The Arthur Anderson Justice Department

Remember the news that Monica Goodling was instructing DOJ officials to destroy documents, even after it was clear Congress was launching an investigation? Well, that was disturbing, but I agree with Anonymous Liberal that Monica probably wasn't explicitly attempting to obstruct Congress' investigation.

First, from the context of the email, it seems likely that Goodling's primary purpose in asking people to "delete prior versions" of the documents was to make sure everyone was on the same page and not working off of outdated materials. In other words, I don't think she was motivated by a desire to destroy documents that Congress might want for their investigation. That said, as an attorney, she should have known better than to make such a request. If there is any kind of litigation or investigation underway or even contemplated, you don't instruct people to delete documents. It doesn't matter if that's your normal practice and you're just trying to keep people from getting confused; it just looks bad, and it can get you and your organization in a lot of trouble. Goodling is not some low-level administrator. She was a senior legal counsel at the Justice Department.

That Goodling would make such a request despite the budding Congressional inquiry into the matter is, at best, indicative of carelessness and sloppy practices.

Well, apparently it's not just Monica who is so careless. From this Legal Times article anticipating Monica's testimony:

As the negotiations over documents have progressed, congressional investigators have expressed frustration over whether the Justice Department has been adhering to the discovery standards it expects of companies that are targets of a fraud investigation. According to one staffer involved in the investigation, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, Acting Associate Attorney General William Mercer and former Gonzales chief of staff D. Kyle Sampson all told investigators privately that Justice had never instructed them to preserve all documents related to the dismissals.

It's as if these guys were taking notes during the Enron investigation.

Comments

[Sojourner]

I think it is just another example of her lack of experience, that points to a more general problem that Bushco has had of valuing loyalty over knowledge. Ms. Goodling was obviously out of her league for what she was assigned, or that she assumed she was supposed, to do. Questions about a job candidate's faithfulness to a spouse or party affiliations are just another sign she was in over her head -- but she was bound and determined to give it the old college try!

The "Justice" Department is all but... It is nothing more now than a good-ole-Republican-boys 'n girls club, assigned to watch over the fragile morals of an increasingly irate populace that might try to steal a vote.

[Veritas78]

I can see a long string of cases being appealed as defendants challenge the motives and competency of federal prosecutors. Everything is now open to question.

[marksb]

There is nothing here that does not smack of Obstruction. The whole crew does it in such a way that they can point to inexperience, or no-one-could-have-expected surprise, or gosh we did it that way because (obscure reason here), or even worse, that schoolyard bully "Yeah, so, what're you gonna do about it?!" attitude...and once again, dare someone to charge cheating or lying. Knowing that the media won't bother covering it except a for few papers, back on page A-13 between the ads for bras and the latest Verizon phones.

It just sucks. I think they don't care if the Government works, just like they don't care if they break the military. It's not on their priority list. Power and position and greed are. This seems soooo much like the swinging 90's in corporate business, the Internet boom and Enron and so on. Do whatever you like and don't worry about profits or making the company work, just get the stock price up so certain investors and execs can cash out. Bah!

[Canuck Stuck in Muck]

Shucks! They wasn't takin' notes, EW, them pesky rustlers was writin' the stage directions for Enron and Lay. They don't need no help hidin' stuff about Aturny-Gate. They's already purty good at it. 'Member AGAG waited ours n ours 'fore he told the What Hows tuh lock down anythin' havin' ta do with what Karl Rove done tuh Valry Plane? Nope. Takes a lot tuh fewl the lax uh me. They knew what they was doin'! Pesky varmints! [with apologies to any and all speakers of American English dialects from Maine to Muscle Beach]

[JEP]

"First, from the context of the email, it seems likely that Goodling's primary purpose in asking people to "delete prior versions" of the documents was to make sure everyone was on the same page and not working off of outdated materials."

Except that, if you look at the way Tim Griffin's resume grew as these pages progressed, it is quite possible that Monica WAS covering up her own hand in that process, when you see how Griffin was listed in the earliest documents, and how she tweaked his qualifications more than once to make him look somehow comparable to really qualified prosecutors (i.e. Cummins) one might consider that she was covering her own manipulation tracks by getting rid of all the evidence of her progressive manipulations. I haven't looked for other machinations of the nature of the Griffin evolution, but it might be worth comparing the early lists with the later lists, there are probably a few more beneficiaries of Goodling's golden keychain.

