DoJ Official Resigned over Purged Prosecutor Flap?

About an hour ago, we heard that Michael Battle, the Director of the Executive Office of the United States Attorney, had resigned from his post, and that the resignation had been reported on Fox News.

Since then, we’ve been madly trying to confirm that. I called Mr. Battle himself, who refused to confirm or deny the report, referring me on to the Department of Justice’s public affairs office, whose number it took him some time to dig up.

The public affairs office, however, seems to have been caught unawares by Mr. Battle’s resignation (if indeed he has resigned). I’ve been informed that a statement from the department is forthcoming. We’ll bring it to you as soon as we have it.

Update: The AP reports:

The department also said that Michael Battle — a senior Justice official who directed the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and who had personally informed the ousted U.S. attorneys of their removal — would leave his post March 16.

Battle, who has held his post since June 2005, notified U.S. attorneys of his decision in January and had informed the department last summer that he wished to pursue opportunities in the private sector, the department said. Battle was not involved in the actual decision-making that led to the prosecutors’ ouster, the department said.

“His departure is not connected to the U.S. attorney controversy whatsoever,” Roehrkasse said.

Later Update: Sen. Schumer comments:

“This raises another question about a subject where there are already too many unanswered questions. While Mike Battle, a man of integrity, must issue the customary denial, the timing of his resignation asks whether he’s another casualty of the U.S. Attorneys imbroglio.”

Later Update: And comments from House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI):

“Michael Battle’s resignation raises even more questions about the growing fallout from the firing of the U.S. Attorneys… Rest assured, we will do everything within our power to unearth the facts surrounding this matter, which calls into question the integrity of our system of law enforcement.”

And House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law Chairwoman Linda Sanchez (D-CA):

“The wheels seem to be coming off the Bush Administration’s increasingly hollow defense of its decision to fire eight U.S. Attorneys…. The Administration’s explanation of Mr. Battle’s apparent resignation is as murky as everything else they have told us about this case. I look forward to hearing the testimony of the fired federal prosecutors so we can get closer to the truth of what happened.”