Could this be a mini-U.S. Attorneys firing scandal in the making? That's what a just-released report from the Justice Department's inspector general seems to suggest. From the New York Times:

Justice Department officials over the last six years illegally used "political or ideological" factors to hire new lawyers into an elite recruitment program, tapping law school graduates with conservative credentials over those with liberal-sounding resumes, a new report found Tuesday.

The blistering report, prepared by the Justice Department's inspector general, is the first in what will be a series of investigations growing out of last year's scandal over the firings of nine United States attorneys. It appeared to confirm for the first time in an official examination many of the allegations from critics who charged that the Justice Department had become overly politicized during the Bush administration.

One reader who sent the article our way wrote: "Shocker." A second quipped: "Quelle surprise." To read the 115-page report, click here (PDF, via the WSJ).

Update: From a tipster comes this interesting info:

DOJ hiring practice report out. Doesn't look good, though I would certainly say they've revamped the system in the last year or so. I was hired through Honors last fall to start this coming fall, and my resume is very leftist. I can say the same for two friends who were also hired through Honors last year.

Further Update: Lots of good stuff in the comments, including highlights from the report. E.g.:

2002 applicants: ACS, 0-7; FedSoc, 27-2.
2006 applicants: ACS, 5-2; FedSoc, 15-4.

Report Sees Illegal Hiring Practices at Justice Department [New York Times]
Auditors Say Justice Dept. Improperly Screened for Political Ties [Washington Post]
IG Report: Greenpeace Bad, Federalist Society Good [WSJ Law Blog]

We've said it before and we'll say it again. The economy must be bad if a former U.S. Attorney General can't get a job.

And your life must be pretty bad if you're a former U.S. Attorney General who can't find a job, and some columnist in Austin is making lots of fun of you. John Kelso of the Austin American-Statesman wrote a column yesterday titled Maybe former A.G. Gonzales could get a job being paid by the hour to keep his mouth shut. AG AG's frequent "I don't recall" answers during Senate testimony provide inspiration for many of Kelso's jokes:

What holiday do you think of when you think of Alberto R. Gonzales? With me, it's always Mother's Day. Why? Simple. Because with Gonzales, mum's the word.

I feel sorry for anybody out there who can't find a job, even a guy like Gonzales who is still making a bunch of money from speaking engagements. As bad as Gonzales' memory is, he must use notes.

Maybe the problem is that when the job interviewers ask him what his last job was, he's telling them that he doesn't remember. Can't say as I blame him. If I were him, I'd tell them I used to work at Denny's.

It's pretty traditional for law firms to bring former partners back after they've served in government -- e.g., Mary Jo White and Debevoise, Michael Mukasey and Patterson Belknap -- but AG AG's former firm is apparently not biting, despite his having served as America's top lawyer. A tipster tells us:

Several months ago, I heard that even V&E [Vinson & Elkins] was not interested in having Gonzales back – looks like there are no takers. How long do you think he’ll be able to support himself on speakers’ gigs?

Locke Liddell took Harriet Miers back. Apparently, endorsing torture and getting caught in the U.S. Attorney firing scandal is worse than losing the Supreme Court popularity contest and having many bad hair days.

In Searching for New Job, Gonzales Sees No Takers [New York Times]
Maybe former A.G. Gonzales could get a job being paid by the hour to keep his mouth shut [The Austin American-Statesman]

Veteran litigator Joseph Russoniello, recently nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, previously served as senior counsel in the San Francisco office of Cooley Godward Kronish. If he's confirmed, which is looking likely, one would expect him to take a big pay cut as he moves from private practice to government service. The current Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, earned $1,993,367 over 21 months while at Patterson Belknap; now, as AG, he takes home $186,600 a year.

But Joe Russoniello won't be taking such a huge pay cut. A reader observes:

Buried at the end of a Recorder article (subscription) about a DOJ report about Joe Russoniello’s possible conflicts or interest due to his $1.5 million stock portfolio is Joe’s last year’s compensation from Cooley Godward. This is the part that I found interesting. Why? Because it’s so low.

What do you think Cooley Godward was paying the ex-U.S. Attorney to serve as counsel to the firm? Half a million? A million? No.... $244,802!

In light of that paycheck -- which, while handsome by normal standards, is a pittance by Biglaw ones -- we hope that Russoniello's Cooley gig was super-cushy, with minimal billing required. His paycheck is pretty much equal to that of a third-year associate at Cravath, all in (base of $180,000, year-end bonus of $45,000, and special bonus of $20,000). But how many Cravath third-years can claim to have served as U.S. Attorney in a major city for eight years, as Joseph Russoniello did (1982-1990)?

