Guessing Game Results: DoJ Disses Senate Judiciary
We didn't have too many takers for our guessing game item asking which "senior Justice Department official," as quoted in Eric Lichtblau's NYT article , told the Senate Judiciary Committee to take a hike with respect to the NSA eavesdropping-related documents.
Once again, the best guess we received came from a Wonkette source at the Pentagon:
1. Source is a "senior Justice Department official" -- that means someone at the Assistant AG level or above.
2. Take a quick look at the DoJ Org chart here .
3. Who would have seen the classified opinions? The AG, Dep AG, and the Assistant AGs in Legal Policy, Legal Counsel, for sure, and maybe Assistant AG's for Legislative Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations.
The Assistant AG in the Criminal Division might have also seen the classified report, since they would be responsible for any prosecutions resulting from the information gained. And since Alice Fisher is an attractive woman, she is prime material for a Wonkette post.4. Since Rachel Brand is hot, and she is a possible source (as AAG for the Office of Legal Policy), it is tempting to pick her.
5. However, I will use my bureaucrat instincts and say this sounds like something a Deputy Cabinet member would say on background to the press so that the AG would not have to. Therefore I am going go with the Deputy AG, Paul McNulty . My second guess is William E. Moschella , the Assistant AG for Leg Affairs.
Wow, thanks for that great analysis! We should buy this tipster a drink. But then again, this person works at the Pentagon -- where you actually need to be sober to do your job...
Earlier: Senior Administration Official Guessing Game: DoJ Disses Senate Judiciary