New post for U.S. attorney

The U.S. attorney in Minnesota, whose clashes with career prosecutors came to symbolize the problems of the Justice Department under Alberto R. Gonzales, resigned Monday to accept a less-visible post at Justice Department headquarters in Washington.

The reassignment of Rachel K. Paulose, 10 days into the tenure of new Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey, was seen as an early illustration of how Mukasey was moving quickly to address some of the lingering problems of the politically charged Gonzales era.

Among other moves, the retired federal judge is believed to be in the process of setting stringent new standards governing contacts between the White House and the Justice Department and eliminating political factors from consideration in hiring and firing decisions. He has already restarted an internal probe looking at possible ethical violations by department employees involved in a warrantless anti-terrorism program set up by the Bush administration after Sept. 11.

On deck are a likely referral from the House seeking the prosecution of White House officials for contempt for refusing to testify about the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys last year and the possibly far-reaching report of an internal probe into the alleged politicization of the department under Gonzales. Mukasey could face important choices in both cases before the year ends.

Paulose, 34, had repeatedly collided with top managers in Minneapolis who considered her ideologically over-the-top and autocratic.

In April, a month after she was formally sworn in as U.S. attorney, three prosecutors resigned supervisory posts, saying they could not work with her.

The bad blood included a complaint filed by one of the former supervisors accusing Paulose of violating federal civil service laws, including using a racial epithet in referring to a subordinate. Paulose has called the allegation “outrageous and defamatory.”

Just last week, Paulose fanned the flames in an interview she gave to a conservative website, powerlineblog.com, in which she said she had been singled out because of her conservative religious and political leanings.

“The McCarthyite hysteria that permits the anonymous smearing of any public servant who is now, or ever may have been, a member of the Federalist Society; a person of faith; and/or a conservative (especially a young, conservative woman of color) is truly a disservice to our country,” Paulose said.

The comments appeared to further rankle officials in her office and brought threats of additional resignations, according to a person familiar with the operations of the Minneapolis office who requested anonymity because the issue involved sensitive personnel matters.

In a prepared statement issued Monday, Paulose said that she was resigning to become counselor to the assistant attorney general for legal policy at the Justice Department in Washington. That behind-the-scenes office helps coordinate a wide range of policy initiatives for the department and vets administration nominees to the federal bench.

“I have been honored by the opportunity to serve our nation as United States attorney for the District of Minnesota, and to work with this office, our tremendous law enforcement partners, and the people of Minnesota,” Paulose said.

She said she would assume her new role in early January.

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse declined to discuss the circumstances of the reassignment, but said the department was pleased that she had accepted the job. “We appreciate her service as U.S. attorney and are fortunate that the department will continue to be able to benefit from her exceptional legal skill in this new capacity,” Roehrkasse said.

Others, including both of the state’s U.S. senators, said they were happy to see Paulose go. Sen. Norm Coleman, a Republican, had asked Mukasey to make a review of the operations of the Minneapolis office a top priority.

“I support Rachel Paulose’s decision today to step down from her duties as Minnesota’s U.S. attorney,” Coleman said. “I have made it clear that I have had concerns about the office of the U.S. attorney under her watch, and I believe this decision will allow the office to move forward.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, said she was pleased that the office was “moving forward under new leadership. I hope this will be the last chapter for our state when it comes to the legacy left by Alberto Gonzales.”

Paulose, a graduate of Yale University law school and a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office, was an aide to Deputy Atty. Gen. Paul J. McNulty when she was selected for the top job in Minneapolis.

She was the first woman -- and the youngest person -- ever to hold that position.

But the circumstances of her appointment became a focal point in the investigation surrounding the firing of nine U.S. attorneys last year, which Democrats allege was motivated to foster lawsuits that would help the Republican Party.

Working in Washington, Paulose had become friends with a key architect of the dismissals, former Gonzales aide Monica M. Goodling.

The man she replaced, Thomas Heffelfinger, also had turned up on a list of U.S. attorneys to be replaced.

Heffelfinger said he resigned for personal reasons and had no idea he was being targeted for possible firing.

He had made a name for himself by winning a series of high-profile white-collar crime and gun and explosives cases.

Paulose enthusiastically embraced other department priorities, including prosecution of distributors of child pornography and operators of human-trafficking networks.

rick.schmitt@latimes.com