More reviews are coming in for the work of the OPR lawyers who doggedly pursued John Yoo and Jay Bybee for two years. A 14-page letter dated January 19, 2009  is available, authored by Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and his deputy Mark Filip and setting forth many of the identical criticisms that caused David Margolis to reject, finally, OPR’s work.

I also heard from Professor Ron Rotunda, an expert in constitutional law and legal ethics, with whom the Justice Department consulted during the OPR investigation. He was blunt: “I saw the ethics charges that the OPR staff made.  The materials are now publicly available. I think it is the OPR staff who should be investigated, for their shoddy, leak-prone, result-oriented, and — dare we say it — incompetent investigation.”

This unmasking of OPR’s incompetence and bias is not only important in so far as it completely vindicates Yoo and Bybee, though it certainly does that. It is also important because OPR remains a critical entity within the Justice Department. It is this group — whose unprofessionalism and bias have now been amply demonstrated at Yoo and Bybee’s expense — which, for example, is charged with investigation of the New Black Panther Party scandal. Do we suppose they will perform any more credibly in that inquiry? And recall as well that the head of OPR, Mary Patrice Brown, is reportedly under consideration for appointment to the federal bench. Well, I, for one, would much enjoy that confirmation hearing.

But more seriously, Attorney General Eric Holder has an obligation now to clean house and deal with those who leaked during the investigation in violation of their professional obligations. OPR has been entirely discredited and the stench will not dissipate until Holder takes appropriate action to — what is the phrase? — ah, yes, depoliticize and restore the credibility of his Department.