You know, it’s funny to see how people who seemingly violate the law with such impunity can scurry off to their holes when they no longer have the upper hand. For the last six years, the Bushies have enacted some of the most draconian (and likely illegal) policies and programs this country has ever seen. They did so under the cover of Attorney General John Ashcroft and, even more egregiously, under the cover of Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez.

However, the incident regarding the firings of 8 federal prosecutors for what appears to be political motivations has turned up the heat on the internal goings-on at the Justice Department.

The latest person to feel the heat is Monica Goodling. Goodling is a senior counsel at the Justice Department and Gonzalez’s liaison to the White House. Upon hearing that she would be subpoenaed to testify in front of the Senate about her role in the firings, Goodling is set to plead the Fifth to avoid incriminating herself. Goodling is also taking a leave of absence from the Justice Department.

Goodling claims that she is pleading the Fifth because “senators have already decided that wrongdoing occurred.” However, it can’t bode well for Gonzalez and others involved if Justice officials feel that, by testifying, they could be looking at legal consequences. As we have been told by Republicans in other issues (the Patriot Act and the NSA spying, for example), if you’ve done nothing wrong then, there’s nothing for them to be worried about.

So, the rats are jumping ship. I wonder if Gonzalez plans on going down with it.

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