False report limits Carona case

An “untrue and unfounded” report that former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona had a romantic relationship with a top federal prosecutor caused government officials to bar about 250 federal attorneys from handling his case, lawyers disclosed in court Thursday.

All prosecutors assigned to the U.S. attorney’s offices in Los Angeles and Santa Ana have been prohibited from any involvement in the case, except for two prosecutors who report directly to supervisors in Washington. Until now, officials had declined to publicly account for that unusual arrangement.

On Thursday, a government lawyer disclosed that the arrangement was set up after an informant told FBI agents that Carona said he had had an affair with Debra W. Yang, the former U.S. attorney in L.A.

The allegation proved untrue, but the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles recused itself from the case to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. The two prosecutors assigned to the Carona case now report to the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, Assistant U.S. Atty. Kenneth Julian said.

-- Stuart Pfeifer