Hatch seems to be aiding wrong party

WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch is in the odd position of drawing praise from his foes — and flak from his friends — over how he handled the "memogate" scandal of two of his aides raiding Democrats' computer files.

So was Hatch a man who showed integrity as he waded through scandal, as Democrats say? Or was he duped by Democrats into overlooking their more serious sins as he flogged his own people instead, as upset conservative groups contend?

Signs are that both may be right.

It all began last fall when 14 Democratic files were leaked to the press. The memos showed such misdeeds as liberal groups working with Democrats to block appeals court nominee Miguel Estrada specifically because he is Hispanic, and they did not want Republicans to win political points with Hispanics.

Others showed, for example, that liberal groups asked Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to block two 6th Circuit nominees until after that appeals court heard a key affirmative action case. They did not want new judges upsetting a perceived favorable balance.

Democrats never denied such behavior. Instead, they howled that the only way such memos could have been leaked was for them to have been stolen.

At the time, Hatch told the Deseret Morning News, "That's typical. Whenever they get their hands caught in the cookie jar, then they start to attack the process."

Most politicians would have ignored the Democratic cries of theft — and focused on their sins. After all, memos are leaked in Washington every day without probes resulting.

But Hatch's committee was already deeply split in partisan rancor over ongoing, first-in-history Democratic filibusters blocking many appeals court nominees of President Bush. So Hatch tried to be a nice guy. In a gesture to try to bring folks together, he launched a mini-investigation of his own into theft allegations.

He soon announced he was "shocked and mortified" to find that a GOP clerk, Jason Lundell, admitted accessing Democratic files — but not leaking them.

So Hatch asked Senate Sergeant at Arms William Pickle to conduct a thorough investigation. That took three months, and the final report was issued last week. Meanwhile, Democrats howled and blocked all nominees before Hatch's committee, they said to prod along the probe and ensure its completion and fairness.

As the probe proceeded, Lundell quit and went to graduate school. Another former aide, Manuel Miranda, was pressured into quitting.