| From September 2001 until February 2006, Thomas B. Heffelfinger served as the United States Attorney for the Minnesota district. It was his second stint in the position, also having served under George H.W. Bush from 1991-1993.
In mid-February 2006, Heffelfinger unexpectedly announced his resignation from the post, effective February 28th. Media reports from around that time are vague on the reason for Heffelfinger's departure. The Pioneer Press reported 2/15/06 that his intention to resign "may have been an open secret within the prosecutorial community," but gave no reason for his resignation. NPR reported that the decision to step down had nothing to do with his role investigating the Red Lake school shootings. The Star Tribune (2/15/06) got the most specifics, which is not saying much:
Heffelfinger, 58, announced Tuesday that he would resign Feb. 28 and return to private practice.
"There's never a good time to quit as U.S. attorney because there's always new crimes, new cases," he said. "It's an entirely personal reason, balancing the best needs of the office and the best needs of my family."
He declined to discuss the reason specifically, beyond saying financial considerations were part of it.
"Being in government service has meant my family has made sacrifices," he said.
"Personal reasons." "Spend more time with the family." That's what they all say. At the time, however, Heffelfinger's departure did not raise eyebrows--but in the light of recent revelations about the forced resignations of U.S. Attorneys across the country, it is a question worth asking: was Heffelfinger asked or encouraged to resign by higher-ups at the DOJ? I ask because the recent hearings have produced information like this, from Daniel Bogden, former U.S.A. from Nevada, who was told by a DOJ official that,
"the administration has a very short, two year window of opportunity concerning United States Attorney positions" and that "this would be an opportunity to put others in those positions so they could build their resumes, get experience as a United States Attorney, so that for future opportunities, being a federal judge or another political type position, they would be better enhanced to do so."
The Pioneer Press (sort of) asked him if he was pushed out, and got a negative, without pushing too hard:
Heffelfinger ... was expected to continue in the job but surprised the Justice Department when he announced his resignation. "I left for personal and financial reasons and delayed announcing my departure until the last minute to avoid being a lame duck," Heffelfinger says.
Whether he resigned for personal reasons or was pushed out for political reasons, Mr. Heffelfinger left his post on February 28th, 2006.
On February 17th, 2006, 33-year-old Rachel Paulose was announced as the replacement for Heffelfinger. It was then that the world was introduced to Ms. Paulose, and the facts about her past began to trickle out in various articles, the most comprehensive of which is this India West article (accessed through the Google cache.) As best I understand it, Paulose graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota in 1994, and shipped off to Yale Law School. After graduating, from 1997-1998, she worked as a law clerk for Judge James Loken on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. From 1998-1999, she was a lawyer for the Attorney General's Honors Program. She then served as Assistant United States Attorney for the Minnesota district from 1999 until 2002. The sources are confused on when she worked in the private sector, but she apparently worked for Minneapolis-based Dorsey & Whitney, as well as Williams & Connolly in Washington. Immediately prior to her appointment, she worked in the U.S. Attorney General's office as senior counsel to Paul McNulty, U.S. Deputy Attorney, and special assistant to A.G. Alberto Gonzales. After the Justice Department selected her for the U.S.A. position, she served in an interim capacity until January 9th, 2007, when she was officially confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Paulose was nominated for the post by Sen. Norm Coleman. Some might wonder why a 33-year-old woman--a woman with quite impressive credentials, it's true, but young nonetheless--would be promoted from relative obscurity to be the top prosecutor in the Minnesota district. In fact, the Pioneer Press reported, in this otherwise obsequiously glowing puff piece, that the circumstances surrounding Paulose's appointment were unusual:
[The] appointment a year ago as U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota was headline news and raised a few eyebrows.The appointment departed from normal practice. For the first time in decades, an interim U.S. attorney was sent directly from the Department of Justice to fill the job in Minnesota. Traditionally, interim appointees have come from within the Minnesota office, promoted either from first assistant U.S. attorney or chief of the criminal division. "There were plenty of women who wanted that job - and plenty of men, too," says A.M. "Sandy" Keith, former chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. So what made Paulose the right choice? Senator Coleman praised her as "capable [and] experienced," and said he was "confident [that] Rachel will do an exemplary job." But a little research reveals more reasons Paulose may have gotten the nod--her connections to Republican politics and the conservative movement:
-According to IndiaWest, Paulose is "a registered Republican and has worked for GOP candidates," though she cites a "lack of involvement in big-donor contributing and fundraising" as evidence that she will run her office in a non-partisan manner. However, FEC records show that Paulose has donated $1,500 to Norm Coleman's campaign since November 2005 (go here and search for 'Paulose.')
