another, have been unable to resist the urge to keep adding to that list of “federal crimes,” so it now numbers in the thousands; over 4,500 according to some estimates. The current Administration has taken that ball and run with it.
While many of the thousands of attorneys working for the Department are top-notch, and continue to investigate and prosecute crimes that the average citizen would understand as constituting crimes that properly should consume the time and resources of Uncle Sam – complex white collar fraud cases, and multi-state and international drug cases, for example – more and more, those attorneys are being directed by the Attorney General to involve themselves in matters of quite a different nature. An increasing number of these cases are regulatory in nature; often of the sort that a civil (that is, non-criminal) approach not only would suffice to rectify the problem, but better serve the ends of justice.
An illustration of the manner in which federal criminal laws can be easily abused to reach conduct not clearly federal in nature, or at best, actions that are not reflective of clear federal priorities, was the “Bridgegate” case involving former associates of New Jersey Gov. Christie. To be sure, Christie’s former associates clearly abused their power as political officials when they caused massive back-ups at a key bridge going into New York City for a couple of days. However, treating the case as a major federal criminal case, including alleging violations of civil-rights era laws with which to punish Christie’s idiotic underlings, represents the type of mis-prioritization of resources that needs to be addressed at the Department.
More broadly, the manner in which the Justice Department for eight years under President Obama has handled civil right cases, illustrates a troubling shift in focus and priority.
Under prior Administrations, going back to the Reagan Administration, federal prosecutors never hesitated to press cases against local, state or federal law enforcement or other officials, who violated individuals’ civil rights. This was an important component of federal law going back decades. If a local police officer employed excessive or deadly force against an individual without justification and, for example, based on racial discrimination, the FBI would be called on to investigate and if the elements of a case were present, the U.S. Attorney would prosecute; occasionally attorneys from the Civil Rights Division at the Department might become involved. But the point to such prosecutions was to protect the victim’s rights and punish the guilty official.
In contrast, as often as not in today’s Obama Justice Department, every such case becomes an opportunity not simply to punish wrongdoing, but to “teach police departments a lesson.” The overriding goal appears to be to place control of those agencies and individual officers under the federal agency.
This trend toward federalizing crime and the administration of criminal justice is troubling and contrary to fundamental standards of our system of federalism in America; and it is demoralizing to local and state police agencies and officers who increasingly are forced to carry out their demanding and dangerous work with Uncle Sam looking over their shoulder ready to yell, “gotcha!”
Speaking of priorities, no less important a person than the current Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, has been spending her time fretting over whether the Constitution of the United States ought be invoked as a basis to involve the Justice Department in the “transgendered bathroom” debate that began flourishing this year.
I suspect her successor, if confirmed by the Senate, will spend far less time beating up on police departments and worrying about transgendered bathrooms; and far more time focusing on protecting the American people against serious criminal activity.
My state’s loss of his voice in the Senate may be the Republic’s solid gain. I hate losing Jeff as my senator, but Justice and Foggy Bottom BOTH need to be nuked and rebuilt from the bottom UP!
This is perhaps the most impactive appointment after SCOTUS justices, a man of high integrity and proven loyalty to traditional America to clean up DOJ after the despicable Holder and Lynch. (And I remember when we all asked ourselves if there could possibly be a worse AG than Janet Reno...)
It was when Senator Sessions came to that Alabama stadium and endorsed Donald Trump that I first felt he really had a change to win and MAGA.
I”ll be happy when I stop hearing about Mitt Romney as SOS. If Trump can be co-opted then this is going to really end up being a meaningless victory(and so hard fought it was)
I am excited about this pick...Sessions is a great man and we are very grateful to have him in this position...
Now if we can get rid of Mittens and his ilk!!!
Now if we can get rid of Mittens and his ilk!!!
This can’t be said enough. Flood his twitter with anti Mitt bots. This guy has done NOTHING to deserve being SOS. He doesn’t even agree with Trump’s philosophy on foreign policy (not on Trade, not on military ideas). I’m convinced he has been coerced if this happens
I agree.
We can go over and post a plea with President Trump to NOT PICK Mitt Romney for Secretary of State (or any other position for that matter).
Maybe it’s not too late to put in this plea.
Auntie Janet....p/u....a gross incompetent. Her deputies were shocked b/c she took a yellow legal pad to top-level DOJ meetings....and actually took notes.
Holder lectured us as a “nation of cowards” on civil rights issues. He and Obama musta been lying in wait for decades to get that outta their hate-America guts.
Lynch....(gag)....the less said the better. How she got a law degree is a mystery not even Sherlock Holmes could solve.
KEEP IN MIND W/ Obama, Trump is dealing with a dangerous megalomaniac who still controls the power levers for the next two months.
The Clinton crimes surely reach into the Justice Dept and most likely the Obama WH itself. Trump cannot announce an investigation now. He needs to ease Obama out, change the locks and then drop the hammer.
Trump saying : "Hillary's been through enough" is quite clever.....it serves to mollify the culprits until he can drop the hammer.
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It is next to impossible to believe Obama knew nothing about the Clinton big buck/intel-selling operation.....he, himself, was surely pocketing a cut of the loot, as long as he played along and acted stupid about what they were doing.
Luckily for us, AG Sessions is not the kind of man who would ignore wrong-doing on the scale of the Clintons' operation.....dismissing treason and espionage for political reasons.
No way.
Chaffetz can keep the investigation alive until Trump's DOJ can move in.
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(hat tip freeper Rockingham) Hillary and Bill should be offered the usual plea bargain for a corrupt officials: a detailed guilty plea, with cooperation and testimony against associates, along with a substantial fine, disgorgement of illegal gains, and at least a year or two of jail time.
Humiliating and painful, but far less than the maximum.
Ideally, the Clintons can then be used to unravel and document their criminal schemes and to prosecute their criminal associates. If of a generous disposition, Trump could then pardon the jail time for the Clintons if they otherwise perform under the plea deal.
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