Fighting Crime May Not Pay [The Recorder (subscription)]
Taking Stock of The DOJ's Next Targets [Legal Pad]

* Vick to be sentenced. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

* He Flatley denied the allegations, and apparently he was telling the truth. [AP via Reno Gazette-Journal]

* All's well that ends well for fired U.S. Attorneys. [Los Angeles Times via How Appealing]

* And home will come lawyer, baby and all. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

* First thing we do, let's detain all the lawyers. [Jurist]

* And speaking of detained lawyers... [Jurist]

Of all the characters in the U.S. Attorney firings drama, Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, was not our favorite. When he testified on Capitol Hill, he was earnest, sweaty, and decidedly non-fabulous -- unlike Monica Goodling, who took the Senate Judiciary Committee by storm with a dazzling performance.

But even though his government service ended inauspiciously, Sampson has done just fine for himself. From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Three Washington lawyers with Utah ties - including the chief of staff to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales - are joining the food and drug practice at the firm Hunton & Williams.

D. Kyle Sampson, a Cedar City native, was Gonzales' chief of staff at the Justice Department until he resigned amid a controversy over the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys, a move that spawned congressional investigations. Sampson, who compiled the list of attorneys who were fired, testified for hours before House and Senate committees in public hearings and private interviews.

Before joining the Justice Department he was an Associate Counsel to the President at the White House, was director of personnel for the Bush administration, and was an aide to Sen. Orrin Hatch on the Judiciary Committee. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Chicago University law school.

We wonder if the Mormon Mafia had a hand in his hiring. They are to the legal world what the Gay Mafia is to fashion!

Sampson, ex-aide to Gonzales, joins law firm [Salt Lake Tribune]

Back in June, we predicted that veteran litigator Joseph Russoniello, of Cooley Godward Kronish in San Francisco, would be nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District. Months later, no nominee has been named. As the folks over at Legal Pad noted last month, it's a bit strange -- especially since Ruossoniello's background check was apparently completed some time ago.

Meanwhile, the office remains in the capable hands of the well-regarded Scott Schools, who will be officially appointed as interim United States Attorney later this week.

But don't expect Schools to stick around forever. We hear that he'll be heading over to take a high-level job at Main Justice (possibly in the Deputy Attorney General's office).

It seems that Schools will be missed in the Northern District. From a source in the N.D. Cal.:

People seem to like him, and he makes an effort to get to know line AUSAs. He shows up at social events, like baby showers and happy hours, which I think is a huge change from former leadership.

If you have any info on these personnel changes, feel free to drop us a line. Thanks.

Northern District of California Announces Appointment of Scott N Schools as Interim United States Attorney [N.D. Cal.]
Say It Is (or Isn't) So, Joe [Legal Pad]

Earlier: Musical Chairs: A New U.S. Attorney for San Francisco?
U.S. Attorney Joe Russoniello? Not So Fast

Here are some of the comments appended to our recent post about Gibson Dunn's snazzy new website:

"I like the pictures on the main directory. Those are the best part. Except that they don't have too many women, and one of the women is in a very high school girl peek-a-boo around the brick wall pose. They'd never put up a picture of a man doing that."

"I agree... Shame on you, peek-a-boo posing Asian woman!"

"Uh, that 'peek-a-boo posing Asian woman' is Debra Yang, the former U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, whom GDC allegedly paid a $1 mil signing bonus. She can peek-a-boo around whatever the hell she wants to peek-a-boo around."

"Debra Yang's picture's been taken down."

"Wait, the peek-a-boo is still there. Now spotted in the mix over at Practices. Please, GDC, put up a different picture of Ms. Yang."

Curious to see what all the fuss is about? Check out the controversial photo of Gibson Dunn partner (and former U.S. attorney) Debra Wong Yang, after the jump.

We've done relatively little about the nomination of former judge Michael Mukasey to serve as attorney general. While the WSJ Law Blog was dredging up his third-grade book reports -- okay, not quite, but some college newspaper articles that he may or may not have written -- we didn't have much. But now we'd like to atone for that, with a piece we just did for the New York Observer.

We speculate that Michael Mukasey might be in D.C. longer than he might expect, especially if his good friend Rudy Giuliani wins the presidency (and possibly even if fellow New Yorker Hillary Clinton does). We discuss how he might have come to be picked as AG, despite not being a D.C. denizen like Ted Olson, Laurence Silberman, or George Terwilliger:

Mr. Mukasey was simply more of a known quantity to the White House than the typical Beltway outsider. The White House staff includes three former assistant U.S. attorneys from Manhattan, as well as other ex-New York lawyers who regularly practiced before Mukasey as a judge. Among the New Yorkers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr. Mukasey enjoyed great respect, and was viewed as ideologically acceptable too, especially on war on terror issues.

