Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is bringing aboard an almost entirely new staff to back up the minority members on the Judiciary Committee. Among the senior aides is one Brian Benczkowski. Does that name ring a bell?
If it does, you’re probably a long time reader of Talking Points Memo, and we salute you. Benczkowski was Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General under Michael Mukasey, and a key figure working behind the scenes to cover up corruption in the Bush Justice Department.
Benczkowsi justified (or tried to justify) the administration’s torture policy, argued that Bush’s right to wiretap Americans without a warrant was rooted in the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, and withheld documents from Congress thought to demonstrate conclusively that the Justice Department was prosecuting Democrats for political reasons.
The Judiciary Committee is the one committee with jurisdiction over all of these issues–so surely this portends a new era of harmony between Republicans on the Hill and the Obama DOJ.
