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Three Minn. Federal Prosecutors Accept Demotions

I've been following the curious developments in the U.S. Attorneys office in Minneapolis for a few days, but until today, there was too little available information from which to decide if it was newsworthy.

What was known: U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger resigned in February, 2006. Rachel Paulose, age 34, a former aide to Alberto Gonzales whose last job was serving as senior counsel to U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty was immediately named as his successor and made Acting U.S. Attorney. She was confirmed by the Senate in December, 2006 and sworn in in March, 2007, by which time she had already been in the job for a year.

Earlier this week there were rumblings about three career prosecutors in the office submitting resignations. DOJ sent out a mediator. Late yesterday it was announced that the three were remaining with the office, but were accepting demotions from managerial positions to rank and file prosecutors. Another top administrative official, not a prosecutor, also submitted his resignation.

More...

UPI reports:

"It's just absolutely extraordinary that these three top managers would voluntarily demote themselves," said one defense attorney knowledgeable about the office. "I mean, it's a rank cut. ... And then it would be a salary cut, too."

Also,

A source familiar with the office said Thursday's resignations were more about management style and communication than politics. But they take on added significance because they follow a number of other managers who have voluntarily stepped aside since Paulose took over.

Those who left their management jobs Thursday are First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marti, who was appointed to the job by Paulose in December; Erika Mozangue, who headed the civil division, and James Lackner, who headed the criminal division. Lackner also served as first assistant from March 2006 until Marti's appointment.

DOJ spins this as a good thing because they will be back prosecuting cases. But, there is a back story and it appears many are grumbling about Rachel Paulose.

Josh Marshall has lots more, including this new report by CBS directly linking the demotions to Paulose.

Minnesota Campaign Report has some good posts on the resignation of Hefflinger and appointment of Paulose.

And then there's this:

It’s a major shakeup at the offices of new U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose.

Four of her top staff voluntarily demoted themselves Thursday, fed up with Paulose, who, after just months on the job, has earned a reputation for quoting Bible verses and dressing down underlings.

Update: I put this below in the comments but thought I'd add it here. Many are questioning the lavishness of Paulose's swearing in ceremony, calling it more of a coronation. Think Progress has all the details.

I don't think the ceremony is that big a deal. I think the larger issues are whether she was qualified the job, whether the Senators from Minn. were initially bypassed by the White House in naming her (they eventually came around and Norm Coleman went through some extra hoops to get her a hearing saving Bush from using the Patriot Act to avoid Senate confirmation) and how she managed to alienate so many of her managerial staff in so short a time.

What is her agenda? Why was she given the job in the first place? She's the youngest U.S. Attorney in the country and had only three years experience as a prosecutor in the office -- after which she went on to work for Gonzales and McNulty.

And, why did Heffelfinger really leave? His reasons were personal family time and money, but that's what they all say, isn't it?

Update: What a surprise (not.) Ms. Paulose has close ties to the Powerline folks.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Federal prosecutors (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by barbarajmay on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 02:14:00 PM EST
    I don't for a minute believe Tom Heffelfinger, the former MN US Attorney, voluntarily stepped down.  Tom was beloved in that office, by prosecutors and defense attorneys alike.  He had unquestioned integrity and treated every person with dignity. He was a relentless hard worker.  (He broke his neck during a rugby game once, but wouldn't go to the hospital until the game was done!) He was a conservative Republican of the old fashioned kind. So, you can imagine how his staff felt when Tom got nudged out the door for his replacement. The people there are so sad.  The system is in upheaval. And they all want Paulose gone.  My guess is that they will eventually drive her out, but not soon enough.

    Silly Girl (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by msobel on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 03:55:09 PM EST
    She is there in order to announce an investigation of Al Franken in September of 08.  

    h i l a r i o u s ! (none / 0) (#13)
    by the rainnn on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 04:10:50 PM EST
    msobel --

    perfect!

    all i have to add is. . . this:
    at -- and after -- yale law school,
    she was a member of the federalist
    society, and is a self-proclaimed
    devout fundamental christian. . .

