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Judges are Getting it Right – We Deserve to Know What DOJ is Up To

By Anne L. Weismann

Today Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that a 500-page report on the misconduct committed by Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers during their prosecution of the late Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) will be made public on March 15, 2012.  Judge Sullivan recognized both the First Amendment and the public’s interest in the Stevens trial compel the report’s disclosure.  As he noted, “it would be a disservice and an injustice to withhold the results of the Report,” which “chronicles significant prosecutorial misconduct in a highly publicized investigation and prosecution brought by the Public Integrity Section against an incumbent United States Senator.”

Although DOJ did not oppose the report’s disclosure, transparency is hardly its mantra.  No one should interpret this as a recognition of the legitimacy of the public’s interest in the conduct of the Public Integrity Section.  

In other contexts, DOJ has refused in response to CREW’s Freedom of Information Act requests to disclose records that might explain DOJ’s refusal to prosecute a number of members of Congress, such as former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK).  In the Young matter, U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler acknowledged the public interest, stating “The public needs to know how DoJ carried out its statutory duties to investigate allegations of bribery and corruption of members of Congress.  That is the purpose of FOIA.”

Both Judge Sullivan and Judge Kessler got it right.  The public needs and deserves to know what DOJ is up to and why, whether it’s the misconduct of DOJ prosecutors or their decision not to prosecute members of Congress despite overwhelming public evidence of misconduct.  Botched prosecutions like that of Senator Stevens undermine confidence in DOJ.  Disclosure, not secrecy, is the key to regaining public confidence.