The saying “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” might be relevant to the U.S. Justice Department’s recent decision to levy a $1.2 billion fine against the Toyota automobile company.

Under the agreement, Toyota will admit it misled U.S. consumers by making “deceptive statements about two safety issues.”

Attorney General Eric Holder said the matter was “shameful” and added that the automaker showed “a blatant disregard for systems and laws designed to look after the safety of consumers.”

If the attorney general found the automaker “shameful” because of its “deceptive statements,” it is understandable that millions of American might want to ask the attorney general whether the public should be able to learn the truth about recent government actions such as the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative organizations, the “Fast and Furious” matter and the Benghazi tragedy?

Isn’t the stonewalling by the government and Holder concerning these situations just as “shameful” as Toyota’s not leveling with the public?

Just as the saying about the goose and gander seems appropriate, so does the saying about the pot calling the kettle black.

Obviously, there are double standards in the Justice Department about what the public has a right to know. The only difference is that the Justice Department can level a $1.2 billion fine against Toyota — and is about to initiate a similar probe against General Motors — but the public has no record to force Holder to be open and transparent about the “shameful” actions by our government.