I was saddened by NPR’s story of the passing of former United States Attorney General Griffin Bell who died this past week of cancer. After serving as a federal district court judge for 15 years, Griffin left the bench and shortly thereafter was appointed by President Carter as United States Attorney General. Griffin was a remarkable figure and civil rights advocate. He worked tirelessly on desegregation of public schools in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. His endeavors were met with great opposition by the states and public schools who tenaciously resisted the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown. Griffin never backed down.
Perhaps Bell will be remember best however for taking over a deeply tainted Justice Department in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Remember that Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell was the first (and perhaps not the last) AG convicted and imprisoned for his role in the break-in of the Democratic Party’s national headquarters in the Watergate Hotel. Griffin’s task was to restore public confidence in the Justice Department during a time of immense public distrust of the agency. And how did Griffin do this? He made the agency transparent by publishing his daily logs and calendars allowing the media and public to know what he and the agency were doing on a daily basis. Griffin also involved career professionals in the daily decision making of the agency so as minimize the appearance of political ties to the White House.
What a stark contrast to the Bush Justice Department which has been politicized to an extreme. Indeed, the Bush–Gonzales Justice Department has operated itself in a ‘cloak and dagger’ fashion by dreaming up novel and unfounded legal arguments to support “state secrets” and other vague “privileges” to protect and shield the agencies misdeeds. What we don’t know (and can’t discover) can’t hurt us, right?
If only there were another Griffin Bell, I’m certain we need him now just as we needed him before.
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Wow, I was just thinking about that the other day. Possibly, as this blog was being written–complete daily disclosure within the highest authoritative branches of government in an effort to bring about change. Imagine all the bickering between party members online and in line (or out-of-line, as the case may be) that would cease, since much of it is based on speculation largely brought on by media spin. We would all have the facts, then work on solutions together, as opposed to playing the blame game, which only causes further division amongst parties.
Although he was before my time, this blog paints an honorable picture of him as an honest and humble man who sought true justice and unity for all Americans, especially the everyday people who were being deprived of it. Hopefully, his strength of character and determination even in the midst of such rampant corruption, will live on in the memories of his loved ones who mourn him and bring them comfort at this time. Hopefully, as well, we can soon view him as a man who set the standard for future appointees to that same position, instead of the exception.
I didn’t know anything about him, but he sounds like he was great!