Editorial:
Take Off The Gloves For McDade-Murtha

As the 105th Congress enters its final phase, there is no issue on the agenda of the House of Representatives of greater importance than H.R. 3396, "The Citizens Protection Act of 1998." Yet, despite the fact that this bill, with close to 200 co-sponsors, enjoys broad bi-partisan support, and, despite the fact that the legislative clock is ticking away, House Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) has yet to schedule a hearing for this crucial piece of legislation.

H.R. 3396, popularly known as the McDade-Murtha bill, seeks to ensure that the rules of ethics and standards of conduct applied to all other attorneys, also be applied to Department of Justice attorneys. It not only establishes standards of conduct for the DOJ; it defines punishable conduct and penalties, and creates an independent review board to monitor compliance with the standards. The meetings of the board are to be conducted in public.

The Attorney General still has the first right to conduct investigations of allegations of DOJ misconduct. But, for the first time, a citizen will have the right to seek an independent review, a review conducted by a board outside the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice itself.

Why shouldn't the DOJ be forced to play by the same rules as other attorneys? And, certainly, it isn't unreasonable to suggest that the DOJ may not be entirely impartial when it is asked to investigate itself! An uninformed observer might wonder how anyone could reasonably oppose H.R. 3396. An innocent observer might not understand why the DOJ permanent bureaucracy, unquestionably one of the most powerful institutions inside the Federal government, is fighting against this bill as if its very survival were at stake. But, an innocent observer might not be familiar with the fact that the permanent prosecutorial bureaucracy inside the DOJ, has, for years, operated with impunity, without penalty and without oversight, using the full weight and power of the U.S. government, as an out-of-control "political hit squad" against elected officials, civil rights leaders, and political activists.

And, even though the McDade-Murtha bill represents Congress's most direct assault on DOJ tyranny in its entire history, without sufficiently broad in-depth hearings, the bill, even if passed, would be largely ineffective.

The bill's author, Joe McDade (R-Pa.), is determined to see to it that comprehensive hearings occur. If the bill reaches 218 co-sponsors, a simple majority of the House, he has the power to personally determine the bill's fate.

Over the last month, the LaRouche movement has led a broad and powerful coalition of forces that has steamrolled its way through the Congress. Its message has been clear: "Co-sponsor this bill, and work to ensure that hearings on this bill feature the most dramatic cases of Federal prosecutorial abuse, including the decades-long targetting of black and Hispanic elected and public officials under the FBI's notorious `Operation Fruehmenschen'; the Office of Special Investigations cases, such as that of John Demjanjuk; and, the politically motivated frame-up of Lyndon LaRouche and his political associates." Nothing less is sufficient if we are to get to the heart of DOJ corruption.

There is no question but that, as we close in on 218 co-sponsors, we have hit a new phase in this fight. It is time to take the gloves off. Any member of Congress caught opposing the McDade-Murtha bill, is guilty of condoning human rights violations, right here in the United States. They should be treated accordingly.

It is not only the legislative clock that is ticking. The global financial system is also careening toward uncontrolled disintegration with increasing speed. This world desperately needs Lyndon LaRouche's New Bretton Woods proposal, and one of the primary blocks to its realization is the power of the DOJ bureaucracy, that has acted to pick off all those whom the financial oligarchy deems dangerous to its plans. Defeating the DOJ thugs, and winning the fight for a new, more just financial system, are part of the same fight. And, July is the month for a major breakthrough.