Meese's Merry Ways

IT IS especially fitting that at the height of the Administration's campaign to package the latest of its failed Supreme Court nominees as a tough crime fighter, the Attorney General's wife, Ursula Meese, wrote to a federal judge urging special treatment for a family friend facing criminal charges. While Meese did not write or necessarily authorize his wife's letter, his failure to condemn it and immediately apologize entangles him in a web of sleaze. Once again, we're left to wonder whether Meese even realizes that something unethical has taken place.

The Meese letter is a commentary on the kind of justice the Reagan Justice Department dispenses. While justice Meese-style is usually blindly hostile to those facing criminal charges, it doesn't see anything wrong with playing favorites.

In isolation, the letter could be seen as a momentary lapse. But it comes in the context of Meese's still unclear and possibly criminal role in the Iran-contra affair, as well as the growing revelations of his involvement in the Wedtech scandal. And, of course, it should not be forgotten that Meese's confirmation hearings were held up as a Special Prosecutor investigated charges of favoritism and corruption. How ironic it is, then, that marijuana use eight years ago is a scandal, while Meese's power and authority remain unimpaired.