Free Republic

For Justice Department employees who had spent weeks contemplating the possibility of two-time federal criminal defendant Donald Trump returning to the presidency, Joe Biden’s decision to drop out and endorse Kamala Harris offered a sense of relief. Former and current Justice Department employees believe that a future president Harris, a former prosecutor, unlike Trump, would respect the norms that have been in place to ensure DOJ independence in the half-century since Watergate. Those fears of another Trump term are central to a new letter endorsing Harris, signed by more than 40 former Justice Department officials who served under presidents of...

The U.S. Inspector General may recommend criminal prosecution of departed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the conclusion of an investigation, possibly as early as next month, the fired former U.S. attorney for Western Washington told a Spokane audience Friday.... McKay said he was summoned to Washington, D.C., in June and questioned for eight hours about possible reasons for his firing by investigators with the Office of Inspector General, who will forward their final report to Congress. “My best guess is it will be released sometime next month,’’ and likely will include recommendations for criminal prosecutions of Gonzales and maybe others,...

Was the 2004 election the downfall of United States Attorney John McKay? This is Jonathan Bechtle for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. John McKay, the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, was recently fired by the Justice Department without explanation, leading to much speculation over what he did wrong. Official sources cited “performance-related” reasons. We agree. McKay deserved to be fired over his performance in mishandling election crime investigations since 2004. Prior to the general election that year, McKay issued several press releases saying that election crime complaints would be “dealt with promptly and aggressively.” The Evergreen Freedom Foundation and others...