The rest of the piece, including a discussion of what might be called the Curse of the Southern District (from President Bush's point of view), is available here.

Mr. Mukasey Goes to Washington [New York Observer]
An Old Friend Joins Giuliani in a Spotlight [New York Times]

Billy Merck here, once again filling in for Lat while he squeezes out some more vacation before the summer gets away from us. We'll be here today and Laurie Lin will be here tomorrow; Lat's back next week.

We start today with an update on a case from Georgia with which you're all probably at least a little familiar. We reported earlier here on the case of Genarlow Wilson, the Georgia man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17 years old. The Georgia statute under which he was convicted has since been amended to make the same offense a misdemeanor, but the change was not made retroactive to Wilson's case.

On June 11, Wilson's habeas corpus petition was granted on the basis that the 10-year sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment; as a result Wilson's offense was changed to a misdemeanor, he was given credit for the more than two years already served in jail, and he would no longer have to register as a sex offender. Attorney General Thurbert Baker has appealed this decision, drawing criticism from many who question the need to keep Wilson in jail any longer than he has already been there.

Which leads us to the new part of the story. Douglas County District Attorney David McDade, who prosecuted the case against Wilson, has been there every step of the way to ensure not only that Wilson went to jail, but that he stayed there. When the state legislature considered bills last year and this year that would have amended the statute again to make it apply retroactively to Wilson's case, McDade was there lobbying against the bills.

And evidently, as part of his efforts, McDade has made available to legislators and seemingly anyone else who wanted one copies of the videtape of the sexual encounter that got Wilson convicted. Many in Georgia have begun to question why McDade has been so free with the distribution of the tape, particularly since the distribution, receipt, and possession of it appears to violate Georgia and federal law.

More on McDade's Nifong-like behavior after the jump.

Related:
Attorney general: Wilson ruling could free molesters [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Wilson's legal tactics challenged[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Judge says no bond for Genarlow Wilson, cancels hearing[Fulton County Daily Report]
Sharpton embraces relatives at rally for Gernarlow Wilson[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
State Supreme Court moves up Genarlow Wilson hearing[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Okay, working at the U.S. Department of Justice may not be a party these days. But the recently announced, imminent departure of Assistant Attorney General Rachel L. Brand -- her last day at the DOJ's Office of Legal Policy is July 9 -- had nothing to do with recent controversies (contrary to some insinuations).

As tout le monde in D.C. legal circles knows, the fabulous Brand -- known to some as the Prom Queen -- was planning to step down for some time. The reason? She and her husband, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Cohn, are expecting a baby boy next month.

The lede of this Reuters report, while technically accurate, is therefore misleading. Thankfully, the Washington Post was more accurate:

[T]he Justice Department announced that Rachel Brand, assistant attorney general for legal policy, is resigning....

Justice officials said she plans to leave July 9 and stay at home with her first child, due this summer.

Brand, who worked on the renewal of the USA Patriot Act last year and the confirmation of two Supreme Court justices in 2005, is not known to have played a direct role in the U.S. attorneys' removal.

"[N]ot known to have played a direct role" -- maybe because she didn't? If she had, rest assured that Chuck & Friends would have invited her over to Capitol Hill for a televised chat.

[D]epartment officials have said that Gonzales's former chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, asked her whether she might want to replace a Michigan prosecutor who was forced out. Though interested at first, Brand did not apply for the job.

Yes, Brand shrewdly did not throw her hat into that ring. As we previously noted:

In declining to be considered, Rachel Brand showed the excellent judgment that has taken her so far, so fast. Had Rachel Brand replaced Margaret Chiara, she would have been the victim of a mainstream media pile-on. The New York Times editorial board would have derided her as a Bush Administration political hack with no prosecutorial experience (albeit a hack with impeccable academic credentials, including Harvard Law School and a Supreme Court clerkship with Justice Kennedy).

So what's next for Rachel Brand (in addition to a bouncing baby boy)? She's rumored to be meeting with various private law firms -- and any of them would be lucky to snag this young legal superstar.

Brand has devoted the past six and a half years of her career to government service. She leaves the Bush Administration even more highly esteemed, on both sides of the aisle, than when she came in. This is no small feat, given the controversies that have shaken the DOJ, as well as the highly partisan atmosphere currently prevailing here in Washington.