    [sources available upon request.]

    these purge-gate shock-waves
    just keep on rolling in. . . amazing.  

    Parent

    Eh? (none / 0) (#1)
    by Gabriel Malor on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 12:55:08 PM EST
    This looks to me like the usual conflict between political appointees and career civil servants. It is noteworthy at this point in time only because federal attorneys are involved.

    No longer a pleasure to serve the P? (none / 0) (#2)
    by JSN on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 12:55:22 PM EST


    Pomp and questionable Circumstance (none / 0) (#3)
    by squeaky on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 12:57:51 PM EST
    Paulose had been in her position for a year as an interim U.S. attorney before she was sworn-in officially last month. She created controversy when her lavish swearing-in ceremony included a professional photographer, a color guard, and a choir.

    think progress

    Some... (none / 0) (#4)
    by desertswine on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 01:00:15 PM EST
    have called it a coronation.

    Parent
    $225 (none / 0) (#9)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 01:28:38 PM EST

    The affair cost the tax payer $225.  Some coronation.  Perhaps the old boys just could not handle the first woman in that job.  OTOH, it may be a case of the new broom sweeps clean.

    Parent
    If (none / 0) (#16)
    by ding7777 on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 06:06:46 PM EST
    you only consider the money but it took staff time for the preparations

    Parent
    I don't think her swearing-in (none / 0) (#5)
    by Jeralyn on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 01:07:49 PM EST
    is that big a deal. I think the larger issues are whether she was qualified the job, whether the Senators from Minn. were initially bypassed by the White House in naming her (they eventually came around and Norm Coleman went through some extra hoops to get her a hearing saving Bush from using the Patriot Act to avoid Senate confirmation) and how she managed to alienate so many of her managerial staff in so short a time.

    What is her agenda? Why was she given the job in the first place?  She's the youngest U.S. Attorney in the country and had only three years experience as a prosecutor in the office -- after which she went on to work for Gonzales and McNulty.

    And, why did Heffelfinger really leave? His reasons were personal family time and money, but that's what they all say, isn't it?

    The swearing-in (none / 0) (#7)
    by nolo on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 01:20:46 PM EST
    may not be that big a deal, but it certainly smacks of the kind of hubris that tends to go with a bad management style.  Which gets to the point you raise, which is her qualifications. She's got great academic credentials, but from what I can tell, she's spent most of her rather short legal career either (a) in federal clerkships or (b) working as an associate in BigAss law firms.  

    Parent
    I agree (none / 0) (#8)
    by squeaky on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 01:26:39 PM EST
    No big deal in itself but, from what I have read her the unusual pomp that she injected into her swearing cerimony was not only indicitive of the pompousness that she took to work on a daily basis, but suggests a certain immaturaty and egotism that does not seem fitting for a US Attorney.  

    ...the simultaneous resignations of all four top officials in the office came just after what the Star-Tribune called a "visit to the office by a representative from the Executive Office of the U.S. Attorney in Washington.".....

    .....and apparently big buds with none other than 5th amendment invoker Monica Goodling.

    TPM


    Parent

    Good points (none / 0) (#10)
    by Jeralyn on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 01:49:16 PM EST
    on the swearing in.  It might be a sign of how powerful she believed her role to be...and that she intended to wield her power in a regal, unitary way.

    Parent
    The Agenda (none / 0) (#6)
    by Ben Masel on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 01:15:46 PM EST
    Republican National Convention will be in St. Paul next year.

    The City might be unwilling to stifle dissent in the streets, so they'll need a US Attorney willing to back up the Secret Service's use of PATRIOT ACT Section 602 to push any "Free Speech Area" miles away.

    Goodling quits... (none / 0) (#14)
    by desertswine on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 04:53:24 PM EST
    "I am hereby submitting my resignation to the office of attorney general," Monica M. Goodling said in a three-sentence letter.

    the version i saw had her as a cousin to borat! (none / 0) (#15)
    by the rainnn on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 05:02:10 PM EST
    cnn ran goodling's resignation
    letter quote as "i am submit my
    resignation. . ."

    so -- in full snark mode,
    i wondered whether she was
    cousin to borat, or if she
    lawyered as well as she typed. . .

    in any event, there you have it.

    now, her akin gumps bills will be
    paid by some affiliate of the r.n.c.
    [side note: as of 3/1/07, ken mehlman,
    the former chairman of the r.n.c.,
    rejoined akin gump as a senior partner. . .]

    Parent

    Norm's Problem (none / 0) (#17)
    by aztrias on Fri Apr 06, 2007 at 09:07:48 PM EST
    This USA should be hung on Norm's neck during his re-election in 2008.  If she's that bad an apple, Norm has some 'splainin to do.

    Religious Wingnuts Are Running the Show (none / 0) (#18)
    by LimaBN on Sat Apr 07, 2007 at 04:58:03 AM EST
    Paulose is a pretty little bible-thumper with no real-world experience.  

    The rational people on staff are doing their best to hunker down and pull their shells in tight, where they won't have to risk their conscience and careers every hour on the hour.

    Goodling just resigned with the prayer that God will "continue to shower his riches" on Gonzales as part of her formal resignation statement.

    Michele Bachmann (Minnesota's answer to Florida's Harris) is the congressional Representative for the 6th District in Minnesota.  She is convinced that God spoke to her regarding His decision that she be elected.

    Minnesota's Senator Norm Coleman attends the Moonie church and participates in their ceremonies conflating Rev. Moon with our government.

    W has no idea of what to do with himself if he has to actually leave the White House.  He's pretty sure Uncle Dick will let him stay.  Wouldn't it be nice to have President Cheney really in charge and taking care of everything?

    This theocracy is not going to go away without a fight.  The Republican National Convention coming up in St. Paul is going to be a real exercise in whether or not these people can maintain their bubble of control without interference from reality.

    Wonder if anyone will get up off the couch and maybe turn their television off long enough to do something effective.  Like maybe return the notion of freedom of speech to America.

    Reality Made to Order (none / 0) (#19)
    by squeaky on Sat Apr 07, 2007 at 06:47:02 AM EST
    Paulose is in perfect lockstep with Bush' core principal. No wonder she got the job, she is on the same mission from god.

    Paulose ordered that an internal memo be prepared for high-ranking Justice Department officials who would be coming to Minneapolis from Washington to highlight the office's high-profile cases, the attorneys said.

    Paulose instructed the head of the narcotics section, Andy Dunne, to state in the memo that prosecutors had won convictions that ended drug dealing by St. Paul's Latin Kings gang, they said.

    Dunne was told by Paulose to say that the Latin Kings were the biggest gang in St. Paul and that the office's recent convictions would stop the so-called Latin King Nation, the attorneys said.

    But Dunne told Paulose he couldn't abide by the request, one of the attorneys said, and when he refused, Dunne was forced to give up his position as chief of the narcotics section. Dunne would not comment Friday.

    TPM

    Bush's core principal, from Ron Suskind:

    ''This is why he dispenses with people who confront him with inconvenient facts,'' Bartlett went on to say. ''He truly believes he's on a mission from God. Absolute faith like that overwhelms a need for analysis. The whole thing about faith is to believe things for which there is no empirical evidence.'' Bartlett paused, then said, ''But you can't run the world on faith.'' .....

    -snip-

    ....... ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he [a senior adviser to Bush] continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''



    A pinch of salt (none / 0) (#20)
    by PeterC on Sat Apr 07, 2007 at 01:54:05 PM EST
    The swearing in may not be such a big deal to you, but it was symbolic.  Overlooked in all the planning was the man who preceded her.  Heffelfinger was not invited to the swearing-in  event.  

    How do you manage to do that?  No appoligy for the snub except to rub it in by saying "...it was a public event.  It was open to everybody."  

    Yes he could have come.  But he had already received the message.

    Peter