Apr 10, 2007 7:35 am US/Central
Top Official To Aid Minn. U.S. Attorney's Office
Minneapolis (AP) ―
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Rachel Paulose, Minnesota's U.S. Attorney, issued a statement last Friday that offered no explanation for the staff shake-up, and said she would have no further comment on the matter. (File)
CBS
A high-ranking Justice Department official was expected to arrive Tuesday to help out at the U.S. attorney's office for Minnesota, which has been rocked by the self-demotions of three of its top prosecutors.
John Kelly, deputy director and chief of staff of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys in Washington, will spend "several days" here while the Minneapolis office undergoes a management transition, Jeanne Cooney, spokeswoman for the office, said in a statement Monday.
"We asked Mr. Kelly to assist us in this process, which members of the Executive Office routinely do. The law enforcement work of the Office and its employees will continue uninterrupted during this period," Cooney said in the statement.
Kelly visited Minneapolis last Thursday to try to resolve the situation. The prosecutors stepped down after his visit and returned to prosecuting cases full time.
The three are: John Marti, who was first assistant U.S. attorney, Erika Mozangue, head of the office's civil division, and James Lackner, who headed the office's criminal division. Tim Anderson, a non-attorney who had been acting office administrator, also left his management role.
Kelly will be in Minnesota "in a support role over the next few weeks, until a first assistant is found," Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said.
Paulose issued a statement last Friday that offered no explanation for the staff shake-up, and said she would have no further comment on the matter.
The resignations drew national attention because of allegations that federal prosecutors' offices nationwide are being seeded with loyalists of President George Bush. Eight U.S. attorneys have been fired since August. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has denied that they were fired because they refused to bend to political pressures in criminal cases.
Before Paulose, now 34, became the top federal prosecutor in Minnesota last year, she worked closely with the Justice Department leaders now under fire from Congress, including stints as senior counsel to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty and special assistant to Gonzales.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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