Mukasey Faces Test In Minnesota

[babylonsister]

Justice Dept. Chief Faces a Test in Minnesota

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey takes over a department riven by accusations of political motivation.

By PHILIP SHENON
Published: November 13, 2007


MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 10 — If Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey wants to know what he is up against in restoring stability to the Justice Department, he is being urged by the department’s employees in Minnesota, as well as by prominent lawyers and law professors here, to consider an early visit to the United States Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis.

The 34-year-old lawyer who holds the job, Rachel K. Paulose, is routinely described by colleagues in Minneapolis and Washington as representative of much that went wrong at the department under Alberto R. Gonzales, the former attorney general. During his tenure, several United States attorneys were replaced with lawyers, like Ms. Paulose, who had relatively little experience as prosecutors or managers but were considered fiercely loyal to the Bush administration.

Ms. Paulose is the focus of a wide-ranging investigation by the Office of Special Counsel, a federal watchdog agency charged with protecting the rights of government workers.

Administration officials with knowledge of the inquiry say it centers on accusations that Ms. Paulose mishandled classified documents, retaliated against at least one staff member who complained about her management and used a racial epithet in reference to another employee. She has denied the accusations.

Even her defenders say Ms. Paulose made early missteps as a manager. In April, she was the target of a staff revolt when three top deputies stepped down from the administrative part of their jobs in protest over her leadership.

She has also alienated much of the state’s Congressional delegation, including Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican who endorsed her nomination last year. Mr. Coleman said in a statement that in a recent meeting, he asked Mr. Mukasey, who was sworn in Friday as attorney general, to give priority to reviewing the operations of the Minnesota office.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/washington/13justice.html?_r=2&ex=1352696400&en=e3459cc1f334aa82&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. It must be really bad if Coleman is asking for an investigation

but will this new AG do anything about it?

[babylonsister]

2. That was my first thought, too (about Coleman); as for the new AG,

I think this will be the first big test to see which way he's going to rule. I'm not so hopeful, but we'll see.