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THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE VANISHING PROSECUTORS. Senator Dianne Feinstein was one of the first to make a public note of the odd disappearance of so many U.S. attorneys, replaced by interim appointments by the Bush administration -- appointments which are not subject to Senate confirmation and which can last for the remainder of the Bush era. Feinstein states:
While the administration has confirmed that 5 to 10 U.S. Attorneys have been asked to leave, I have not been given specific details about why these individuals were asked to leave. Around the country, though, U.S. Attorneys are bringing many of the most important and complex cases being prosecuted. They are responsible for taking the lead on public corruption cases and many of the antiterrorist efforts in the country. As a matter of fact, we just had the head of the FBI, Bob Mueller, come before the Judiciary Committee at our oversight hearing and tell us how they have dropped the priority of violent crime prosecution and, instead, are taking up public corruption cases; ergo, it only follows that the U.S. Attorneys would be prosecuting public corruption cases.Interesting. And perhaps an undesirable consequence of the Patriot Act.
--J. Goodrich
