Why US attorneys were fired: the evidence so far
The paper trail on the firings suggests many reasons, none definitive.
from the March 27, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Ninety-three US attorneys are scattered around the US, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other US territory. Each is the chief federal law-enforcement officer within his or her district. But all are political appointees, meaning they can be fired without cause by the president.
Documents show that dismissal of US attorneys became a subject of discussion between the White House and top Justice officials as early as the first months of 2005. Eight were then fired in 2006.
According to the handwritten talking points, the firings were for "various degrees of dissatisfaction." They were "not for cause, but good reason," said the memo.
Reasons weren't discussed with those who were fired because doing so would unavoidably lead to objections and comparisons, according to the memo.
In a second draft document, a Justice official compiled a matrix of reasons to justify the firings. The memo is typed but covered with hand-written edits.
Dan Bogden, US attorney in Las Vegas, was fired for "lack of energy and leadership for a highly visible district with serious crime issues," according to the memo.
The memo misspells Mr. Bogden's name as "Bodgen," however. And in an e-mail dated Dec. 6, 2006, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty acknowledges that he had not looked at the performance of Bogden's district. "I'm still a little skittish about Bogden," wrote Mr. McNulty.
Paul Charlton, US attorney in Phoenix, was let go in part due to "repeated instances of defiance, insubordination, actions taken contrary to instructions...," according to the matrix document. Mr. Charlton also failed to follow Justice Department instructions on the death penalty and required the FBI to videotape interviews, which was contrary to FBI policy.
However, according to an analysis by the Associated Press, Charlton's office ranked in the top one-third of US attorney offices in terms of number of prosecutions. And a Feb. 6, 2006 e-mail to Charlton from a former deputy attorney general said he was a "star."
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