World Famous Comics: In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration
In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration
By: David Iglesias Publisher: Wiley Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Wiley Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 256 Publication Date: May 27, 2008
Product Description: The Bush administration's drive to politicize the Justice Department reached a new low with the wrongful firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in late 2006. Their action has ignited public outrage on a scale that far surpassed the reaction to any of the Bush administration's other political debacles. David Iglesias was one of those federal prosecutors, and now he tells his story.
Iglesias has long served in the Navy as part of the JAG corps. One of his earliest cases, about an assaulted Marine in Guantanamo Bay, became the basis for the movie A Few Good Men. When Bush chose him to become the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, it was a dream come true. He was a core member of Karl Rove's idealized Republican Party of the future -- handsome, Hispanic, evangelical, and a military veteran. The dream came to an abrupt end when Senator Pete Domenici improperly called Iglesias, wanting him to indict high-level Democrats before the 2006 elections. When Iglesias refused, the line went dead. Iglesias was fired just weeks later. First, he was devastated. Then, he was angry. Now, he is speaking out.
Iglesias recounts his interactions with Bush, Rove, Alberto Gonzales, and other key players as he takes readers into his time at the Justice Department to reveal what top Republican officials said and did, and how they subverted justice.
Stunning I knew this book was going to be good before I bought it. Americans need to read this so they won't make the same mistakes as the last time. I'e seen this man interviewed several times on TV. He appears to be very genuine whose mission is only to tell the truth.
Good, But Nothing New "In Justice" primarily relates Iglesias' experience in the notorious DOJ firing of 8 prosecutors in 2006. While the DOJ actions were historic and nefarious, and ultimately led to A.G. Gonzales' resignation, Iglesias' story tells us nothing that wasn't already clearly revealed already in the press.
Most of the book is taken up with Iglesias' earlier life - becoming interested in law and then the Navy, becoming a White House Fellow (one of 17 out of 1,250 applicants), applying for the U.S. Attorney position and getting Domenici's support, etc.
Then local Republican support soured when Iglesias failed to develop voter fraud cases due to lack of evidence. Heather Wilson (Republican Congresswoman) and Senator Domenici followed up with inappropriate telephone "inquiries" aimed at propelling the cases forward.
Iglesias then learns of the others fired in the "house cleaning," DOJ makes clumsy attempts to besmirch the reputations of those targeted, the press learns of White House involvement (Harriett Miers and Karl Rove), and Roberto Gonzales ("I don't remember" 80 times during a Senate hearing) makes himself look incredibly out-of-touch, if not totally dishonest.
The only "good news" out of this episode is that ultimately DOJ was rid of some of its unjust top leadership, and the Patriot Act provision that allowed indefinite interim U.S. Attorney appointments without Senate confirmation was repealed.
Reveals the Foolishness and Carelessness of the Bush Administration If Alberto Gonzalez wanted to fire all of these qualified prosecutors, just because they were not "Republican enough," he should have done it one by one. Then no one would have noticed. But instead, he thought no one would notice a mass firing and even more, no one would do anything about it.
This book explains how it happened, why it happened, and helps us remember we have a Constitution in this country that must be preserved.
As to the book itself, large parts are a little dull because the author must tell us more about himself and that is not all that interesting. He's an intelligent guy doing a good job. However, the last 100+ pages are riveting as he reveals the lies of the Justice Department and specifically Alberto Gonzales.
RK
Former blind follower sees the light It was sad, yet refreshing, to see a true "Bush-ite" see the truth about the lying, law-breaking administration that we have been saddled with for eight years.
A detailed dissection of high crimes "In Justice" is a thoroughly absorbing, detailed look at how absolute power corrupts absolutely. If a late-night walk through the White House and the Department of Justice, after all the day-workers have gone home and when the real skulduggery begins, is your cup of tea, read this book. In looking at the case of the seven U.S. Attorneys, we can see how ANY administration (in this case the Bush-Cheney brand) can simply make things happen and make good people go away with no explanations and no justifications. The book also serves as a good example of how vast power can make once-rational people think that no one will find out what they are up to, whether it's sex in the Oval Office or, in Iglesias's book, the firing of seven U.S. Attorneys for purely political reasons.
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