Judiciary Committee (Conyers) To Interview Paulose, Others

[babylonsister]

http://wcco.com/local/local_story_106203300.html

Judiciary Committee To Interview Paulose, Others

(AP) Minneapolis
The House Judiciary Committee wants to interview U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Rachel Paulose as it continues its investigation into the firings of eight federal prosecutors.

Rep. John Conyers Jr., chairman of the committee, said he wants to interview Paulose and others based on an initial round of interviews and on a review of documents released by the Department of Justice. The request was made in a Monday letter to Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Hertling.

"In our continuing effort to determine the truth behind these firings, we believe that these future interviews will also provide information which we may not already have but that is critical to our investigation nonetheless," the letter said.

Conyers, D-Mich., said in the letter that the interviews would be voluntary.

A spokeswoman for Paulose could not be reached for comment after regular business hours Monday.

Paulose, who had served as a top Justice Department counsel and special assistant to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, was appointed interim U.S. attorney in Minnesota in March 2006. Her predecessor was not among the eight fired U.S. attorneys, but critics have suggested her appointment was an example of political cronyism.

This month, three lawyers in Paulose's office resigned from their top management posts, amid questions about the 34-year-old's management style and experience.

more...

[Bitwit1234]

1. Wish he could fire her ass, no body but the stupid right wing

nut coleman wanted her anyway....But thank goodness we can use this to use against him to vote him out of office.

[babylonsister]

2. Coleman is now disenchanted, too:

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/11/coleman-paulose /

Sen. Coleman Now Backtracking From U.S. Attorney He Once Championed

colemangreen.jpg In 2006, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) championed the nomination of Rachel Paulose to U.S. attorney in Minnesota. Last week, four top staffers to Paulose voluntarily demoted themselves in protest of Paulose’s “highly dictatorial style” of managing. Immediately after the resignations, Coleman’s office issued a statement of unqualified support for Paulose:

Rachel Paulose was nominated to be U.S. Attorney based solely on her exemplary qualifications and experience. She was confirmed with the bipartisan support of Senator Coleman, former Senator Dayton, and the entire United States Senate. She replaced someone who resigned, not someone who was fired, and her nomination should not be confused with the current controversy over the recent dismissal of several U.S. attorneys in other jurisdictions.

But a look at Paulose’s background indicates that she was handpicked by the Justice Department because of her personal connections, rather than her professional qualifications. “She was a special assistant to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, worked as a senior counsel for deputy attorney general Paul McNulty and is best buds with Monica Goodling.”

With the national media now highlighting the Paulose case, Coleman is backing away from his previous statements of support, saying that Paulose needs to explain her situation “given the recent issues related to the U.S. attorneys nationwide.” In a letter to Paulose he wrote:

As you know, your confirmation to be U.S. attorney enjoyed bipartisan support and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate because of your outstanding qualifications. At the same time, there are clearly managerial issues that need to be acknowledged and rectified. … Given recent issues related to U.S. attorneys nationwide that have now extended to your own position, I urge you to take immediate action to shed light on the resignations and address the concerns which have been raised relative to your management skills.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) has called on Congress to look into the case, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has written to the Justice Department requesting information that shows “any political pressure by the Justice Department or White House.”

[Patsy Stone]

3. Mr. Biskupic goes to Washington

That should be a fun day.

[babylonsister]

4. Absolutely, Patsy!!

:hi:

[Supersedeas]

6. when he goes, he better bring all documents and email relating to his retention & the Thompson case

[Patsy Stone]

8. Yep

I wanna hear about all of it.

[bobthedrummer]

7. Some Biskupic background from Laughing Coyote's awesome Email Gate thread

here's just a bit of the mess we have in Wisconsin involving USA Biskupic et al
(give this cross-post a bit of time to load because the parent thread is monumental for researchers and Laughing Coyote deserves our appreciation for his work)

"Various WI media reporting Biskupic as stating that Gonzales questioned..."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x523978#657415

[Igel]

5. Oddly, I'd have thought the story would have had another

bit of info after this sentence:

"Paulose, who had served as a top Justice Department counsel and special assistant to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, was appointed interim U.S. attorney in Minnesota in March 2006."

Something to the effect that the Senate confirmed her (even though the Senate Judiciary Committee didn't approve it) in 12/06. The story makes it sound like she's one of the US attorney's that were appointed without Senate confirmation.

[hootinholler]

9. Freepers everywhere wonder why he can't just walk down to the speaker's office and talk.

I mean why would he need to invite Pelosi for an interview.

Odd mood tonight, must be the trolls.

-Hoot

Jesus Christ on a trailer hitch,, I just mis-spelled Pelosi