Gonzo's Defense on Our Dime

The news of the day just gets better and better. Here's hoping there's some way the Obama Justice Department could or would revoke this:

The Justice Department has agreed to pay for a private lawyer to defend former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales against allegations that he encouraged officials to inject partisan politics into the department's hiring and firing practices.

Lawyers from the Justice Department's civil division often represent department employees who're sued in connection with their official actions. However, Gonzales' attorney recently revealed in court papers that the Justice Department had approved his request to pay private attorney's fees arising from the federal lawsuit.

Dan Metcalfe, a former high-ranking veteran Justice Department official who filed the suit on behalf of eight law students, called the department's decision to pay for a private attorney rather than rely on its civil division "exceptional."

"It undoubtedly will cost the taxpayers far more," he said....

Asked why Gonzales made the request, Gonzales spokesman Robert Bork Jr. said that his client "values the work that the department's civil attorneys do in all cases" but thinks that "private counsel can often be useful where (department) officials are sued in an individual capacity, even where the suit has no substantive merit."

The case stems from the politicized hiring practices in the department that stacked it with ideologically "pure" Regent University types over highly qualified but "politically suspect" applicants.

We should have gotten the slimy little bastard impeached and instead we're going to have to foot the bill for his legal defense. Isn't that just a perfect summation of this whole f'ed up administration? We're going to be paying for the myriad debacles they created for who knows how long.