We congratulate Rachel Brand on her successful leadership of the Office of Legal Policy, and we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors -- including motherhood!

(Disclosure: We'd mention that we are friendly with Rachel Brand, but we know from past experience that many of you don't like such disclaimers, which come across as shameless name-dropping. So we won't.)

Correction: An earlier version of this post erroneously identified Jonathan Cohn as Deputy Attorney General, rather than Deputy Assistant Attorney General (his correct title).

Assistant Attorney General Rachel Brand Announces Departure [U.S. Dept. of Justice (press release)]
Bush Is Told to Justify Executive Privilege [Washington Post]
DOJ Loses Brand [The BLT: The Blog of the Legal Times]
Seventh official quits Justice Department [Reuters]
Justice Department Official Resigns [Associated Press]

Earlier: Rachel Brand: The Prom Queen Stays Out of Trouble

Yesterday we passed along the rumor that Joseph Russoniello, of Cooley Godward Kronish in San Francisco, would be returning to a post he held years ago: U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.

We remain fairly confident in this tip. But for the record, there is nothing official to report just yet. Mr. Russoniello kindly got back to us, but only to advise that he has no comment at this time and can neither confirm nor deny that he has been offered the U.S. Attorney position.

Meanwhile, our friends over at Legal Pad picked up on our post. Check out their analysis, in which they refer to Russoniello as "the frontrunner" per "conventional wisdom," by clicking here.

Russoniello Takes the U.S. Attorney Gig? [Legal Pad / Cal Law]

Earlier: Musical Chairs: A New U.S. Attorney for San Francisco?

Veteran litigator Joseph Russoniello, of Cooley Godward Kronish in San Francisco, was recently rumored to be a contender for the post of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.

We're now hearing that the job -- which Russoniello previously held, from 1982 to 1990 -- may be his once again. From a tipster:

I have on good authority that Joe Russoniello was offered and accepted the US attorney position for the N. District of CA. I don’t think its been announced yet.

If Russoniello does get the job, it would be very "Fred Fielding"-esque: bring back an elder statesman, from the Reagan Administration, with impeccable credentials. At least the Dems won't be able to give him a hard time over a lack of prosecutorial experience.

We've contacted Joseph Russoniello, but we haven't heard back from him yet. We'll let you know if and when he gets back to us.

P.S. We're sad that the fabulous Eumi Choi apparently didn't get the nod.

Who'd Want This Job, Anyway? [National Law Journal via Law.com (subscription)]
Joseph P. Russoniello bio [Cooley Godward Kronish]
U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan Announced Departure [U.S. Attorney's Office (Northern District of California)]

Guess the Durham district attorney isn't the only prominent government lawyer named Mike (and embroiled in controversy) to announce his resignation on this Friday afternoon.

Has the U.S. Attorney firing controversy claimed another victim? Maybe (assuming he's not leaving for other reasons). From the AP:

A senior Justice Department official who helped carry out the dismissals of federal prosecutors said Friday he is resigning.

Mike Elston, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, is the fifth Justice official to leave after being linked to the dismissals of the prosecutors....

Elston is taking a job with a law firm in the Washington area, according to the statement.

We told you to expect some high-level departures from the DOJ. Anyone know where Elston is headed?

P.S. Oh, and here's the latest in the U.S. Attorney affair: the news that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will also be investigated.

(Gavel bang: commenters here and here.)

Official Close to Attorney Firings Quits [Associated Press via Washington Post]
Gonzales Meeting With Aide Scrutinized [Washington Post]

We recently got to meet former White House counsel Harriet Miers, up close and personal. And it seems we're not the only folks who will get to spend quality time with the onetime (and ill-fated) Supreme Court nominee.

This just in, from the AP:

Two congressional committees are issuing subpoenas for testimony from former White House counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor on their roles in the firings of eight federal prosecutors, according to two officials familiar with the investigation....

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont issued Taylor's subpoena for her testimony July 11. His counterpart in the House, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers of Michigan, issued a subpoena for Miers' testimony the next day.

A little bit more, after the jump.

Department of Justice official Brad Schlozman -- who currently serves as Associate Counsel to the Director, in the Executive Office for United States Attorneys -- is about to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. His testimony is part of a panel entitled "Preserving Prosecutorial Independence: Is the Department of Justice Politicizing the Hiring and Firing of U.S. Attorneys?"

Maybe we'll tune in, at least for a few minutes; but we don't expect to watch the entire proceedings. Brad Schlozman is no Monica Goodling. And we can barely pronounce his last name.

