Noel L. Hillman is the Chief of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division. Both on paper and in reality he’s been the one heading up the Abramoff investigation for the last two years.
He’s stepping down next week because President Bush just nominated him for a federal judgeship.
So we have the obvious question. Is he being escorted aside to put a damper on the investigation?
You can draw your inferences as well as I can. But there is one bit of hard information that gives me real cause for concern.
Go back to that New Hampshire phone-jamming case we’re always talking about. Until the middle of 2004, the Justice Department seemed to be doing everything it could to drag its heels on the case. There were even some fairly tangible and specific signs of political interference in the case.
Then the case was reassigned to the Public Integrity Division, under Hillman, and things changed on a dime. The prosecution become much more serious and aggressive.
Once an investigation is this far-flung, with so many career prosecutors and FBI agents involved, it’s not easy to shut it down. But warning it away from the big players is by no means impossible. And I’d be much more confident in the integrity of the investigation with Hillman still at the helm than without him.
So is there reason for concern? I’d say, yes.
