US Attorney Under Investigation for Racist Remarks, Mishandling Classified Info

Posted by Amanda Terkel at 11:00 AM on September 18, 2007.

This post, written by Amanda Terkel, originally appeared on Think Progress

Eric Black at the Minnesota Monitor writes that the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, Rachel Paulose, is under investigation. The federal Office of Special Counsel is looking into allegations that she "mishandled classified information, decided to fire the subordinate who called it to her attention, retaliated against others in the office who crossed her, and made racist remarks about one employee."

Highlights of the charges:

- Paulose mishandled classified information. Black writes that Paulose regularly received "status updates on the war on terror" from intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The "secret" reports were supposed to be locked up, but Paulose "regularly left the reports loose in her office, sometimes unattended."

- Paulose threatened to fire an employee who raised concerns about the material. Then-First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marti spoke to Paulose about safeguarding the classified materials and "as required by regulations, filed a report with the national office that oversees U.S. attorneys." Paulose began "threatening" to fire Marti and "bad-mouthing" him to other colleagues. He eventually resigned.

- Paulose repeatedly retaliated against employees suspected of "disloyalty." Paulose "allegedly said that she would make the woman so miserable that she would want to quit. In some instances, Paulose allegedly ordered those in charge of performing job evaluations to downgrade the reviews of those she considered disloyal."

- Paulose called employees racial epithets. "Paulose allegedly denigrated one employee of the office, using the terms 'fat,' 'black,' 'lazy' and 'ass.'"

In April, four top staffers to Paulose voluntarily demoted themselves in protest of her "highly dictatorial style" of managing. She also "earned a reputation for quoting Bible verses and dressing down underlings."

A look at Paulose's background indicates that she was handpicked by the Justice Department because of her personal connections, rather than her professional qualifications. She was a special assistant to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and was best buds with Monica Goodling, who infamously admitted to considering "party affiliation in screening applicants to become immigration judges."

Paulose also created controversy when her lavish swearing-in ceremony in March included a professional photographer, a color guard, and a choir.

Tagged as: gonzales, us attorneys, goodling, paulose

Amanda Terkel is Deputy Research Director at the Center for American Progress and serves as Deputy Editor for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.