Senators want Mercer to select 1 job(USA waiting for confirmation of #3 position in DOJ)

[maddezmom]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Montana's two Democratic senators are calling for the state's U.S. attorney to resign or give up his job as the No. 3 official at the Justice Department.

U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer has kept his job in Montana as he waits to be confirmed by the Senate as associate deputy general. But that job may be threatened as Mercer has been involved in a widening investigation into whether the department inappropriately fired several U.S. attorneys.

"I don't think it's appropriate for Mr. Mercer to hold both of these jobs," Democratic Sen. Jon Tester said in a statement. "Montana needs a full-time U.S. attorney."

A spokesman for Sen. Max Baucus said the senator is hearing from attorneys and judges in the state who say the U.S. attorney's office is stretched too thin.

Read more: http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/03/21/news/state/48-mercer.txt

[maddezmom]

1. AG defends job done by state's U.S. attorney

AG defends job done by state's U.S. attorney
By CHARLES S. JOHNSON
Gazette State Bureau

11/15/05

HELENA - U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has rejected a call by Montana's chief federal judge to replace Bill Mercer as Montana's U.S. attorney for allegedly violating a residency law and neglecting his work here while also holding a temporary Justice Department job in Washington, D.C.

Chief U.S. District Judge Don Molloy, saying he was writing on behalf of Montana's federal judges, urged Gonzales in an Oct. 20 letter to take immediate action to remove Mercer.

Because of Mercer's absence from Montana, the U.S. attorney's office here faces a "lack of leadership" that is "creating untoward difficulties for the court, and it appears for the prosecutors assigned to various tasks in Montana," the Missoula judge wrote.

"The level of dissatisfaction with the current situation is high, not only among the judges but with others as well," Molloy wrote.

Gonzales turned down Molloy's request.

more:http://www.billingsgazette.com/newdex.php?display=rednews/2005/11/15/build/state/35-ag-attorney.inc


great blog entry about Mercer here:
Matt Singer :: Subpoena Bill Mercer? Why Not Just Let Him Go.
http://www.leftinthewest.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=338