1115.org

Rachel Paulose is the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota. You can accuse her of a lot of things — and people have — but you cannot accuse her of runnng an effective U.S. Attorney’s office. Yet that is precisely the unsubtantiated allegation that has been levelled at her by none other than a Justice Department spokesman:

In a statement Friday, Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse described Paulose as “dedicated to leading an effective U.S. attorneys office in Minnesota…”

The credibility of the Justice Department and its spokesmen being what it is, it probably comes as no surprise to anyone when they are caught red-handed just making it up. Here’s what has been going on in the U.S.A.’s office since the Bible-quoting Paulose was installed there:

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.
[...]
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.”

I’ve seen and heard a lot of really strange workplace stuff, but I must confess I have never ever heard of anything like this. Not even close.

You are probably remembering that the Justice Department head honchos charged with defending the firings of eight U.S. Attorneys had put forward management style issues as one key reason for many of the firings. And so you are probably asking yourself what is likely to happen to Paulose. Here’s why you should immediately cease and desist from such fruitless speculation:

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.

The way the Justice Department is run these days, that’s pretty invincible body armor. The lady is invulnerable. Of course, that may not be true of the four top staffers who have so rudely damaged morale in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesota.

Here’s some more of the strange-speak the pathetic Roehrkasse emitted today:

We are confident during this transition period that the U.S. Attorneys office will remain focused on its law enforcement priorities.

Paulose has been running the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesota since February 2006. That’s when she was appointed as interim U.S. Attorney, even though she was sworn-in officially only last month.