Who is Glenn Fine?

The Justice Department has had many problems under the direction of Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, and now the sleeping Attorney General Mukasey. But you probably haven’t heard the name Glenn Fine. Fine is the Inspector General of the Justice Department and he is the person who is charged with investigating misconduct within the DOJ and their investigative arm the FBI. And he is not partisan, at all. In 2007, Fine issued the first in a series of stinging reports in which he concluded that the FBI was abusing the US Patriot Act by using national security letters and other terrorist-oriented tools to spy on investigate American citizens. FBI director Robert Mueller basically said it was all a big mistake and there were some oversight issues at the FBI. Really?

Then there was the whole Gonzales-Gate scandal where the White House worked with political hacks inside the Justice Department to carry out politically motivated investigations (mostly of Democrats, by the way). During that fiasco, Gonzales was called to testify before congress where he likely perjured himself. Glenn Fine later concluded that Gonzales mishandled documents relating to the administration’s spy domestic surveillance program. Eventually, Gonzales resigned and later lawyered up (probably a good idea given Fine’s tenacity for discovering misconduct). Fine was just warming up.

In July 2008, Fine issued another whopping report concluding that political operatives officials within the Justice Department violated the law by hiring other political hacks to fill the ranks of the Department.

And just when I thought Fine was getting tired, he struck again. Last week he issued another stinger revealing how the US Marshals provided escort services to sports broadcasters. What? Talking Points Memo reported:

A new report by the Justice Department’s inspector general finds that a lawyer for the U.S. Marshals Service arranged for the Marshals Service to provide a private escort for the limousines of Fox’s star broadcasters, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, after two World Series games at Fenway Park in 2007.

In case you were wondering, the US Marshals do not as part of their job duties provide protection to Fox’s sports broadcasters, or at least not as far as I know.

And finally, when I thought I had just caught my breath, he did it again. Fine just released this report finding that Bradley Scholzman broke the law by hiring political hacks into positions at the Justice Department. Kabaam! Scholzman headed the civil rights division of the DOJ and was responsible for making sure people weren’t disenfranchised of their constitutional and civil rights. I guess he failed, don’t you think?

So who is Glen Fine? He is one bad-ass Inspector General at the InJustice Department. Picture all the doors that slam shut when Fine walks down the hallway. I wonder if anyone will sit with him at the cafeteria. I can only imagine the hacks shivering in their shoes while Fine sharpens his pencil for the next report. Hey Mr. Fine, we’ll send you some more pencils whenever you need them, just keep those reports a’coming!!