-An article by McClatchy Newspapers states that, "according to a former boss, [Paulose] has been a member of the secretive, ideologically conservative Federalist Society," an organization "dedicated to reforming the current legal order" by "developing and promoting far-right positions and influencing who will become judges, top government officials, and decision-makers," according to People for the American Way. "Many members of the Federalist Society advocate a rollback of civil rights measures, reproductive choice, labor and employment regulations, and environmental protections," PFAW states.
-Paulose's friends outside government include Scott "The Big Trunk" Johnson of the far-right PowerLine blog (who also thinks she should "go into modelling.")
Another piece of the puzzle is Paulose's connection to the Department of Justice. As special assistant to Alberto Gonzales and special senior counsel to Deputy AG Paul McNulty, Paulose was in a good position to be noticed as an "up-and-comer" in the conservative movement who needed some experience in a high-ranking appointment so she could later serve as a federal judge or run for office.
In addition, Paul McNulty has so far played a key role in the developing U.S. Attorneys scandal. While Gonzales himself has tried to stay out of the limelight (until this editorial yesterday in USA Today), McNulty has been at the thick of things. He's the one who originally claimed the Gonzales Seven were axed for "performance-related" issues. The fired attorneys begged to differ, and presented evidence that they had performed their duties admirably. Mr. McNulty was forced to admit that one U.S.A., Bud Cummins, in the words of Sen. Patrick Leahy,
had no "performance problems," but was removed merely to give an opportunity to Mr. [J. Timothy] Griffin*, a person whom he admitted was not the "best person possible" for the job and who is reported to have been involved in an effort during the 2004 election to challenge voting by primarily African-American voters serving in the Armed Forces overseas. This was not a vacancy created by necessity or emergency. This was a vacancy created by choice to advance a political crony.
[*ed: Before his appointment as an interim U.S.A., this Mr. Griffin was an opposition researcher working for Karl Rove, digging up dirt on Democrats.]
Another attorney that Mr. McNulty trashed, New Mexico's David Iglesias, was actually praised as "one of the [DOJ's] best prosecutors" by McNulty's predecessor in the Deputy A.G. slot. Iglesias was the U.S.A. who felt "sick" and "leaned on" when he was called by two sitting members of Congress inquiring whether he was going to indict Democrats for corruption before the November 2006 elections, actions that likely violated Congressional ethics rules about interference in ongoing investigations.
Mr. McNulty's chief of staff, Michael Elston, is in hot water this week for making what one of the fired U.S.A.s described as a threatening phone call regarding his push-back against the "performance-related" dismissal mantra. Bud Cummins wrote in an e-mail,
The essence of [Elston's] message was that they feel like they are taking unnecessary flak to avoid trashing each of us specificially or further, but if they feel like any of us intend to continue to offer quotes to the press, or organize behind the scenes congressional pressure, then they would feel forced to somehow pull their gloves off and offer public criticisms to defend their actions more fully.... I was tempted to challenge him and say something movie-like such as "are you threatening ME???", but instead I kind of shrugged it off...
No word on whether Elston and Paulose worked together, but add it all up, and the pieces are beginning to come together. An experienced and, by all accounts, well-respected U.S. Attorney (Heffelfinger) unexpectedly resigns his post. A young, attractive, minority woman-- perfect for a diversity-starved GOP-- with strong ties to the Republican Party and the conservative movement, is promoted from her position at the Department of Justice over the top of "plenty" of others who wanted the job, doubtless some more qualified and experienced, and against the decades-long tradition of promoting one of the top employees at the Minnesota office. Just after she is confirmed by the Senate, reports begin to emerge of a "purge" of experienced U.S. Attorneys, and their replacements seem chosen more for their political connections than for their experience.
As the Senate and House hearings on the U.S. Attorneys scandal progress, watch closely. I think we may find more threads that lead back to Paulose.
[edit 8:38 AM: fixed minor error] |
