As the Bush administration’s politics-in-Justice scandal mounts in Washington, one would be naïve not to wonder about recent federal prosecutions in Raleigh.

No, I’m not defending Jim Black, Michael Decker or Kevin Geddings. They clearly broke the law, betrayed the public trust and deserve punishment.

But the harshness of their sentences does raise your antennae. And the news out of Washington does give you pause.

Clearly, Bush political appointees at the Department of Justice put a priority on politics. The unraveling scandal has forced out several top appointees – the latest a deputy AG.

One political appointee, Monica Goodling, a 31-year-old, played a key role in Justice personnel decisions. She asked prospective employees questions like: “Which President do you most admire and why?”

Gee, I wonder what the right answer is to that one.

The evidence shows that Republican U.S. attorneys across the country were let go because they didn’t prosecute Democrats vigorously enough. That apparently was not a problem in North Carolina.

That, in turn, raises questions about the tough sentences handed out by Judge Jim Dever. I know Dever casually, and I hear good things about him from Democratic lawyers. But he has opened himself up to criticism in the current climate. When he sentenced Decker, he cited a redistricting case in which Dever was one of the attorneys while in private practice.

There is no evidence that shows Dever or U.S. Attorney George Holding has done anything wrong. They threw the book at people who deserved it.

But the political smell is troubling. And it feeds a political arms race. I suspect plenty of Democrats are plotting revenge when their day comes.

And that day usually comes.

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