Tag Archives: U.S. Attorney

Los Angeles Area

New U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles has a new head. Thomas P. O’Brien, who has been heading the department since 2005, appears to be a pretty popular selection with the rest of the office.

… he is viewed as a hands-on manager who helped maintain morale and drove prosecutors at a time of disheartened staff and funding shortages.

His appointment also shores up credibility for the office at a time when the Justice Department is reeling under accusations that nine U.S. attorneys were fired for political reasons.

O’Brien replaces George S. Cardona, who replaced Debra Wong Yang. And it appears that O’Brien is being touted as a non-partisan appointee.

O’Brien is not known to be politically active or well-connected in Washington. Some legal observers have suggested the U.S. attorney scandal pushed Bush to pick O’Brien over more partisan candidates.

O’Brien has his work cut out for him. His district is the most populace in the country. And he’s also going to have to deal with personnel shortages related to a hiring freeze. The freeze has since been lifted but there are quite a few vacancies he’ll have to fill to bring the office up to full speed.
Here’s to hoping he’s one of the good guys and wishing him good luck.

Uncategorized

“Duke” Cunningham Prosecutor fired from U.S. Atty’s Office

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(this is freakin classic – promoted by Todd Beeton)

The Bush Adminstration is well known for keeping its people on board for loyalty. Loyalty is far more important than a job well done or upholding the oath of office. So the reports that are coming about U.S. Atty Carol Lam forced resignation shouldn’t be surprising.

The official word is that her job performance has been lacking, yet she has been known to have prosecuted high-level cases such as Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s corruption case, corruption surrounding two San Diego Councilmen (one was eventually reversed) and recently taking on the ironic case of the Fence Company that hired illegal immigrants to build the fence along the U.S. – Mexico border.

Crossposted at Joshing Politics

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

Job performance said to be behind White House firing
By Kelly Thornton and Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS

January 12, 2007

The Bush administration has quietly asked San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, best known for her high-profile prosecutions of politicians and corporate executives, to resign her post, a law enforcement official said.

Lam, a Bush appointee who took the helm in 2002, was targeted because of job performance issues – in particular that she failed to make smuggling and gun cases a top priority, said the official, who declined to be identified because Lam has yet to step down.

Lam has had high-profile successes during her tenure, such as the Randy “Duke” Cunningham bribery case – but she alienated herself from bosses at the Justice Department because she is outspoken and independent, said local lawyers familiar with her policies.

It is possible that her job performance was the issue. Yet what exactly was it about her performance? Was it about taking on high-profile Republicans like the “Dukester” or not prosecuting enough criminals that smuggle guns and drugs? As you might know, the CIA has recently stepped in to push back further investigations into the implications of Cunningham’s case. Regardless, it is very interesting how the Adminstration is pushing her resignation under such secrecy (though it is SOP for Bush). If her performance was so bad, why not come out and say it?

The issue certainly perplexes fmr federal prosecutor Michael Attanasio:

“It’s virtually unprecedented to fire a U.S. Attorney absent some misconduct in office,” said criminal defense attorney Michael Attanasio, a former federal prosecutor.

“This office has clearly made a priority of investigating and prosecuting white collar offenses and has had occasional success doing so,” he said. “One would think that would be valued by any administration, even if it meant fewer resources were devoted to routine and repetitive border crimes.”

Everything done by Bush is ‘virtually unprecedented,’ so why should this case be any different. Unless you go along with what Bush says to the letter, your job security is in trouble. Though if you toe the line, screw the country and the troops, you can stay for years beyond it is time to be kicked out.

Update: Speaking of her performance, Norm DePlume posted this in the comments:

United States Attorney Lam is the recipient of both the Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney, and the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.

PDF file detailing her award from Oct. 20, 2006