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Wednesday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer reports the FBI is devoting more special agents to public corruption cases now than it has in years. “The agency has 2,500 bribery-related investigations nationwide, a 50 percent increase from five years ago.” |
December 11, 2008
FBI Investigations of Public Corruption Increasing
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Bill, if Obama is to follow a recent precedent, he will most likely fire all Federal Attorneys shortly after he takes office. How will this affect the Blago investigation, as well as other investigations into public corruption around the country?
Comment by Dan — December 11, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
Dan,
No, not all federal attorneys will be fired.
There are 93 United States Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. United States Attorneys are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, the President of the United States, with advice and consent of the United States Senate. One United States Attorney is assigned to each of the judicial districts, with the exception of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands where a single United States Attorney serves in both districts. Each United States Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer of the United States within his or her particular jurisdiction.
For example, Tom Moss is the United States Attorney for the District of Idaho. He has several assistant US Attorneys (AUSAs) working for him with offices in Boise, Coeur d’Alene, and Pocatello. (Moss will be retiring, so a new USA will be appointed.)
While the US Attorney in each district serves at the discretion of the President, the AUSAs are not political appointees. Some AUSAs may resign for a variety of reasons, but none should be fired because of their real or perceived political affiliation. Likewise, none should be hired because of their real or perceived political affiliation. See my post Was Gonzales’ Justice Department Guilty of Politicized Hiring? on July 28, 2008.
The answer is that the change of some or even all of the US Attorneys should have very little effect on any ongoing investigation or prosecution.
Comment by Bill — December 11, 2008 @ 4:59 pm