Levees and Litigation

The Justice Department sent an interesting e-mail to U.S. attorneys last week, AP reports, including the following:

Has your district defended any cases on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers against claims brought by environmental groups seeking to block or otherwise impede the Corps work on the levees protecting New Orleans? If so, please describe the case and the outcome of the litigation.

Justice officials insist this isn't a freelance effort to try to deflect blame from the Bush administration, but a response to a request for information from congressional investigators. Either way, it's a question worth asking. Many of the administration's critics on the left--especialy environmentalists--haven't exactly been ardent supporters of Corps of Engineers projects.