As Griffin's qualifications matured over the course of a few weeks, Monica Goodling knew it would be transparent if the earlier versions were laid next to the later versions, so it might well constitute an illegal cover-up, but a much more personal and unprofessional cover-up than the one we all imagine.

Just food for thought...

[JEP]

If she wanted to do it legally, she should have said "disregard previous versions" rather than "delete previous versions." They didn't have her pulling all the strings if she wasn't obsessivbely compulsively a human bean counter, so I really have a problem believing she wasn't fully aware that the word "delete" carried serious consequences. I still believe she felt immune, and that she believed Rove when he told her the R's would rule for a thousand years.

They all got something new; A NOVEMBER SURPRISE!

That is probably when Monica II first suspected she might become the next Scooter Libby.

How quickly the mean, crabby, intractable, self-empowering office bitch became the poor, weak, victimized little Daddy's girl!

[freepatriot]

why do you care what lawyer goodling's "explicite" motive was ???

but I agree with Anonymous Liberal that Monica probably wasn't explicitly attempting to obstruct Congress' investigation.

I don't care if lawyer goodling has an alternate explicite motive, an alternate implicive motive, or a fucking brain fart

I only care about TWO things: a Congressional Order to preserve ALL DOCUMENTS, and an email instructing people to DESTROY DOCUMENTS

after the "Order To Preseve All Documents" was issued, monica goodling's "working relationship" with those documents CHANGED

those documents don't BELONG TO MONICA GOODLING

THE DOCUMENTS BELONG TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

monica goodling's "working intrest" in the documents in question was supercedded by the "Order To Preserve All Documents"

where monica goodling's desire to destroy documents intersects with the Order To Preserve All Documents, the United States Code fills the breech

do I have to go find the code and chapter here ???

under the RICO Act, monica goodling can say she gave instructions to destroy documents to prevent the Tooth Fairy from attacking America

under RICO, "stated motive" don't matter much

criminal actions result in prision sentences, simple as that

[ab initio]

Anyone with some knowledge of congressional investigations have any speculations as to how all this will unfold?

What can Congress actually do with respect to middle finger for subpoenas, actively hiding and destroying documents, and other forms of obstruction and obfuscation?

[emptywheel]

JEP

Those changes actually occurred much earlier, during last summer. As soon as Pryor started to sniff out the Griffin moves, Griffin's resume morphed from the one page resume those USA candidates that expected easy appointment used to the fluffy several page one taht turns out to have inflated his qualifications. So the tracks on the resume fluffing remain exposed. Someday I intend to do a post on it, in fact.

[tekel]

Monica... jail is calling. Your cell is ready.

[bmaz]

Just announced that Paul McNulty is leaving DOJ. He once bragged of his relationship with Chuck Shumer. Lets see how good a friend he is. Sen Shumer, you need to make a lunch date for a nice little chat.

[JEP]

Thanks EW, I appreciate the timeline clarification..
McNulty just announced he's resigning...

[mk]

Josh Marshall reports McNulty out at DOJ -- with more info soon.
This is (as in "Dead Again") far, far from over.

[JEP]

"So the tracks on the resume fluffing remain exposed."

Were those "tracks", in part, made by Griffin alone, or did Goodling help him along? Seems like she was in th3e background, editing his stuff as the days passed.

Listening to TPM's old footage from Griffin's "Rain Hell On Gore" 2000 election office, if that was the same "Monica" he was speaking to then, they sure sounded "familiar."

And wouldn't it be more "evidence" (proof?) that Rove was involved, since both Goodling and Griffin, regardless of their other roles, ultimately answered to Rover?

Maybe Goodling helped pad Griffin's resume not just as a frinedly favor, but in response to Boss Karl's "wishes"...

[JEP]

Hey, Marci, have you heard your Congressman's response to Obama's call for higher gas mileage requirements? Dingell said, "I wouldn't go to Chicago to tell them how to butcher hogs."

Just in case you want to reconsider...

[freepatriot]

Cue Freddie Mercury:

Another one bites the dust

tweety just announced that mcnulty "sees no future for himself in the justice depaartment"

maybe he wants to spend some time with scottie's family

[emptywheel]

JEP

Oh, me and my Congressman differ greatly on CAFE standards, trust me. But if he gets health care passed, it'll be a reasonable tradeoff.

[marksb]

OK, freepatriot, how do we get a RICO gig going?

[Monique Joyce]

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