False Affair Claim Doesn’t Get Remaining Prosecutors Booted

A false claim of an affair that spurred 250 California-based prosecutors to remove themselves from a corruption case hasn’t resulted in the ouster of the final two assistant U.S. attorneys.

A federal judge refused last week to reconsider his decision allowing two federal prosecutors to continue handling the prosecution of former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.). They report directly to the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and Santa Ana removed themselves from the case over an unfounded claim by an informant that Carona had an affair with then-U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang.