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Legal community stunned by Lam report
By: TERI FIGUEROA and WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writers | ∞
Speculation that the Bush administration allegedly has asked San Diego-based U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, the region's chief federal prosecutor, to step down was met with disbelief and dropped jaws by legal community members with ties to federal court.
"I was in a state of shock," said Peter Nunez, who served as the U.S. attorney in charge of the San Diego offices from 1982 to 1988. "It's just like nothing I've ever seen before in 35-plus years. To be asked to resign and to be publicly humiliated by leaking this to the press is beyond any bounds of decency and behavior. It shocks me. It really is outrageous."
Nunez and others said they had not even heard rumblings that Lam was in the cross hairs for possible removal.
Lam's spokeswoman Friday declined to address the rumor.
"We have no comment," Debra Hartman, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, wrote in an e-mail to the North County Times.
A spokesman for the attorney general's office in Washington, D.C., declined to comment Friday.
The North County Times could not independently confirm a published report in The San Diego Union-Tribune that Lam had been asked to resign.
Lam may not be the only U.S. attorney politely being asked to pack her bags.
In a Thursday news release, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced that she and two other senators were introducing legislation that would prevent the executive branch from trying to do an end run on the Senate's prerogative of confirming U.S. attorneys.
According to the newspaper report, which appeared Friday and cited unnamed sources, Lam was targeted for not making the prosecution of smuggling and gun cases a top priority.
Nunez said the question he has is, "Why?"
"What sin has she committed that justifies asking her to submit her resignation and publicly humiliating her in the process?" Nunez said. "If the reasons are anything close to the newspaper reports, that's crazy, especially when this administration is so weak on immigration."
Lam's office has made white-collar crime a priority, and has taken on a number of high-profile cases ---- among them the successful prosecution of then-Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham on charges of bribery and tax evasion ---- since her 2002 appointment by the Bush administration.
Other cases that came during her tenure included December's criminal convictions of the chiefs of Golden State Fence Co. for hiring illegal immigrants, and the potential death penalty case for the long-sought and recently nabbed Francisco Javier Arrellano-Felix, the alleged head of a Mexican drug cartel.
Lam is a former San Diego Superior Court judge who at one time presided over criminal trials at the courthouse in Vista. Nunez, who said he hired Lam as an assistant U.S. attorney about 20 years ago, called her a "bright, hardworking, conscientious, diligent person."
Also surprised by the report was Charles La Bella, who served a stint as the interim U.S. attorney in 1998. La Bella said Friday that he found the resignation request, if it is true, to be "unusual."
"In my years with the department, I never saw anything like this," La Bella said.
It's difficult to say whether Lam's case priorities might have been a factor, he said.
"The only people who know are in Washington," La Bella said.
Escondido-based defense attorney Mark Chambers, who handles a lot of cases in federal court, said there was a "change of emphasis" when Lam took over.
"There appeared to be a drop-off in the prosecutions of what we call 'border busts,' people arrested for bringing drugs across the border," Chambers said. "There were major increases in large conspiracy cases that involved a great deal of resources to prosecute and investigate. She went after the big fish."
Chambers said he, too, was surprised by the rumor.
"I'm at a loss to determine the reason. It doesn't make sense to me. I think the U.S. attorney's responsibility is to prosecute high-profile, complicated cases, and I think she was doing that."
As a defense attorney, Chambers said, he often feels that the people who are prosecuted are at the "extreme low end of the pole, and some prosecutorial discretion should have been applied."
"Since she took over the office, I haven't felt that," Chambers said. "The people who were getting prosecuted were clearly high profile, high culpability."
La Bella and Nunez said that while politics can play a role in the appointment of each of the nearly eight dozen U.S. attorneys, once a person steps into the job, politics fall by the wayside.
U.S. attorneys serve by the appointment of, and at the pleasure of, the president, and are subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. It is common for an incoming president to appoint new people to the 94 positions.
Nunez, reached by his cell phone Friday, said it is "extremely rare" for an administration to ask one of its own appointees to step down.
