The Sham Complaint Process
of the
Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility
click here for website of
U.S. Justice
Department's Office of Professional
Responsibility
Featuring
as EXHIBIT A --
CJA's March
23, 2001 Complaint of Professional Misconduct, filed with the U.S. Justice
Department's Office of Professional Responsibility
"...against Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New
York
and the
following attorneys under her supervision: (a) Andrew Weissmann, Chief of
the Criminal Division; (b) Timothy A. Macht, Assistant U.S. Attorney; and
(c) Alan Vinegrad, Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney"
-- click here for evidentiary record underlying complaint
againt:
U.S. Attorney
Lynch
U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White
CJA's March 23,
2001 letter to U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch --
"Complaint of professional misconduct against you and staff, filed
with the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility"
May 3,
2001
letter from U.S. Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility
-- dumping March 23, 2001 complaint as "unsupported by any
evidence and without merit"
click here for:
CJA's
Freedom of Information Act requests
"for a copy of the rules and
regulations that the Attorney General was required to promulgate for
'Disqualification of officers and employees of the Department of Justice',
pursuant to 28 USC 528... [and]..records and/or information pertaining to
the jurisdiction of Public Integrity Section and US Attorneys to
investigate & prosecute state governmental corruption which, because it
involves high-ranking and powerful state officials and state agencies, is
not investigated and prosecuted on the state level."
* *
*
"Hundreds
of Justice Department Attorneys Violated Professional Rules, Laws, or
Ethical Standards -- Administration Won't Name Offending Prosecutors",
Project on Government Oversight, March 12, 2014
Justice
Department's Office of Inspector General's November 10, 2014 memo:
"Top
Management and Performance Challenges
Facing the Department of Justice -
2014"
"6. Upholding the Highest Standards of Integrity and Public
Service
...The Department continues to face challenges
regarding its handling of allegations of misconduct by Department attorneys.
The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has jurisdiction, by
statute, to investigate allegations of misconduct against Department
attorneys acting in their capacity as lawyers. The OIG has long
questioned the carving out of this exclusive role for OPR as it is managed
as a component of the Department, has no institutional independence, and
lacks transparency in that it does not regularly release its reports and
conclusions to the public. The independent, non-partisan Project on
Government Oversight (POGO) issued a March 2014 report that was critical of
OPR’s longstanding lack of transparency and recommended empowering the OIG
to investigate misconduct by Department attorneys. The OIG’s strong
record of transparency is vital to ensuring the Department’s accountability
and enhancing the public’s confidence in the Department’s operations.
Although a federal regulation, 28 C.F.R. 0.29e(a)(6), authorizes the OIG to
request that the Deputy Attorney General assign to us a matter within the
investigative jurisdiction of OPR, this procedure leaves the decision
entirely to the Department leadership and, in any event, requiring the OIG
to seek the Department’s permission before undertaking an investigation
compromises our independence. For these reasons, we continue to
believe that Congress should eliminate this carve-out from the OIG’s
jurisdiction and support S.2127, bipartisan legislation that would amend the
Inspector General Act to enable the OIG to investigate allegations of
attorney misconduct.
The Department is expected to uphold the
highest levels of integrity to maintain the public’s trust.
To meet this challenge, the Department must continue to encourage its
employees to report what they reasonably believe to be evidence of
wrongdoing, take steps to promptly address deficiencies, and ensure that
oversight of its operations promotes the fair and impartial administration
of justice."
"DOJ
Watchdog Wants Greater Attorney Ethics Oversight",
Legal Times, November 18, 2014 (Zoe Tillman)
"More
on Prosecutorial Misconduct",
November 18, 2014, Truth & Justice Blog
Law Office of Brenda
Grantland
Government Accountability Office
December 11, 2014 Report
"PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT:
DOJ Could Strengthen Procedures for
Disciplining Its Attorneys"
p. 18: “According to OPR’s Annual Report for fiscal year 2013, OPR’s review
of complaints eliminated approximately 85 percent (693 of 819) of complaints
for that fiscal year.fn31”
fn 31: "GAO did not assess DOJ's use of professional judgment
in determining
which complaints to reject from further review."
