Monica Goodling, former White House Liaison with the Department of Justice, is testifying under a grant of immunity from the House Judiciary Committee. Christy at Fire Dog Lake is live-blogging, and TPM has updates as things go on, but I just want to offer some thoughts on things so far.
First, the Republican Committee members' performance is abysmal. All the constant whining about "fishing expeditions" and "nothing to see here" when she admitted under oath to breaking the law by using partisan political criteria in hiring decisions makes one wonder about their loyalty. All these Republican men seem mesmerized by this pretty young blonde thing, in way over her head in all sorts of trouble, wanting to protect her. Some of their comments are just nauseating.
Second, I think the committee has aimed too low with Ms. Goodling. It seems pretty clear that she just didn't do all that much other than interview people, and while her admitted law-breaking (I do hope her immunity does not shield her from potential disbarment) is symptomatic of the corruption of the DoJ under Bush/Gonzalez, I do not think she held the keys to any kingdom. She was a functionary, a water-carrier for the small-minded partisans who wanted to turn the entire federal bureaucracy into a Republican fiefdom, and while what she did was awful and illegal, she was clearly just too small a player in the specific incident - the USA purge - under investigation. I for one am glad to have her off the federal payroll, but she has shed little light upon this incident, except perhaps to add another voice to the growing chorus that quite clearly shows that all roads in this particular scandal lead to the White House.
I feel bad for Monica Goodling. She seems as if she isn't that bright, isn't quite sure what she did that was so bad - in this respect, she reminds me of the portrayal of Donald Segretti in the film adaptation of All the President's Men - although she may be play-acting, and understand that she is in quite deep doo-doo. She also reminds us all what happens when we put people in positions of power when they have no inkling of the destruction they can wreak, and of the necessity of Congressional oversight. After today, I do believe that we should quickly forget Monica Goodling.
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