More Gonzales fallout: Paulose under investigation by feds

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

Rachel Paulose was the Gonzo appointment as US Attorney in Minnesota. She is one of those federalist society baby-wingnuts.

The federal Office of Special Counsel is investigating allegations that Rachel Paulose, U.S. attorney for Minnesota, mishandled classified information, decided to fire the subordinate who called it to her attention, retaliated against others in the office who crossed her, and made racist remarks about one employee.

Paulose did not return phone calls seeking her comment. Black Ink will publish any response that she makes.

The investigation has been under way since June. The Office of Special Counsel, which handles complaints about retaliation against whistleblowers and prohibited personnel practices by political appointees such as Paulose (that’s her at right), appears to be taking the allegations seriously. Investigators from two of its regional offices have been to Minnesota to interview witnesses and may be back for more. I could not find out when the OSC, an independent executive branch agency that is not part of the Justice Department, might complete the investigation.

http://www.ericblackink.com/2007/09/18/paulose-under-investigation-by-feds/

[displacedtexan]

1. Well, it's about (FOX Censored Hyphenated Adjective) time!

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

2. Agreed -- Paulose is the worst

[swag]

3. Such a loathsome public figure.

Atrios reminds us of this:

http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s39841.shtml


When Rachel Paulose was sworn-in on March 9th as U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, she had already held the job for more than a year. The White House named Paulose to take over on an interim basis early in 2006, when Tom Heffelfinger resigned. In December, the U.S. Senate confirmed Paulose to hold the job permanently.

Paulose's investiture was the first ever held outside the Federal courthouse. Due to the large number of invited guests, the ceremony was held in the atrium at the University of St. Thomas law school. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS learned Paulose personally asked for free use of the space, which the school says it normally rents for $1,500. Representatives of two government watchdog groups, the Taxpayers League of Minnesota and Citizens Against Government Waste in Washington, DC call the request inappropriate.

While past investitures have been simple ceremonies, an internal document obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS details plans for a more elaborate event. The document lists a processional, a professional photographer, a color guard and a choir. All of those were included in the March 9 ceremony. Paulose's office called the document inaccurate and said it was discarded months ago.

[Bitwit1234]

4. She shouldn't have been APPOINTED in the first place

Since the very first day she took office controversy and illegal actions have taken place in her office. I think she should be fired and THEN investigated. Any one thing she has done is cause.

[swag]

5. More about Minnesota's Regal Attorney General

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/06/gonzales-assistant/
. . .

The U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota demonstrates the havoc that ensues when the Bush administration places politics over justice. Four top staffers to Rachel Paulose, the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, have voluntarily demoted themselves in protest of Paulose’s “highly dictatorial style” of managing. Paulose has also “earned a reputation for quoting Bible verses and dressing down underlings.”

According to news reports, the staffers’ dramatic moves were “intended to send a message to Washington — that 33-year-old Paulose is in over her head.” The Bush administration tried to prevent the resignations by sending a “top justice official to Minneapolis Thursday to mediate the situation. The mediation failed.”

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 — the assistant U.S. Attorney who recently took the Fifth rather than testify before Congress.

[swag]

6. "fat," "black," "lazy," and "ass."

Paulose committed large and small acts of retaliation against others in the office whom she accused of disloyalty to her. In one instance, after changing the job assignment of one employee, Paulose allegedly said that she would make the woman so miserable that she would want to quit. In some instances, Paulose allegedly ordered those in charge of performing job evaluations to downgrade the reviews of those she considered disloyal, or turned down requests that they be allowed to perform work outside the office. The allegation is that Paulose took these actions against employees for reasons other than the quality of their work, but rather for offenses like advising her that some actions she was contemplating would exceed her legal authority.

*Paulose allegedly denigrated one employee of the office, using the terms “fat,” “black,” “lazy” and “ass.”