Since last March, nine top federal prosecutor positions have gone to conservative loyalists, according to a new story from McClatchy Newspapers:
Being named a U.S. attorney âhas become a prize for doing the bidding of the White House or administration,” said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who’s now a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “In the past, there had been a great deal of delegation to the local offices. Now, you have a consolidation of power in Washington.”
. . . Since last March, the administration has named at least nine U.S. attorneys with administration ties. None of them would agree to an interview. They include:
– Tim Griffin, 37, a former aide to White House political adviser Karl Rove and a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee, the U.S. attorney for Arkansas.
– Rachel Paulose, 33, who served briefly as a counselor to the deputy attorney general and who, according a former boss, has been a member of the secretive, ideologically conservative Federalist Society, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota.
– Jeff Taylor, 42, a former aide to Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. Taylor worked as a counselor to Gonzales and former Attorney General John Ashcroft.
– John Wood, the husband of assistant secretary of homeland security Julie Myers and an ex-deputy general counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget, U.S. attorney in Kansas City.
– Deborah Rhodes, 47, a former Justice Department counselor, in Mobile, Ala.
– Alexander Acosta, 37, a former assistant attorney general for the Justice Departmentâs civil rights division and a protege of conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, in Miami.
– John Richter, 43, chief of staff for the Justice Departmentâs criminal division and acting assistant attorney general, in Oklahoma City.
– Edward McNally, senior associate counsel to President Bush, in southern Illinois.
– Matt Dummermuth, a Justice Department civil rights lawyer, in Iowa.
