Advice to President Obama--US Attorneys? Fire Them All

President Obama is trying to figure out what to do with the US Attorneys spread out across the land. You see, the job of US Attorney has become increasingly MORE political (hard to believe, considering it is a political appointment). President Clinton fired them all in one day after taking office, and President Bush got rid of most of them. Then, President Bush fired a number of those he appointed, raising their hackles and those of many observers, including Democrats who saw the firings as blatantly political.

Here's the deal. The US Attorneys are the point persons to execute the legal priorities of the Administration in office. That's why the President hires them, that's why he fires them. When Bush fired the group (that got him in hot water), he did not have to put forward ANY reason--at all. They serve at the pleasure of the President. Now--if they were fired to interfere in ongoing prosecutions, that is illegal and should be prosecuted. But if he fired them because the were not pursuing indictments in cases he wanted pursued...well then that's plenty more than he needs.

As for President Obama...I recommend firing the lot of them and putting your people in, including re-hiring those you'd like to stay. You'll get criticized by opportunistic political opponents, but all you'd have to do is dredge up the statements of many of them in support of Bush's firings in order to justify your own. The President--no matter how much I disagree with him or his legal priorities--deserves to have HIS TEAM out there. And we should not raise it as an issue when he does start firing them.