* *
*
Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2014 --
died by inaction in
Senate Judiciary Committee
* *
*
Senate
Judiciary Committee January 28, 2015 Confirmation Hearing:
C-Span Video (Part 3) -- at 2:20
Senator Tillis:
“My final question, Ms. Lynch, is really around the philosophy that
you may bring to the Department of Justice.
In December 2014 the Government Accountability Office issued a
report that was titled 'Professional Misconduct: DOJ Could Strengthen
Procedures for Disciplining Its Attorneys'. There were a couple of example,
going back to even, I think the handling of New Orleans police officers
related to the Katrina, the Hurricane Katrina, where either misconduct or
they had perjured themselves.
Would you agree with me that the Department of Justice employees who would
engage in this sort of activity, either through prosecutorial misconduct or
through perjuring themselves in court, are they the kind of personnel that
you would allow to continue to be employed in the DOJ?
U.S. Attorney Lynch:
“Certainly, Senator, with respect to personnel issues,
I take very
seriously the integrity of every member of my staff.
And if confirmed as Attorney General, would also take very seriously
the professionalism of the members of all the staff of the Department of
Justice, all of whom I have found to have been a privilege and a pleasure to
work with and to be dedicated career professionals and dedicated to not only
to just improving their skills, but the highest professional conduct. When
they cross a line, they are dealt with, and that will continue to happen
should I be confirmed as Attorney General.
But I will say that, with respect to the staff and the attorneys at
the Department of Justice, they are some of the most effective and
professional individuals that I have had the pleasure to be affiliated with.
Senator Tillis:
Well should you be confirmed, since this report was just dated last
month, I hope it is something you would take into account as you go into the
organization and look at the resources that you have inherited
responsibility for.
Thank you.
U.S. Attorney Lynch:
Yes.
* *
*
FURTHER REALITY CHECK
Throughout this period
of wilful and deliberate inaction by U.S. Attorney Lynch with respect to
CJA's complaints presenting her with a mountain of hard evidence of "pattern
and practice" civil rights violations by New York's judiciary and its
monitor, the Commission on Judicial Conduct, she is engaged in "pattern and
practice" investigation of New York Police Department for civil rights
violations -- including the inadequacy of its monitor for police misconduct
complaints --
"AG
nominee Loretta Lynch played hardball with NYPD monitors, letters show",
Newsday, January 24, 2015 (Tom Brune)
* *
*
Who Are They? Where Are They?
Andrew Weissmann
--
Loretta Lynch's Deputy Chief of Criminal Division;
promoted to Chief
in June 2000
"Andrew
Weissmann, Veteran of Enron Task Force,
Will Lead Justice Department
Corporate Crimes Department",
Main Justice, January 9, 2015 (Josh
Kovensky)
"Possible
AG Pick Has 'License to Lie'",
November 21, 2014, WND (John
Stossel)
"Longtime
Federal Attorney: Eric Holder Protects Corrupt Prosecutors"
June
19, 2014, NY Observer/Sidney Powell
"Andrew
Weissmann Quietly Slipped from FBI to NYU"
January 27, 2014,
Seeking Justice
"DOJ
Defends FBI Deputy Director Andrew Weissmann against Serious Ethics Charges",
April 26, 2013, Seeking Justice/William Hodes
July 31, 2012 misconduct complaint vs Andrew
Weissmann,
filed by William Hodes
& Sidney Powell with First Departmental Disciplinary Committee/NY
Alan Vinegrad --
Loretta
Lynch's Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney (until May 2001);
interim U.S.
Attorney/EDNY (May 2001- )
Jason Brown
--
Loretta Lynch's Chief of Criminal Division (until June 2000)
Candice M. Will
--
Justice Department/Office of Professional Responsibility
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