On Friday night, in preparation for today's session, the DOJ's Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) sent the Republican members of the committee a list of proposed "softball" or friendly questions for Schlozman. This question caught our eye:

Clevenger, you may recall, has raised allegations about the politicization of hiring at Main Justice. But he may be best known to ATL readers as a source for stories about that delicious DOJ diva, Shanetta Cutlar (about whom we've heard nothing new, sadly).

By the way, in case you're wondering, question #5 wasn't well-received by GOP staffers on Capitol Hill. We hear that the Republican staffers "are offended that DOJ expects them to do its political dirty work."

Those of you who read our extensive liveblogging of Monica Goodling's testimony on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee know how deeply impressed we were.

Goodling was poised, intelligent, and articulate. She showed flashes of wit, as well as consistent honesty and forthrightness. She looked like a million bucks.

On a scale of 0 to 10, we'd score Monica Goodling's performance on Capitol Hill as a 9.3. It wasn't a perfect 10; Rep. Artur Davis landed a few punches in the eleventh round. But Monica "Hurts So" Goodling ultimately emerged victorious from the boxing ring of the Rayburn House Office Building, with barely a glove laid on her.

We weren't alone in our assessment. Distinguished legal commentators, including law professors like Orin Kerr and Adam Gershowitz, also raved over La Goodling's star turn.

And this morning, via Howard Bashman, we come across more praise of Goodling, from an unlikely source. Check out this great online essay (registration required), by Eve Fairbanks of The New Republic -- no bastion of conservatism.

Discussion continues after the jump.

We have to step away from our computer now, to go meet our running group. We are training for the New York City marathon. If you'd like to support our efforts with a tax-deductible donation to fund cancer research, which is almost as worthy a cause as the Monica Goodling Legal Defense Fund, please click here.

This means we're going to miss the last ten minutes or so of Monica Goodling's testimony. If anything insane happens, please note it in the comments, or email us.

Also, we're not the only ones who were impressed by Goodling's performance today. Distinguished legal analysts concur in our assessment that La Monica acquitted herself very well before the House Judiciary Committee.

By way of example, check out these posts at two leading law blogs:

1. Monica Goodling's Testimony [Volokh Conspiracy (Prof. Orin Kerr)]

2. Rounding Out My Monica Goodling Obsession [PrawfsBlawg (Prof. Adam Gershowitz)]

Sorry, Monica haters. The experts have weighed in. You lose.

Have a nice day!

This is a continuation of our earlier post, in which we kicked off our liveblogging of the Monica Goodling testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.

11:00: Some friendly questioning from Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Republican Member of the Judiciary Committee. We once sat next to him at a dinner party; he's a very nice man.

11:05: Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) is a style nightmare. White blazer, red tank-toppy-looking blouse. Congresswoman Sanchez: this is the United States Congress, not a July 4th booze cruise.

11:07: In terms of her demeanor, Goodling is not going down the diva route. She's very polite and helpful, interspersing her remarks with self-effacing or nervous smiles. It seems that she's trying to be as forthcoming as possible as a witness.

Discussion resumes after the jump.

We have a new favorite catchphrase: "You have a Monica problem." We've added it to our favorite quotations, and we may put it in our email signature file, too.

As explained here, the words "You have a Monica problem" were typically uttered to Justice Department job applicants whose credentials might be deemed insufficiently conservative by Monica Goodling -- the uber-powerful ex-DOJ official who played a key role in hiring.

But these days, "You have a Monica problem" might also apply to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. From Jason McClure of the Legal Times:

Now it’s all about Monica.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales emerged mostly unscathed from last week’s face-off with Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee over his role in the U.S. attorney firings....

But there’s one big wild card that’s yet to be thrown into play, and that’s Monica Goodling, Gonzales’ former White House liaison.

If you don't share our Monica obsession, you can stop reading here. But if you find her as fascinating as we do, there's more after the jump.

For departure. For Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, his last day at the Department of Justice will be in not-too-distant future. He announced his intention to resign earlier today.

But he won't be leaving the DOJ as abruptly as, say, Monica Goodling. He'll stick around for a few more months:

McNulty, who has served 18 months as the Justice Department's second-in-command, announced his plans at a closed-door meeting of U.S. attorneys in San Antonio, according to two senior department aides. He said he will remain at the department until this fall or until the Senate approves a successor, the aides said.

(It's nice to know that we were actually right about something. But then again, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.)

Justice Department Official Resigning, Aides Say [Associated Press]

Earlier: Paul McNulty: On His Way Out?