Fired Michigan US attorney claimed politics was at play

Ousted Mich. U.S. attorney argued politics were at play Ousted Mich. U.S. attorney argued politics were at play March 21, 2007 BY TODD SPANGLER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER For months, Michigan's first female U.S. attorney played along with the bosses who had ousted her, holding her tongue as the questions over her dismissal and those of seven other federal prosecutors got louder and hoping the people in Washington who had let her go would help her find a new job. But as it became clear that Justice Department officials would criticize her performance in office and use that as the basis for her dismissal, former Western District U.S. Attorney Margaret M. Chiara fired off a series of e-mails, arguing that such an explanation was erroneous, and that her ouster was a political one. "Politics may not be a compelling reason," she wrote Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty in an e-mail March 4, "but the truth is compelling." On Tuesday, the political firestorm over the dismissal of the U.S. attorneys grew, fueled by congressional complaints that if the eight were pushed out for political reasons it could hamper the independence of the nation's federal prosecutors, who -- all acknowledge -- serve at the pleasure of the president. Presidents often replace U.S. attorneys when they are initially elected. Amid calls for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation and the Senate's approval of legislation limiting the president's power to unilaterally fill vacancies among the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys, the Justice Department released thousands of pages of documents relating to the ousters. White House counsel Fred Fielding said the papers "do not reflect that any U.S. attorney was replaced to interfere with a pending or future criminal investigation or for any other improper reason." Chiara, 63, a former Cass County prosecutor, did not return calls for comment Tuesday, and no one answered the door at a home listed in her name in East Lansing. Calls to the Department of Justice also were not returned. But e-mails between Chiara and Justice Department officials -- which were among those documents released -- explained at least in part why the case of her dismissal remained relatively quiet in recent weeks: She was looking for work. After being told Dec. 7 that she would be dismissed, she received an extension on the job while she sought employment. In February, she asked McNulty about a position with the department's National Advocacy Center in South Carolina, where Chiara owns a home. "Could we make this happen?" McNulty asked another department official, Michael Elston, who replied, "This idea may help us avoid linking this to the others." There may have been other reasons to keep Chiara around. Appointed in 2001, she ran an office based in Grand Rapids and covering the western half of the Lower Peninsula and the entire Upper Peninsula. The office achieved an increase of more than 15% in felony prosecutions and convictions during her tenure. Chief Western District Judge Robert Holmes Bell on Tuesday called Chiara a focused prosecutor and administrator and described her as a dignified woman who had a "sense of what is right and wrong." "We were mystified," Bell said of her dismissal. "She's too good." But there were indications -- albeit vague ones -- of problems in the office, as well. In documents prepared in early 2005 by Gonzales' chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, Chiara was listed among those recommended for removal as "ineffectual managers and prosecutors." And a draft memo -- one that did not include a heading or a clear reference as to who wrote it or when -- said that during Chiara's tenure, "the office has become fractured, morale has fallen, and" Chiara "has lost the confidence of the leadership team and some career prosecutors." Another item that could have played a role, as reported by the Grand Rapids Press, were bonuses paid to Leslie Hagen, a former Huron County prosecutor and longtime friend of Chiara whom she hired in the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Press reported last week that Hagen received $10,250 in bonus pay in her first 30 months on the job, while the average for other criminal attorneys in the office was $2,200. Still, Chiara seemed convinced she was dismissed for some reason -- never illuminated in the e-mails -- other than her performance until the March 4 e-mail to McNulty. "As you know, I have assiduously avoided public comment by pursuing an informal version of the 'witness protection program' in order to elude reporters! However, the legal community in Grand Rapids and organizations throughout Michigan are outraged that I am being labeled a 'poor performer,' " she wrote. Then, on March 6, a deputy attorney general went before the House Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee to defend the dismissals. While there, he noted the absence of two of the ousted U.S. attorneys -- Chiara was not there -- and said, referring to their dismissals, "Those individuals would have been in the management category." That led Chiara to send an e-mail to McNulty demanding to know what management problem was being referred to. On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he is concerned about all the ousters and is pleased the Senate Judiciary Committee, like its counterpart in the House, is looking into them. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said she spoke in recent weeks to Chiara and that she knows the former U.S. attorney -- whose last day was Friday -- fears the allegations that poor performance led to her ouster could hurt her career. "I certainly want to know more what led to it," Stabenow said. She also called for Gonzales' resignation, saying his reputation with Congress is hopelessly dashed. On Monday, a release on the Western District's Web site announced the appointment of Brian K. Delaney as the interim U.S. attorney until mid-April. Then, Charles R. Gross -- a first assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District before he was recalled to active duty as a colonel in the Marine Corps last year -- will take over as the interim U.S. attorney, serving until the president nominates a permanent replacement.