Donald M. Payne: “after weeks of denial from both the White House and the Department of Justice that politics played no part in the firing…”

“after weeks of denial from both the White House and the Department of Justice that politics played no part in the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys, the Attorney General finally admitted yesterday that there is more to the story. It was an embarrassing and disturbing set of e-mails between the White House's political operatives and Gonzales's chief of staff that clearly revealed that there were political concerns involved in the political purge, or firing. The chief of staff resigned after e-mails were released to the New York Times and the Washington Post, but questions still remain unanswered. What about those at the top? Is it plausible that the Attorney General was unaware of the actions of his own chief of staff? When is the President going to hold members of his Cabinet accountable for misdeeds and mistakes? The Attorney General's office is supposed to be above politics. An independent judiciary is one of the hallmarks of this great democracy which we, as Americans, promote around the world. There is simply no place for politics at the Justice Department. But sadly, it appears that the Justice Department has become a pawn of the Republican Party.”