I’ll bet you thought “minders” were peculiar to Saddam Hussein’s regime. Ashcroft demands that any prosecutor who goes up to the Hill to testify must be accompanied by a DOJ staffer.

The Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs has, by order of the attorney general, instructed all members of the Justice Department to inform that office “ahead of time and as soon as possible” before they participate in any briefings on Capitol Hill or engage in “substantive conversations” with members of Congress or their staff on Capitol Hill.
Every Justice Department employee is to be tracked to make sure — said the directive — “that the Department speaks with one voice on Capitol Hill. … Please let us know when you receive a phone call from, or plan to place a call, to House and Senate staff and members of Congress.”
“Moreover,” the memorandum adds, “in almost all cases … we will accompany you to briefings.”

So much for Congressional oversight. It’s an odd coincidence of history that this attempt to stifle whistleblowers surfaces on the very same day that transcripts from the McCarthy hearings are released; how far apart are Missouri and Wisconsin, anyway?