6 of 7 Dismissed U.S. Attorneys Had Positive Job Evaluations

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 18, 2007

All but one of the U.S. attorneys recently fired by the Justice Department had positive job reviews before they were dismissed, but many ran into political trouble with Washington over issues ranging from immigration to the death penalty, according to prosecutors, congressional aides and others familiar with the cases.

Two months after the firings first began to make waves on Capitol Hill, it has also become clear that most of the prosecutors were overseeing significant public-corruption investigations at the time they were asked to leave. Four of the probes target Republican politicians or their supporters, prosecutors and other officials said.

Former U.S. attorney Bud Cummins, said officials crossed a line by publicly criticizing the performance of his well-regarded colleagues. Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, recently told a Senate panel that six U.S. attorneys had been dismissed for "performance-related" reasons.

But the assertions enraged the rest of the group, some of whom feel betrayed after staying silent about the way they have been shoved from office.