Wisconsin US Atty Defies DoJ and Says He'll Testify Under Oath

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Via Mal Contends - Even as the U.S. Justice Department arrogantly stonewalls requests by the House Committee on the Judiciary for documents pertaining to politically-charged prosecutions in Alabama, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (the Georgia Thompson affair), Wisconsin’s U.S. Atty. Stephen Biskupic volunteered to offer transcribed testimony under oath before the Judiciary Committee.

From Dan Bice in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

"If they (the House Judiciary Committee) want to hear from me, I'm happy to do it."
Even if the testimony is transcribed and under oath?
"It really doesn't matter to me," said Biskupic.

Biskupic’s stated inclination puts him in conflict with his bosses' position at the DoJ which refused to provide documents requested by the House Committee, and which only offered the Committee Biskupic’s presence for an "untranscribed briefing," as quoted from the DoJ's Sept. 4 response letter written by Brian A. Benczkowski, the Justice Department’s principal Congressional liaison.

As it relates to the Karl Rove-engineered prosecution in Alabama where evidence directly implicates the partisan nature of the prosecution of former democratic Gov. Don Siegelman, the DoJ has small Alabama newspapers screaming arrogance and corruption.

And rightfully so. In an almost unbelievably haughty tone, the DoJ responded to the Committee's request for DoJ documents on the prosecutions by saying it will not hand over the sought-after documents because of the DoJ’s concern that this "would chill the candid internal deliberations that are essential to the discharge of our law enforcement responsibilities,” involving decisions on whom the DoJ should initiate prosecutions.

Biskupic’ readiness to testify on the Thompson prosecution, though of no assistance to the innocent Georgia Thompson now, is commendable, especially when considered against the attitude of the corrupt DoJ that may be the lowest disgrace yet of the Bush administration.
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http://malcontends.blogspot.com/

Michael Leon is a writer living in Madison, Wisconsin. His writing has appeared nationally in The Progressive, In These Times, and CounterPunch. He can be reached at maleon64@yahoo.com.

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