The office of the Attorney General was established by Congress in 1789. The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the President of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments." These duties are now the purview of the Soliciter General while the duties of the Attorney General have been greatly expanded to include executive authority over the Department of Justice.
Recent incumbents include Janet Reno, John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales, and the current office holder Michael Mukasey. The AG is the head of the Department of Justice and a member of the President's cabinet. DOJ was not rolled into the Department of Homeland Security when that department was formed. The department includes several legal divisions as well as several law enforcement agencies including the FBI, DEA, ATF and US Marshalls Service.
The office took a major hit when Janet Reno's prosecution of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco.Texas went horribly wrong. Since then politicization of the department has been alleged. Recent allegations started with the firings of nine US Attorneys in 2006 and have intensified in 2007 and 2008.
- The 2007 resignation of Alberto Gonzales was driven by these claims, punctuated by his disastrous appearances before Congress.
- The refusal of the department to enforce Congressional subpoenas against members and past members of the Executive Department suggests more politicization in 2008 and seems to run contrary to a long standing agreement between the Congress and DOJ. Harriet Meirs, Karl Rove and Joshua Bolton all refused subpoenas.
- Firing nine US Attorneys at the end of 2006 was alleged to be political. The public was told the attorneys were dismissed for poor performance. The emerging facts seem to suggest the attorneys were dismissed for prosecuting Republicans and failing to prosecute Democrats.
- David Iglesias - refused Pete Domenichi
- Carol Lam - prosecuted Duke Cunningham
- John McKay
- Bud Cummins
- Paul Charleton - prosecuted Rick Renzi
- The Don Seigleman prosecution is another alleged case of politicization. The past governor of Alabama was prosecuted and convicted by the US Attorney in Alabama. He was subsequently released on appeal and testified before Congress when irregularities in the prosecution were revealed. Siegleman accused Karl Rove of intervening in the case as a way to prevent his reelection. Rove refused to appear when subpoenead by Congress on July 10, 2008 but in a written statement denied involvement. The DOJ refused to enforce the Congressional subpoena.
- The border patrol case of Ramos and Campion may be related. These two border patrol agents are in jail for shooting a Mexican drug runner who was fleeing from arrest. The many irregularities in this case leave unanswered concerns about the motives behind the prosecution.
- Hiring discrimination based on political views has also been alleged. DOJ employee Monica Goodling has testified before Congress in June 2008 that she "crossed the line" using political considerations in DOJ hiring.
- The Siebel Edmonds whistle blower case may be another indication that the DOJ is not acting strictly based on legal considerations. The FBI translator has been unable to get any traction in her allegations that she was dismissed illegally after surfacing
- Allegations of DOJ interference with voter registration purges have surfaced from time to time. Similarly the DOJ is charged with investigating and prosecuting violations voters civil and voting rights under federal law. Allegations of "caging" have received little attention.