The Associated Press reports:
Former U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Rachel K. Paulose retaliated against a top prosecutor in her office who reported her for careless handling of classified homeland security reports, a watchdog agency said Wednesday.
In announcing a whistleblower settlement between Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marti and the Justice Department, the Office of Special Counsel said its investigation found that Paulose retaliated by taking steps to remove Marti as her first assistant. Marti accepted a demotion and returned to being an assistant U.S. attorney.
In a news release, OSC said: “Based on considerable evidence of intent, animus, and motive, OSC concluded that Ms. Paulose constructively demoted Mr. Marti.”
Paulose had earlier been the subject of an Office of Special Counsel investigation into whether she’d discriminated against office employees, including allegedly using the words “fat,” “black,” “lazy” and “ass” in remarks to one employee.
Before that, Marti and three other top lawyers in Paulose’s office had voluntarily demoted themselves to protest her Christian-influenced managerial style.
Since last year, Paulose has been an adviser to Attorney General Michael Mukasey at main DOJ.
