U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have gotten their way. On Monday, the Justice Department announced a criminal investigation into the downloading and leaking of Democrat memos that discuss the strategy and tactics of opposing President Bush’s nominees to the federal bench.

David Kelley, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has been asked to lead the investigation, which will center on the actions of two former Republican Senate staffers — Jason Lundell and Manuel Miranda — who have acknowledged reading the memos but have denied leaking them as well as any wrongdoing in accessing them.

Kelley, who is reportedly a Democrat, is an experienced prosecutor well regarded for his professionalism.

We have read the report of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms investigation. We have read Manny Miranda’s explanation of accessing the memos. We have read analyses of computer law produced by Manny Miranda’s attorneys and others. Beyond that, we have known Manny Miranda for some time, and not once has he said one word that we believe not to be the truth.

In fact, in virtually any other branch of government or in the private sector, Manny Miranda would have been granted whistleblower status, protected from repercussions, praised for exposing corruption. Not in the U.S. Senate, which likes its corruption kept secret. Not under Republican leadership, which seems wrapped around the extended finger of Democrats. To some cynics, us at the head of the line, getting Manny Miranda, letting the real culprits walk seems to be one of the few bipartisan acts of an increasingly superfluous body of bloviators.

Four thousand seven hundred and sixty Democrat memos constitute Memogate. Only 14 have been made public. Presumably all will now be turned over to Prosecutor Kelley. Although the point will be argued, we believe he will have obtained them legally, from the standpoint of admissible evidence, should any indicate criminal wrongdoing.

Kelley’s assignment does not include searching the memos for evidence of wrongdoing. We have argued strenuously that it should, because from what we have seen and what has been alleged by Manny Miranda, there is something far beyond rotten in the U.S. Senate.

When the first memos were exposed, Democrats had no choice but to create the diversion that the memos were "stolen," just as drug dealers scream illegal search and seizure over the kilos of evidence with which they are caught. Prosecutor Kelley will now investigate the red herring tossed in front of his sights. But if he looks as hard as he should, and we have seen no stricture prohibiting that, he may just bag some skunks and some snakes and some slugs — a prosecutor’s mixed grill.