Tag Archives: ethics

The Obama/Lynch Justice Department

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A federal judge in Texas has ordered hundreds of US Department of Justice lawyers to undergo ethics training, accusing the agency of a “calculated plan of unethical conduct.”

The extraordinary order by US District Judge Andrew S Hanen says Justice Department lawyers intentionally misled him in the course of a lawsuit filed by Texas and 25 other mostly conservative states challenging the Obama administration’s immigration policy.

Hanen wrote in his order

What remains before this Court is the question of whether the Government’s lawyers must play by the rules.
…
The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “Justice Department”) has now admitted making statements that clearly did not match the facts.  It has admitted that the lawyers who made these statements had knowledge of the truth when they made these misstatements.

And this:

The decision of the lawyers who apparently determined that these three-year renewals…were not covered by the Plaintiff States’ pleadings was clearly unreasonable.  The conduct of the lawyers who then covered up this decision was even worse.

Such conduct is certainly not worthy of any department whose name includes the word “Justice.”

In fact, it is hard to imagine a more serious, more calculated plan of unethical conduct.  There were over 100,000 instances of conduct contrary to counsel’s representations.

Nor has this been simply a “first offense.”

This Court in at least one prior order has detailed the multiple times attorneys for the Government misrepresented the actions being taken (or, according to their representations, not being taken) by their clients.

Hanen’s reference to 100,000 was to 100,000 deferrals under the Obama edict that had already been granted, contrary to the DoJ lawyers’ representations at trial.

Unfortunately, Hanen has no authority to disbar these despicable liars.  It’s interesting to note, however, that while Hansen assures us that he’s satisfied these misbehaviors did not occur after Attorney General Loretta Lynch ascended to her AG-ship, Lynch herself has chosen to remain silent on the matter—and by clear implication, to do absolutely nothing concerning these…lawyers…who now work for her.  In particular, these persons are still on the Government’s payroll.

Is there any way at all this DoJ can be trusted with any case before it or potentially before it?

Elections have consequences.

Not Only a Correct Ruling

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…but a correct rationale, also.

US District Judge Henry Hudson upheld Virginia’s voter ID law that requires prospective voters to show a State-approved photo ID before they vote.  In response to the Democratic Party’s (it was the plaintiff, of course) claim that the law was politically motivated, Hudson held in part

The court’s mission is to judge not the wisdom of the Virginia voter ID law, but rather its constitutionality[.]

Hear, hear.  Hudson went on:

While the merits of this voter identification law, and indeed all aspects of Virginia’s voting regime, can be reasonably debated, it remains true that Virginia has created a scheme of laws to accommodate all people in their right to vote[.]

Indeed.  Such a debate is important to be held, in all of our States.  But the debate is a political one, to be held among the citizens of each State and their elected representatives in their legislatures and governor’s mansions.  It is outside the realm of our courts to conduct political debates.

Still, the cynicism persists.

Lawyers representing the state Democratic Party said in a filing that the Republican-dominated state legislature passed the photo ID law “to stall, if not reverse, the growing success of the Democratic Party in Virginia.”

Not at all.  The suit is nothing other than a disingenuous effort by the Democratic Party to wage lawfare in an attempt to stall, if not reverse, the growing success of protections for the sanctity of each citizen’s vote in Virginia, a sanctity at risk from voter fraud.

Railroad Job

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…that the rest of us can look forward to under a Clinton administration?  That would certainly be a continuation of the last seven-plus years.

The Nevada State Democratic Convention Saturday night didn’t exactly fall apart so much as it was terminated by the Clinton Chair of the thing as that person simply ended the convention and walked out.  With a number of unresolved questions, except by her fiat adjournment.

Clinton now has 20 Nevada delegates to Sanders’s 15 when their new delegates are combined with those awarded after the caucuses.

But there was immediate backlash as the results were announced, with many Sanders supporters crying foul over their reported exclusion from the process.

And [emphasis added]

Leslie Sexton, a convention credentials committee co-chair, took the microphone just after the final results were read and said she had a minority report but was not allowed to give it.

The crowd started up loud chants of “Let her speak” and “Recount,” and after a few minutes a Democratic National Committee (DNC) member gave her the podium.

Sexton reported that nearly 64 Sanders delegates to the state convention were excluded from the convention process.  The Vermont senator only had 33 fewer delegates than Clinton in attendance.

Sexton added

The credentials minority report is based on the challenge of 64 Sanders delegates.  Contrary to the procedures and precedents set by the committee, nearly none of these 64 people were presented with the opportunity to be heard by the committee or to demonstrate that they are registered Democrats.

Without the opportunity to be heard, no delegate could be stricken.  The actions of the credentials committee violates the spirit of the Nevada state delegate plan, which encourages full participation in the democratic process, and it violates the spirit and values of our state and our nation.

Nevertheless, Convention Chair Roberta Lange simply gaveled the Convention to a close and left on the instant.

Sexton is, unfortunately, naïve.  This is democracy, Progressive style.

Schooling

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Recently, some $35 million was raised to support private schooling, in particular Success Academy charter schools.  Naturally, Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, thinks this is a terrible idea, an assault.

[It’s] part of a coordinated national effort to decimate public schooling.  Wealthy donors and their political allies [are] pushing unaccountable charter growth in urban centers while stripping communities of a voice in their children’s education.

She’s wrong about the effort to decimate, even if what passes for schooling in the teachers unions’ public schools warrants it.

The unaccountable charter growth in one sense is entirely accountable: it’s due precisely to the failure of the public schools to actually educate our children.

In another sense, Weingarten is being utterly disingenuous with her unaccountable charter growth calumny.  The schools that are stripping—have stripped—communities (and parents, which persons she carefully elided) of their voice are those union-controlled public schools.

Please Stop Bombing

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Secretary of State John Kerry urged Syrian government forces Saturday to stop bombarding the city of Aleppo as it moves in to retake it.

And

According to the AFP, Kerry has expressed “deep concern” about Aleppo to [UN envoy Staffan] de Mistura and Riad Hijab – the chief negotiator for the High Negations Committee.

Pretty please.  Don’t hurt me them anymore.