Justice Department races to replace interim US attorneys

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is scrambling to find willing replacements for nearly two dozen temporary US attorneys, whose time in office is now limited under a law signed last week by President Bush.

The developments add to growing personnel problems at the Justice Department following last year's firings of nine US attorneys, which led to a political confrontation with Congress, lowered morale, and contributed to an exodus of officials from the upper ranks of the department.

A quarter of federal prosecutors are working on an interim or acting basis -- reflecting a vacancy rate much higher than normal, according to department statistics. Also, five senior Justice Department officials have resigned since March, including one who announced his departure Friday.

"There are certainly a lot of vacancies, even for the end of an administration," said Dennis Boyd, executive director of the National Association of Assistant US Attorneys. "For some turnover to be occurring is not that big of a surprise, but the department has handled . . . [the prosecutor firings] so poorly that you're left with an unusual situation."

The situation became more complicated last week, when Bush signed a bill overturning legislation that had allowed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to appoint interim prosecutors for an indefinite period. Without that authority, the Justice Department has 120 days to fill vacancies with nominees subject to Senate confirmation, or appointees will be named by the local federal court.

The provision allowing interim appointments was slipped, largely unnoticed, into a USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill in March 2006. Gonzales's aides subsequently discussed using it to bypass the Democratic congressional delegation from Arkansas to appoint a former White House aide as interim US attorney in Little Rock, according to e-mails turned over to congressional investigators.

The vacancy problems underscore the broad sense of tumult at the Justice Department. Its third-ranking official, Acting Associate Attorney General William W. Mercer, is scheduled to appear for a Senate confirmation hearing later this month, after serving for two years as a temporary senior Justice Department official and as the US attorney in Montana.

Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, who has been among those leading the call for Gonzales to resign because of his handling of the prosecutor firings, said the vacancy problem is "further proof that dysfunctional leadership and low morale are hobbling the mission of the Justice Department."

"If we had a credible attorney general at the helm, we wouldn't be scrambling to fill vacancies," Schumer said. "Instead, top legal talent would be flocking to the department."