Since last March, the administration has named at least nine U.S. attorneys with administration ties. None would agree to an interview. They include:
-Tim Griffin, 37, the U.S. attorney for Arkansas, who was an aide to White House political adviser Karl Rove and a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
-Rachel Paulose, 33, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, who served briefly as a counselor to the deputy attorney general and who, according to a former boss, has been a member of the secretive, ideologically conservative Federalist Society.
-Jeff Taylor, 42, the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., who was an aide to Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and worked as a counselor to Gonzales and to former Attorney General John Ashcroft.
-John Wood, U.S. attorney in Kansas City, who's the husband of Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Julie Myers and an ex-deputy general counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
-Deborah Rhodes, 47, the U.S. attorney in Mobile, Ala., who was a Justice Department counselor.
-Alexander Acosta, 37, the U.S. attorney in Miami, who was an assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's civil rights division and a protege of conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
-John Richter, 43, the U.S. attorney in Oklahoma City, who was the chief of staff for the Justice Department's criminal division and acting assistant attorney general.
-Edward McNally, the U.S. attorney in southern Illinois, who was a senior associate counsel to President Bush.
-Matt Dummermuth, the U.S. attorney in Iowa, who was a Justice Department civil rights lawyer.
Some of these appointees have drawn praise from local skeptics and later won Senate confirmation for permanent appointments.
Roehrkasse said that while some newly appointed U.S. attorneys might have political connections, they all have outstanding credentials.
Todd Jones, who was a U.S. attorney in Minneapolis during the Clinton administration, said he was concerned by the overall trend of an administration putting into place a "more centralized, command-and-control system."
Several prosecutors said prior Republican administrations avoided such tight control.
"Under Reagan and the first Bush administration, we worked very hard to push the power out to the locals," said Jean Paul Bradshaw, who was a U.S. attorney in Kansas City under President George H.W. Bush. "Local attorneys know how a case will play in their areas, what crimes are a problem. Ultimately, these decisions are better made locally."
Peter Nunez, a U.S. attorney in San Diego under President Reagan for six years, said prosecutors have expressed frustration with the strict oversight from Washington.
"I've heard nothing but complaints over the last six years about how many things the Justice Department is demanding relating to bureaucracy and red tape," Nunez said.
McClatchy Washington Bureau | 01/26/2007 | Gonzales appoints political loyalists into vacant U.S. attorneys slots
