Karla Dial at CitizenLink:

The case of a federal employee whose lesbian partner was denied spousal benefits under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was heard in a federal court today — and in an unprecedented twist, the U.S. Department of Justice was fighting against the law of the land

... “Taxpayers should take special note of this case,” said CitizenLink Judicial Analyst Bruce Hausknecht. “After the administration and the DOJ abandoned the defense of DOMA in all pending cases, and the House of Representatives hired Paul Clement to defend the law, the DOJ then filed a brief in this case arguing against Clement’s position — effectively putting the force of the federal government and the tax dollars that fund it — on opposite sides in the same case. What an egregious waste of taxpayer dollars!

“What’s worse, the administration and DOJ took the position that DOMA was unconstitutional after several federal courts had already held it constitutional. That undermines any possibility that the administration and DOJ were operating in good faith by declaring they didn’t feel they could defend the constitutionality of DOMA.”