Minn. US Atty Steps Down, Amid More Rumored Resignations

CORRECTED: Amid rumors that two more top deputies were about to resign, an embattled U.S. attorney in Minnesota has accepted a job in Washington, D.C.

Rachel Paulose, 34, announced today that she will move in January to a Justice Department job as a legal policy adviser to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and his deputy, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune (reg. req.). She had been a lightning rod for criticism since four other top managers resigned in April.

In addition to complaints about her allegedly dictatorial management style, Paulose also drew critical attention due to her friendship with Monica Goodling, the former White House liaison to the DOJ.

As the New York Times puts it in a page one story last week, Paulose "is routinely described by colleagues in Minneapolis and Washington as representative of much that went wrong at the department under Alberto R. Gonzales, the former attorney general. During his tenure, several United States attorneys were replaced with lawyers, like Ms. Paulose, who had relatively little experience as prosecutors or managers but were considered fiercely loyal to the Bush administration."

Paulose and the Justice Department both issued press releases saying they are pleased with her new appointment, but neither commented specifically on her stormy tenure as Minnesota's top federal prosecutor.

However, Paulose broke her silence in response to a blogger who contends she used a racial characterization to criticize an employee, among other alleged name-calling, notes a separate Star Tribune (reg. req.) article.

"I NEVER made any such statement. I have told the [Justice] department so, and the department is defending me against this outrageous and defamatory lie," Paulose reportedly told a friend, Scott Johnson. He defended her in a National Review Online article.

Updated at 5:39 p.m. Nov. 19, CST. Headline was corrected to note that Paulose is U.S. Attorney, 8:04 a.m. Nov. 21, CST.