To my parents, Anatol and Traudel von Spakovsky, who passed from this world too soon, and to my wife, Susan, who has stood with me during the best and worst of times.
Hans von Spakovsky
CONTENTS
Working at the Justice Department was a real honor, and I met many dedicated professionals there who were interested in representing the American people to the best of their abilities and making sure that justice was served. But I also met too many biased partisans whose lack of professionalism and ideological extremism was an embarrassment to the legal profession and a danger to the liberty of Americans. With very few exceptions, such as J. Christian Adams and Andrew McCarthy, almost no one has been willing to expose this because of the fear of being targeted by the Justice Department, the most powerful law enforcement agency in America. When the Justice Department abuses its power, it threatens the freedom and well-being of Americans.
This book would not have been possible without the help of sources who are still inside Justice, and who provided much of the information in this book. Many of them have been subject to harassment and intimidation under the tenure of Eric Holder because of their dedication to the rule of law and their belief that the Justice Department should act in the best interests of the public. They know who they are and I extend to them my sincere thanks not just for their help, but for staying at Justice in a very hostile atmosphere and trying to do the right thing.
No one could ask for a better coauthor than John Fund, a journalist dedicated to ferreting out the truth. Our many years of collaborating on stories and sharing information have been very fruitful, to the obvious chagrin of our critics and those who have opposed our efforts to improve the integrity of the election process and expose the wrongdoing of government agencies like the Justice Department.
Thanks to my wife, Susan, with whom I celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary during the writing of this book. She has always been my first-line editor, and none of this would have been possible without her. To my childrenElisabeth, Christopher, and Annathanks for putting up with my many weekends of writing when I couldnt spend time with you.
I have to acknowledge the many brilliant lawyers and analysts at The Heritage Foundation, where I have had a home for the past six years. Some like Cully Stimson helped to improve the chapters. Other people have helped me over some difficult years, including Cleta Mitchell, one of the fiercest advocates for conservatives in Washington, former attorney general Ed Meese, who was without question the best person Ive ever worked for, and Todd Gaziano and Robert Alt, my former colleagues at Heritage.
Thanks to PJ Media and National Review , who took a chance on me and started publishing my commentaries after I left the Federal Election Commission in 2008 after a vitriolic nomination fight that illustrated everything that is wrong with Washington today.
Finally, I cant say enough about my family. My parents, Anatol and Traudel von Spakovsky, met in a refugee camp in occupied Germany after the end of World War II, having barely survived being killed on numerous occasions, including when my mother was arrested by the Gestapo. They immigrated to the United States in 1951 and had five children in this great democracy that gave the von Spakovsky family refuge. We all love America and we want to see our country prosper. To my brothers, Alexis and Michael, and my sisters, Christine and Ingrid, dont you think Anatol and Traudel are smiling down at all of us and saying, Theyve done well!?
Hans von Spakovsky
The ornate, spacious committee room used by the House Judiciary Committee has seen a lot of Washington legal dramafrom the impeachment proceedings against Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton to vigorous and spirited debates on issues ranging from gay rights to immigration policy.
In May 2013, the room was the scene of an oversight hearing on the activities of the Obama Justice Department that provided a fascinating look into its methods of misleading the American people about the truth of its actions.
In sworn testimony on May 15, Attorney General Eric Holder told the House Judiciary Committee that he had never been involved in or even thought about prosecuting the press over the publication of classified material. Yet, as the Judiciary Committee learned after the hearing, Holder had specifically approved a search warrant for Fox News reporter James Rosens emails by swearing to a federal court that Mr. Rosen was a co-conspirator in a national security leak investigation. When questioned by the committee about the obvious clash between his testimony and the truth, Mr. Holder refused to answer.
An investigation by the Judiciary Committee concluded that Holders testimony about the Rosen investigation was deceptive and misleading and damaged the credibility and professionalism of the Justice Department.
Some (including the Justice Department) have contended that Holders statement was not a lie because even though he approved the search warrant application, Holder never intended to actually prosecute Rosen. But Bill Otis, a twenty-year veteran of the Justice Department and the U.S. attorneys office, points out:
When an officer of the Department of Justice tells a court that a search warrant target probably either committed, or aided the commission of, a very serious federal felony, and that extraordinary means are required forthwith to investigate the targets activities in that he is a risk to flee, the idea that the officer is not asserting the basis of a potential prosecution ishow shall I say this?bordering on silly. This can only be defended by re-defining, or more precisely by defining out of existence, the word potential....
Whether there is a potential prosecution does not depend on Holders state of mind, or the state of mind of anyone currently in power at DOJ; the notion that psychology is everything is, while unfortunately widespread, complete baloney. When the Department goes on record with a court as being of the view Mr. X is at the minimum an aider or abettor or co-conspirator in a federal felony, and must immediately be investigated through extraordinary means because of, among other possible reasons, the risk that hell flee, then it is nothing more than blinking reality to say that there is no potential persecution of Mr. X.
The James Rosen incident wasnt the first time that Holder was caught in an outright misrepresentation of the facts. On May 3, 2011, Holder testified before the House Judiciary Committee and was asked by Chairman Darrell Issa when Holder learned of the Fast and Furious scandal, a gun-running operation in which federal agents allowed illegal guns to be smuggled into Mexico, one of which was used to murder U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in 2010. Holder replied that he was not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious over the last few weeks.
The congressional investigation continued for several months afterward, and in early October 2011, documents surfaced that showed the attorney general himself was sent several briefing documents that specifically mentioned Fast and Furious. The DOJ initially responded to these documents by saying that Holder does not always read his briefings. When that explanation wasnt accepted, Holder wrote a long letter to Issa, which stated in part: Much has been made in the past few days about my congressional testimony earlier this year regarding Fast and Furious. My testimony was truthful and accurate and I have been consistent on this point throughout. I have no recollection of knowing about Fast and Furious or of hearing its name prior to the public controversy about it.
