Legal Commentary

Mukasey: No Prosecutions From U.S. Attorney Hiring Investigation

By Jeralyn

Attorney General Michael Mukasey today said there will be no prosecutions from the investigation into hiring practices of U.S. Attorneys.

“Where there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime, we vigorously prosecute,” he said. “But not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime,” he said. As the inspector general’s report acknowledged, the hiring violations were such a case, because the wrongdoing violated federal civil service law, but not criminal law, he said.

“That does not mean, as some people have suggested, that those officials who were found by the joint reports to have committed misconduct have suffered no consequences,” Mr. Mukasey said. “Far from it. The officials most directly implicated in the misconduct left the Department to the accompaniment of substantial negative publicity.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 12, 2008 (boomark / email).