For Ashcroft, Something Old, Something Nude

By Al Kamen
Friday, November 16, 2007

It was, let's face it, inevitable. And so, on Wednesday, at the swearing-in of Attorney General Michael Mukasey at the Justice Department, former attorney general John D. Ashcroft was reunited with "The Spirit of Justice," the 12-foot Art Deco-era sculpture his aides once famously covered with giant blue drapes at a cost of more than $8,000.

The statue, also known as "Minnie Lou," was ordered uncovered in 2005 in one of the signal achievements of the Alberto R. Gonzales attorney generalship. The decision was made by Paul Corts, assistant attorney general for administration, who is now president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.

Blame, or credit, for the coverup fell to advance aide Lani Miller, who reportedly acted after Ashcroft expressed unhappiness about appearing in news photos with the bare-breasted statue over his head.

Meanwhile, a report by the department's inspector general yesterday listed "Restoring Confidence in the Department of Justice" as the No. 2 priority (after terrorism) in the Top Management and Performance Challenges for 2007.

"An immediate challenge facing Department of Justice leadership is the need to restore confidence in the department," the report said, "both with department employees and with the public.

Allegations of political shenanigans in the removal of nine U.S. attorneys and "other allegations regarding the integrity and independence of the Department have affected the morale of . . . and public confidence in the decisions of Department leaders," Glenn A. Fine's report said. "This turmoil, combined with numerous high-level vacancies, creates an urgent challenge" for the agency's leadership, it added.

So yesterday, with Mukasey on board, the White House announced five nominees to fill some of the vacancies. The nominations include one sitting federal judge and three others with lengthy experience at the Justice Department.

It's a list that stands in sharp contrast to many of the appointments made by Gonzales, who came under sharp criticism for hiring inexperienced or overly political aides.

U.S. District Judge Mark R. Filip of the Northern District of Illinois has been tapped to be deputy attorney general, and Kevin J. O'Connor, the U.S. attorney from Connecticut who served as Gonzales's last chief of staff, is to be associate attorney general, the No. 3 slot.

Grace E. Becker, the deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights, was chosen to run that division, and Gregory G. Katsas, who had been No. 2 in the civil division, was picked to be its next chief. Bush also said he will nominate Nathan J. Hochman, a tax lawyer from California, to head the tax division.

Mukasey said yesterday that Brett C. Gerry, now assistant attorney general for legal policy, will become his chief of staff.

You've Been Served!

In a related -- sort of -- development, the alleged "D.C. Madam" served a subpoena Tuesday on Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) requiring him to testify about his use of her escort service, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Vitter has acknowledged using the service, which prosecutors say was a prostitution ring. He was summoned to testify at a Nov. 28 federal court hearing that will look into the service, run by Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

Vote Early and Often

The American Lung Association of Minnesota, joined by the Renewable Fuels Association, was most unhappy last week with a Minneapolis television station's report on E85, an alcohol-fuel mixture . Folks at the lung association saw an opening to express their dismay, so they e-mailed this alert to members.

Subject: YOUR QUICK VOTE NEEDED -- Send KARE11 a message about E85!

Last night, a television station in Minneapolis (KARE11 NBC) ran what we believe to be a very biased and inaccurate story about E85 . . . a cleaner-burning alternative that the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest strongly supports. . . . .

Today, the station has an online poll on its website asking for feedback.

We want to send the station a strong message that E85/ethanol are one important "clean air choice" we need to reduce both air pollution and our need for overseas oil imports.

Go here: http://www.kare11.com/

The message made its way to the Department of Energy. Next thing you know, about 300 employees and 15o contractors at the office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy got this e-mail from Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner's aide, Lauren Hall:

Subject: FW: YOUR QUICK VOTE NEEDED -- Send KARE11 a message about E85!

The following has been sent on behalf of Assistant Secretary Karsner.

Thanks,

Hall included the voting instructions.

Perfectly appropriate, said DOE spokesman Jonathan Shradar. "The office regularly sends out news points, data and keeps [the staff] informed, he said. "This is a routine forwarding of a news story," he said, and "it's raising awareness in the staff."

So this would not be seen as even a subtle encouragement to vote and influence the poll?

"I didn't read that into the e-mail," Shradar said. (Do NOT send snarky e-mails. That's what he said, OK?) KARE 11 News reporter Scott Goldberg, who did the ethanol story, said the vote tally showed a plurality of 1,759 people selected "Ethanol is not perfect, but is at least an alternative."

That edged out "Producing Ethanol is a waste of time and money" by 403 votes." As it turns out, the voting had closed by the time Krasner's alert was issued.

And Don't Even ASK About Paris Hilton

Spotted . . . on Sunday by our colleague Tom Ricks, taking the shortest way home from Iraq -- stopping in Rome. In the city's Trastevere neighborhood, Ricks saw a restaurant with a sign posted in English on a tripod by its front door:

WE SAY NO TO THE WAR AND NO TO THE MENU TURISTICO.

Only in Italy would those two things be considered moral equivalents.