Thereve been a few

There’ve been a few hints that something fishy was up in the Minneapolis US Attorney’s office where 34-year old Rachel Paulose was sworn in to office last month in a lavish ‘investiture‘ ceremony some have called a ‘coronation’. Paulose’s predecessor left under murky circumstances. And there are some hints that the Justice Department may originally have considered giving Paulose a Patriot Act appointment rather than going down the old-fashioned senate confirmation route.

Now there’s this just breaking this evening …

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.

Deputy U.S. Attorney John Marty is just one of the people dropping themselves in rank to simply a U.S. Attorney position. Also making the move are the heads of Paulose’s criminal and civil divisions and the top administrative officer.

The move is intended to send a message to Washington – that 33-year-old Paulose is in over her head.

As the article notes, before getting the plum US Attorney spot, Paulose was a special assistant to Alberto Gonzales and apparently big buds with none other than 5th amendment invoker Monica Goodling.

I think we may be hearing more about this.

Late Update: The Star-Tribune adds: “The job changes followed a visit to the office by a representative from the Executive Office of the U.S. Attorney in Washington.”

Still Later Update: The Pioneer Press has more quotes from an unnamed source …

A source said managers had been unhappy with Paulose and decided to collectively resign.

“They did it jointly because they couldn’t stand her anymore,” the source said, citing what been described as her “dictatorial management style and general lack of management experience.”

Paulose replaced former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger, who resigned in February 2006. At 34, she’s the youngest current U.S. attorney. She’s also the first woman to hold the post in Minnesota.

The move might have come from a disagreement in the direction of the office, but is also “indicative of how the U.S. Department of Justice is acting now,” another source said.

“These are career prosecutors who wouldn’t do it without a reasonable basis,” the source said. “If these folks took this action en masse and all of them are well respected career prosecutors, they wouldn’t do so lightly.”