Flores' ethics violation was reviewed by investigators whose office is under investigation.

Written by Biloxi

Last week, Inspector General Glenn Fine found that former OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores had violated federal ethics rules in awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money to favored companies and individuals for political and religious ties to the Bush Administration. Click here. But, NY attorney and editor for Harper Magazine, Scott Horton, added this interesting nugget:

So what’s the Justice Department’s reaction to this? No charges will be brought. Seems that’s been the consistent Justice Department reaction to every established allegation of gross corruption involving political appointees at the Department since 2001. And who at Justice made that determination? That would be the Public Integrity Section, whose leadership is itself now the target of a criminal investigation by a special prosecutor. Maybe this decision needs to be reviewed by someone who actually knows something about public integrity.

Well, the Public Integrity Section isn't exactly credible to decide whether to press charges against Flores. Remember former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens' case? Judge Emmet Sullivan, judge in Stevens' case, exposed that six prosecutors involved in the case committed prosecutorial misconduct and withheld evidence. Click here to read more. Judge Sullivan had now launched a criminal investigation into those six prosecutors. And one of the six prosecutors being investigated is the head chief of the Public Integrity Section.

And those prosecutors that are being investigated in the Stevens case are from the same tainted office who decided not to charge Flores: The Public Integrity Section. I agree with Horton. Someone else from another department needs to review and decide whether Flores should be charged but, not from an office that is currently under investigation and hasn't live up to the word "public integrity."