OT: Bush, Can I Bum A Cigarette?

The New York Times - armed with leaked DOJ internal memos - reports
that senior Justice Department officials overruled government
prosecutors and ordered them to slash the penalties sought against the
tobacco industry by 120 billion dollars.

The top lawyers for the trial team said they "do not want politics to
be perceived as the underlying motivation, and that is certainly a risk
if we make adjustments in our remedies presentations that are not based
on evidence."

The lawyers also said the lower penalty recommendations would weaken
the department's position in any possible settlement with the industry
and "create an incentive for defendants to engage in future misconduct
by making misconduct profitable."
[NYT, 6/16/05]


Scum. Pure rotten scum.