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.”

Still more on the staff shake-up in the Minneapolis US Attorney’s office, where 34-year old Federalist Society member and former Gonzales aide Rachel Paulose was just sworn in last month. Below we noted that the simultaneous resignations of all four top officials in the office came just after what the Star-Tribune called a “visit to the office by a representative from the Executive Office of the U.S. Attorney in Washington.”

That reference to a visit from an official from Main Justice was a cryptic hint. And it seemed pretty clear there was more of a story there.

Now the local CBS affiliate seems to have the scoop. Apparently, the Gonzales Justice Department, already embroiled in a rapidly escalating scandal, was so worried about another shoe dropping (okay, more bad publicity) that they sent an emissary to the local office to beg the four to stay put.

Here’s the CBS affiliate’s more delicate phrasing …

The Bush Administration did not want to see this happen and in an eleventh hour attempt to prevent it, sent a top justice official to Minneapolis Thursday to mediate the situation. The mediation failed.

As I said in the previous post, there was already a lot of smoke about the Paulose appointment. The circumstances of her predecessor’s departure remain ambiguous. And is there any question now that the eight firings we know about now is only the tip of the iceberg of what’s going on in the Bush-Gonzales DOJ?

Today’s Must Read: events conspire to prove Dick Cheney a liar.

Michigan GOP Rep. Vern Ehlers says it’s time for Gonzales to go.

Flashback: Conservative commentators and Republicans strongly supported the idea of Speaker Newt Gingrich getting involved in foreign policy.

OK, so how many Republican lawmakers have called for Alberto Gonzales’ resignation? By our count, six. The roll call’s here.

Check out our latest chart — a handy comparison of the Iraq votes of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under Bush has a sterling record of protecting whites from the peril of racial discrimination.

But oddly enough, when it comes to protecting African Americans, it’s clearly not a priority.

M.J. Rosenberg “On Pelosi: Blessed Are The Peacemakers.”

Memo to CNN: As Speaker, Gingrich thrust himself into Mideast issues with trip to Israel, defied White House, bashed White House foreign policy.