Last week, we learned that prosecutor purge scandal had wreaked so much havoc at the Justice Department that no one wants to apply to replace Paul McNulty as the Deputy Attorney General. (“I’d rather trade places with Jose Padilla,” joked Viet Dinh, a former senior Justice official under then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.)
This week, we learn that no one wants to be a Bush-appointed U.S. Attorney, either.
The Bush administration’s decision to fire nine U.S. attorneys last year has created a new problem for the White House: The controversy appears to be discouraging applications for some of the 22 prosecutor posts that President Bush needs to fill. […]
In Florida, the panel that’s evaluating candidates and making recommendations to the White House has received only two applicants for the vacancy left by U.S. Attorney Paul Perez in Tampa – even after it extended the May 3 deadline to apply. Perez, who resigned in March, left for a private-sector job. He’s said that he wasn’t forced out.
“I personally was disappointed we didn’t have more,” said Michael J. Grindstaff, the chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission. “I was wondering if there was a way to attract more applicants.”
Some other states where Congress is investigating prosecutors’ ousters also have gotten fewer responses than the administration hoped for.
Asked for a response to the problem, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, “It has nothing to do with recent events.”
I didn’t see Fratto make the comment, but one wonders if he was able to say it with a straight face.
