While many Campus Progress readers and bloggers are tanning or cramming, a manifestation of Lord Acton's description of "absolute power corrupts absolutely" surfaced this week in the form of Libby's guilty verdict. Please take the time during your Spring Break or after you ace all your midterms to see the full breadth of casualties in the Iraq War.

Because of Iraq, our country lost the finest members of our generation. Because of Iraq, our country lost international respect, credibility and the very principles and values that make America great. The first casualty of this war was not a soldier. The first casualty of the Iraq War was truth. Those who believe they are above the law also believe in perpetuating this course of American degradation in the name of saving face and winning political victories of ideology.

I write this post to highlight Libby, the "Gonzales 8" and the atrocities of the Walter Reed scandal. I write this post to call for an examination of the conscience of the citizenry of this country in order to inspire them to action for a better America- the America conceived by our Forefathers and made possible by the sacrifices of the generations that came before us.

While the jury for the Libby Trial deliberates into next week, there is an emerging story forming from seemingly disturbing actions taken by the U.S. Justice Department that could pan out to be far more damaging and long-lasting than any potential result of Libby's trial.

Strong public evidence suggests that the U.S. Department of Justice engaged in a concentrated, coordinated effort to bolster conservatism and GOP loyalty among our U.S. Attorneys- public servants who make a living from our tax dollars, government lawyers who are strictly supposed to stay above politics. This latest coordinated campaign of patronage goes beyond the standard cronyism we have come to expect from the Bush Administration- these actions are immoral, illegal and arguably treasonable to the American public who deserve a U.S. Justice Department unscathed by today's partisan political warfare.

Eight well-respected U.S. attorneys- most recieving high marks on their job evaluations- were fired and replaced by partisan loyalists of the Bush Administration. It turns out that the Patriot Act dismantles American liberties, rights and principles outside the War on Terror. A provision of the Patriot Act allows these "interim" appointees to serve indefinitely and without Senate approval.

David Iglesias, the departing attorney in New Mexico and the inspiration and basis for Tom Cruise's character in A Few Good Men, is the most outspoken of the fired prosecutors as he "said that two members of Congress attempted to pressure him to speed up a probe of Democrats just before the November elections." The Libby Trial touches on the possibility of retribution against Joe Wilson and his wife. Congressional and legal action taken as this story gains ground must explore the likely retribution against Iglesias and his fellow public servants.