Doing One's Duty

For John, BLUF:  How do we restore ethical credibility at DOJ?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Elitists’ Trump Excuse

Here is the sub-headline:

His critics may be more corrupting to democracy and decency than he is.

From The Wall Street Journal, an Opinion Piece by Mr William McGurn, 23 April 2018.

Here is a bullet point from Mr McGrun which I find pointing to an especially unethical approach:

• When Sally Yates was acting attorney general and President Trump issued an executive order on immigration she objected to, Ms. Yates ordered the entire Justice Department not to obey, despite a finding from the department’s Office of Legal Counsel that the order was lawful.  She was applauded in her insubordination by Andrew Weissmann, then a Justice attorney, who now serves on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team.  But it’s all for a good cause, right?

I don't dispute Ms Yates' right to find something to be illegal, although the finding of the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel should have given her pause.  And, if she felt something was unethical or immoral she would have been within her rights.  And, every employee owes the boss a "But, Sir".  It is a duty one owes to one's supervisor.

It seems that this is not what we got from Acting Attorney General Yates.  It appears she decided that she should just say no to the President.  Not the kind of thing one should expect from Executive Branch Civil Servants, let alone those filling appointed positions.  This was just wrong.  She should have just submitted her resignation.

What is equally disturbing is that DOJ Attorney Andrew Weissmann applauded the activities of Ms Yates in circumvention of a lawful Presidential Order.  Having thus demonstrated an animus toward President Trump, he then failed to recuse himself from the work of the Special Counsel.  Mr Weissmann's actions may not violate the ethical rules of DOJ, but I find it to be unethical in a larger sense.  Why would I place any faith in Mr Weissmann's work for the Special Counsel?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff