Sunday, December 20, 2020

‘I’m Haunted by What I Did’ as a Lawyer in the Trump Justice Department

No matter our intentions, lawyers like me were complicit. We owe the country our honesty about what we saw — and should do in the future.

The author, Erica Newland, started at Main Justice under Obama and stayed on under Trump till Thanksgiving 2018.

Like Ms. Newland I looked back at my career as a prosecutor and as retirement came in view I carefully thought about what regrets, if any, I had. I asked myself two questions: "What had I done that I wished I hadn't?" More importantly "What, if anything, could I do to right any wrong I had done?" There was only one case that I could do anything about and I had done right in that case (a bad police shooting) but my office had taken it away from me me and then deep-sixed it. Intermittently for four years that case stuck in my craw like a bone. One day, still working there, I made public what I knew. Within a week I was suspended without pay for 30 days...I think I was put on probation too, I'm not sure now. It hit the papers and I became, in the words of my best friend, "the most hated man in the office." And justice was never done in the case. Lose-lose all the way around. No. I tried. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was happier in the 11 years of my new career as a criminal defense attorney. A burden, and tremendous tension, had been lifted. I could look back and say I had done the right thing twice and had gotten punished for it. That made me feel good. It also made me appreciate the importance of having enemies. Of course being the most hated man in any circle is not as gratifying as being the most loved but it is more important. I came to think that the adage "A man is known by the friends he keeps" is wrong, just wrong. You are better known by who you have pissed off and why. If you've pissed them off for the right reasons wear their crown of thorns proudly.

Anyway, Erica Newland has gone public with the cases that haunt her. Her moral is "I should have stayed and pushed back," as I did. Eh Erica, you'd have just gotten fired or suspended like me. The bad policies that you softened and made more palatable for the courts would have been worse without your effort. You tried. Still need punishment? In the Judeo-Christian tradition confession is the first step to salvation. Punishment is next. Erica needs punishment to reach salvation. Oh bother. Okay, Erica come here.