Memo to HJC: Something smells rotten in the DOJ. (part deux).

HJC has to face reality the entire DOJ needs to be cleaned up.

BLT:

No sooner had the testimony in a House Judiciary subcommittee begun this morning on the controversial topic of selective prosecutions and politically-charged investigations than the Department of Justice was on the defensive.

Peter Carr, DOJ's deputy director of public affairs, sent out an e-mail shortly after 10 a.m. criticizing one of the witnesses whose research has turned controversial.

"We also understand that a study conducted by Donald Shields and John Cragan may be raised in today's hearing," Carr wrote. “This so-called study is nothing more than a glorified Google search, subject to the whims and biases of the search terms chosen by the authors.”

Shields, a University of Missouri - St. Louis communications professor, is conducting an ongoing study of "political profiling" or selective investigations under former Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales. His research shows Democrats have been overwhelmingly targeted for federal prosecution.

However, his objectivity has been called into question because his sister Katheryn Shields was a Democratic county official in Missouri recently indicted on federal mortgage fraud charges.

Shields along with former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and former Alabama U.S. Attorney G. Douglas Jones, testified during at a joint hearing by the subcommittee on commerce and administrative law and the subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security. To read their statements, click here.

The title of today's session: "Allegations of Selective Prosecution: The Erosion of Public Confidence in Our Federal Justice System."

Thornburgh represents a former Pennsylvania politician indicted on federal corruption charges who he says was the subject of prosecutorial abuse.

Jones, meanwhile, recounted that DOJ officials may have used political considerations as they attempted to bypass decisions by local career prosecutors regarding investigations.

At the end of the hearing, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), House judiciary committee chairman, said he hopes the discussion opened the door for the "restoration" of Main Justice and the rebuilding of its reputation for "fairness and integrity."