U.S. Attorney in Miami Resigns Amid Justice Dept. Controversy

Dexter Lehtinen, the controversial U.S. attorney in Miami who oversees the government’s prosecution of Manuel A. Noriega, announced his resignation Monday in the wake of an internal Justice Department report criticizing his conduct in office.

Lehtinen, who has never been confirmed by the Senate during his nearly four years on the job, said at a news conference that he was leaving on Jan. 20 “to pursue other endeavors.”

Lehtinen said only that he planned to practice law in Miami, rejecting suggestions that he was forced from the job. He said an internal probe by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility concluded that he did not act in “an unethical and improper manner” last summer when he publicly cleared a prominent officeholder and fellow Republican, Broward County Sheriff Nick Navarro, in a corruption investigation without consulting with his assistants handling the matter.

But knowledgeable law enforcement sources said U.S. Atty. Gen. William P. Barr was opposed to Lehtinen staying in office after receiving the preliminary departmental report on the matter last month. In addition, sources said, Justice Department officials were disturbed in recent weeks when Lehtinen--known for his temper--demoted assistants who had given statements to department investigators or sided with Lehtinen’s accusers within the office.

“The handwriting was on the wall,” said Neal R. Sonnett, a Miami criminal lawyer and chairman-elect of the American Bar Assn.’s Criminal Justice Section. “He’s had a very stormy tenure as U.S. attorney.”

The U.S. attorney’s office in Miami, with more than 200 lawyers, is among the largest in the country, overseeing some of the Justice Department’s highest-profile investigations into corruption and drugs. It is playing a large role in the probe of the Bank of Credit & Commerce International and, for the last four years, has been in charge of the case against former Panamanian leader Noriega.