Page 10 - November2018

SecondVice President’s Report
Politics Driving Consent Decree?
Massive expenses hint at cronyism à la Chicago
In March, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the firing of Andrew McCabe, a key member in the Department of Justice. Sessions said the top DOJ official “lacked candor” under oath about leaking information to the media.
Here is what Sessions stated at the time:
Both the [Office of the Inspector General] and FBI [Office of Professional Responsibility] reports concluded that Mr. McCabe had made an unautho- rized disclosure to the news media and lacked can-
dor — including under oath — on multiple occasions.
The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the highest stan- dards of honesty, integrity, and accountability. As the OPR pro- posal stated, “all FBI employees know that lacking candor under
oath results in dismissal and that our integrity is our brand.” The charges against McCabe are part of a growing body of ev- idence that the Department of Justice under Obama was tainted and politicized, something that poses a great threat to the Dem-
ocratic Party.
McCabe’s lawyer is Michael Bromwich, an attorney who often seems to surface when Democrats are in profound legal need. Consider: When Christine Blasey Ford came forward to allege a sexual attack against then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, she also had an attorney with her: Michael Bromwich. In representing Ford, Bromwich announced that he had resigned from his law firm in order to represent Ford “pro bono,” according to news sources. Bromwich has a long record supporting Democrats.
From The Daily Signal:
Bromwich consistently has contributed to Democrats, includ- ing Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presi- dential campaign. He also has made donations to the Democrat- ic National Committee.
And Bromwich, needless to say, is no fan of President Trump. From the publication entitled Heavy:
“Even as the 1st Amendment is under relentless assault, truth survives. This is actual patriotism, not fake patriotism,” Brom- wich tweeted.
Bromwich is a frequent critic of Trump’s charge that the press is the “enemy of the people.”
Responding to a tweet from Washington Post White House Bu- reau Chief Philip Rucker who said, “As Trump retaliates against political critics by revoking or reviewing their security clearanc- es, it is worth remembering that the president himself revealed highly classified information to Russians in an Oval Office meet- ing,” Bromwich replied:
“This has zero to do with national security. This is an Official Enemies List. The offense: exercising 1st Amendment rights.”
Bromwich also suggested AG Sessions had missed a “teachable moment” recently when he echoed the “lock her up” chant often hard at Trump rallies, referring to Hillary Clinton.
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Bromwich said Sessions could have told “his high school stu- dent audience that its ‘lock her up’ chant was inappropriate. In- stead, he repeated ‘lock her up’ and giggled. The nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Shameful.”
Bromwich has a time or two referred to administration action or policy as “disgraceful.”
Now Bromwich’s name has surfaced in Chicago politics as well. This time is it is the consent decree now being hammered out by Democratic machine bosses Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a consent decree that was rejected by Republican Sessions after he was sworn into office. One reason Sessions rejected it was that Sessions con- demned the DOJ investigation that has been used to legitimate the consent decree. This original DOJ investigation was autho- rized and completed under the Obama administration.
Sessions said the DOJ investigation was largely anecdotal and unscientific, which is a lot more general than what some con- servative writers said about it. Consider Heather McDonald:
The lack of any transparent methodology is the most damn- ing aspect of the DOJ analysis, but its racial accusations are the most dangerous. The federal attorneys have the gall to recycle the calumny from “the community” that the “CPD does not genuine- ly care about the murders of young black men and women, and [does] too little to investigate and resolve those homicides,” in the words of the report.
Since Madigan and Emanuel have worked to complete the consent decree, Sessions has continued to attack not only the agreement but also the political forces behind it, calling it the creation of “lame duck” politicians.
Sessions also discussed the immense cost of imposing such unnecessary oversight of the police department. Part of that ex- pense includes “consultants.” One of those consultants is Mi- chael Bromwich.
From Chicago Business:
The city also drew on the services of seven consultants. The highest-billing is Michael Bromwich, who will receive just under $725,000. Bromwich monitored the Washington Police Depart- ment following a DOJ investigation.
The consent decree looks more and more like Chicago politics than Chicago police reform. The money being spread around to consultants is one sign. If so, the consent decree may be noth- ing more than business as usual in Chicago, another example of politically driven payouts — like the hundreds of millions on dubious claims of police misconduct made by Emanuel during his tenure as mayor.
Whatever the answers to these questions may be, following the money in this consent decree will likely be more illuminat- ing than any claims about it being motivated by social justice or reform.
MARTIN PREIB