Rachel Paulose

DOJ Diva of the Day: Rachel Paulose

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Rachel Paulose Rachel K Paulose Rachel Kunjummen Paulose Above the Law blog.jpgMany tipsters have written in to ask us why we haven’t written about a certain delicious DOJ diva: U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose (D. Minn.), who has just been reassigned to Main Justice. From the New York Times:

The embattled United States attorney in Minnesota announced today that she would be stepping down to go work at the Justice Department in Washington on legal policy issues.

The announcement by the prosecutor, Rachel K. Paulose, 34, came in the wake of reports of new staff turmoil in her office, with at least one senior lawyer resigning from his management post in Minneapolis on Friday in a protest over her leadership. Three other managers gave up their administrative jobs in a similar protest in April.

Her resignation message appears here.
Some of you claim that we overuse the term “diva.” But diva is as diva does:

In an unusual public statement on a conservative blog last week, Ms. Paulose suggested that she was a victim of “McCarthyite hysteria that permits the anonymous smearing of any public servant who is now, or ever may have been, a member of the Federalist Society, a person or faith and/or a conservative (especially a young, conservative woman of color).”

For more evidence of diva-hood, see Eric Blank:

Paulose alienated most of the office staff with a leadership style that was described as insulting, an inability to listen respectfully to opinions that ran contrary to her own. Recently, she has been under investigation by two federal agencies for a series of alleged misdeeds, mostly involving the way she treated the staff but also her alleged improper handling of classified national security materials. She was also the subject of a very negative job review, based substantially on her management style.

One tipster writes, referring back to the controversy over her allegedly extravagant investiture as U.S. Attorney: “A diva reassigned. Will she have a coronation when she gets back to DC?”
Lots of links and more discussion, including disclosure about our prior interactions with Ms. Paulose, after the jump.

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DOJ Diva Alert! Meet U.S. Attorney Rachel K. Paulose

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Rachel Paulose Rachel K Paulose Rachel Kunjummen Paulose Above the Law blog.jpgAs we noticed from your comments on our Monica Goodling “in memoriam” post, you know all about Rachel Paulose, the divalicious U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota. Paulose, who is reportedly “best buds” with Goodling, is another young, conservative, high-powered Justice Department lawyer, who now finds herself surrounded by controversy.
Last month, there was a mini-controversy over the extravagance of Paulose’s investiture as U.S. Attorney. That fabulous event, described by some as “a coronation,” featured a Marine Corps color guard and a performance by a municipal choir. But as today’s New York Times notes, “the complaints about Ms. Paulose’s investiture seem mild in comparison with the uproar ignited on Thursday.”
So what happened on Thursday? Here’s a concise summary:

It’s a major shakeup at the offices of new U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose. Four of her top staff voluntarily demoted themselves Thursday, fed up with Paulose, who, after just months on the job, has earned a reputation for quoting Bible verses and dressing down underlings.

Oh my goodness. Absolutely diva-licious!

Deputy U.S. Attorney John Marti is just one of the people dropping themselves in rank to simply [an assistant] U.S. Attorney position. Also making the move are the heads of Paulose’s criminal and civil divisions and the top administrative officer. The move is intended to send a message to Washington – that 33-year-old Paulose is in over her head.

Did Main Justice get the message? Maybe. According to today’s Washington Post, “The department was so alarmed that it sent a Washington-based Justice official to Minneapolis this week to try to talk the three out of their plans, officials said.” But the effort was unsuccessful:

John Kelly, deputy director of the Justice Department’s executive office of U.S Attorneys, visited Minneapolis on Thursday to try to resolve the situation…. The prosecutors stepped down after Kelly’s visit.

It was coordinated action by the “demotees,” according to TPM:

A source said managers had been unhappy with Paulose and decided to collectively resign. “They did it jointly because they couldn’t stand her anymore,” the source said, citing what been described as her “dictatorial management style and general lack of management experience.”

What do we think of all this? As one of you suggested, we actually overlapped in law school with Paulose, who was two years ahead of us. We were friendly with her. And we have some interesting tidbits to share about this magnificent diva, based on our interactions with her. (We may even reprint a juicy email exchange we had with her, some time ago, which contains hints of her future divahood.)
But that will have to wait until after the holiday weekend. In the meantime, check out the cornucopia of links, after the jump.

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