Eric Holder finally found a Bush-era official he doesn’t intend to prosecute: Brad Schlozman, who was accused of lying to Congress concerning DOJ hiring practices. In this case, the D.C. U.S. Attorney had previously declined to prosecute the matter. Ronald Welch, assistant attorney in the Office of Legislative Affairs, declared: “After careful examination of the evidence and the law, and upon consideration of other relevant prosecutorial factors, the Attorney General concluded that the United States Attorney’s decision was reasonable and should be afforded due deference.” Due deference to the career prosecutor?

Well, that’s a new stance for Holder. You will recall that he cast aside the conclusion of career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia who declined to prosecute CIA operatives who employed enhanced interrogation techniques. There, Holder showed no “deference” and has now set loose a special prosecutor to reinvestigate the CIA operatives. So why, when the CIA is involved, does deference to career prosecutors go out the window? It’s not clear, not at all.

Perhaps Holder doesn’t have the same room to operate where the CIA has concerned. Bush-era interrogation techniques remain a burning issue for the president’s left-wing base—while the netroot lobby has forgotten about political hiring in the Justice Department (or they’d rather not remind anyone of the perils of hiring based on political affiliation). Once again, it’s hard to fathom what legal principles Holder is applying in these situations. Maybe there aren’t any.