What Is the Times Doing?

I really like the NYT. It's editorial page has been pretty much on the money in recent months and generally its news reporting is way better than that of anybody else. But every now and then there is an article, usually by the same culprit reporters of which this example is one, which, for lack of a better explanation, bend over backwards to avoid the appearance of having a liberal bias. The entire article contains quotes and references from only Republic operatives and assumes only political, and not ethical or moral or legal, issues drive everything. Please! As Christy of Firedoglake points out:

Well, I don't care one whit about the political pressures on either side of the aisle on this. You want to know what is irritating me about this entire mess this morning? Obstruction of justice on political terms. A prosecutor is faced with evidence of a crime — and that prosecutor is bound by law and by ethics to follow that evidence where it leads, even to follow it where the prosecutor does not want to go. What that means is this: politics should never be the guiding force in charging and investigative decisions. Period.

That the Bush White House has so perverted the system that I am even asking myself whether each and every prosecution that has been brought deserves public scrutiny for politicization is bad enough. That I have been asking myself whether the appointments to a lifetime service on the federal bench are equally tainted is the next step — and I am well past that point.

As an American citizen, as a lawyer, and as someone who believes wholeheartedly in the principles behind the rule of law, I say this with as much disgust and disdain as I can muster: these people must answer publicly for their role in attempting to subvert the foundations of American government and justice. That means full testimony, under oath and in public. Anything less will leave questions lingering in the minds of each and every lawyer who works within the criminal justice system — and that taint cannot be allowed to stand.