Mukasey Honors Civil Rights Division's 50th Anniversary.

This is certainly a slap in the face since there is some much corruption in the Civil Rights Division.

BLT:

Attorney General Michael Mukasey today praised the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division on its 50th birthday while avoiding any mention of its recent rocky past.

"During the past 50 years, we as a nation have moved closer to achieving the ideal of equal justice for all," Mukasey told dozens of of current and former division employees gathered at the Great Hall. "But discrimination still exists, and the work of the Civil Rights Division remains as relevant today as it did a half-century ago."

Mukasey was one of several speakers, who showed up for the fete. Others included former division chiefs James Turner — who served from 1977 to 1994 — and Wan Kim, who ran the division from November 2005 until August.Mukasey referred to past and ongoing challenges in society and quoted Martin Luther King Jr.: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

Kim, now a partner at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, also lauded the work of his former colleagues and spoke candidly of his tenure.

"Despite all the controversy... I would do it all over again," said Kim, before receving a round of applause.

Charges of politicization have dogged the division for several years, especially during the short tenure of Kim's predecessor — Bradley Schlozman. The division's offices also have been criticized for doing little to expand voters' access and not pursuing racial discrimination cases while devoting more resources to voter-fraud investigations and voter identification plans.

Schlozman earlier this year admitted in a Senate hearing that he had considered the political credentials of job candidates and bragged about hiring Republicans. His role and that of others are still under investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of Inspector General.

In addition, the chief of the voting section John Tanner apologized during a congressional hearing in October after saying that minorities are more likely to die before whites so they are not as affected by voter identification laws. His remarks to participants in the National Latino Congress prompted some lawmakers to ask that he be fired.