"The only time this happens is when there has been an allegation of misconduct," Nunez said. "That doesn't mean the president doesn't have the authority to do this. If he wants to, he can fire them. There's nothing wrong with that ---- but if you are going to fire them, you better have a good reason."
Feinstein and the other senators used strong words in the news release describing their proposed legislation.
"It has come to our attention that the Bush Administration is pushing out U.S. Attorneys from across the country under the cloak of secrecy and then appointing indefinite replacements without Senate confirmation," Feinstein wrote.
And in a Tuesday letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Feinstein also hinted at her suspicions that something might be afoot. While she did not refer specifically to Lam, Feinstein wrote that the Department of Justice had asked "several" U.S. attorneys to step down by the end of the month, "without cause."
"We ... understand the intention is to have your office appoint interim replacements and potentially avoid the Senate confirmation process altogether," she wrote.
A little-known provision in the Patriot Act reauthorization last year changed existing law so that if a vacancy occurs, the attorney general can appoint a replacement for an indefinite period of time.
A spokesman for Feinstein said Friday that he would have no comment beyond the statements that the senator made in her letter.
Brian Roehrkasse, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said by phone Friday that Gonzales is certainly not trying to avoid the Senate confirmation process. There are 93 U.S. attorneys in the country, he said, and at any given time, "a number of them are coming and going."
"In every case, it is the goal of this administration to have a U.S. attorney that is confirmed by the Senate," he said.
For years, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa has criticized Lam for not doing enough to prosecute smugglers of illegal immigrants. In an October 2005 letter to Attorney General Gonzales, Issa blasted Lam's office for failing to prosecute two cases of smugglers who were repeat offenders.
"This lax prosecutorial standard virtually guarantees that both of these individuals will be arrested on U.S. soil in the future for committing further serious crimes," Issa wrote.
Lam had complained that her office simply lacked the funding to pursue many smuggling cases.
On Friday, Issa spokesman Frederick Hill said that Issa would have no comment on the matter without confirmation that Lam had in fact been asked to step down.
The president of the National Patrol Council, which represents rank-and-file U.S. Border Patrol agents, said Friday that he wishes Lam well and said he hopes that whomever follows her in the job is willing to do whatever is necessary to prosecute immigration smuggling cases.
President T.J. Bonner said that because Lam was so picky about what she was willing to pursue "that it was nearly impossible to prosecute cases in San Diego."
Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com. Contact William Finn Bennett at (760) 740-5462 or wbennett@nctimes.com.
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Molly and Jake wrote on Jan 12, 2007 10:44 PM:Can't you see the pardon for Cunningham? Is Lam getting too close to others in DC? Bush's actions are suspect. Does Issa swing that much weight? Are the neocons restless? Or simply nervous? Heck, let's blame it on illegal immigration. Do they think we're that dumb? To Ms. Lam - our family thinks you've done a remarkable job. Thanks to you and your staff, the largest corruption probe bore fruit, and Cunningham is doing time in jail. Keep up the good, honest work.
Good wrote on Jan 13, 2007 2:18 AM:one more illegal sympathizer bites the dust.
Randy wrote on Jan 13, 2007 5:50 AM:U.S. Attorney Carol Lam successfully prosecuted Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. President Bush fired Carol Lam. So long as you are a Republican, President Bush couldn't care less if you are a white collar criminal, so long as you never get caught. President Bush will appoint a new U.S. Attorney who will ensure that Republican white collar criminals don't get caught.
Randy wrote on Jan 13, 2007 6:52 AM:President Bush's firing of U.S. Attorney Carol Lam conclusively demonstrates that he is not a practicing Christian. The Bible stresses the importance of doing what is just. Carol Lam aggressively prosecuted white collar criminals like Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. President Bush's firing of U.S. Attorney Carol Lam sends a clear message to white collar crooks: you have nothing to fear in San Diego County- do your worst!
Public Corruption wrote on Jan 13, 2007 7:14 AM:Lam has done the best her resources would allow: Alvarado Hospital, Duke Cunningham, San Diego Councilmen - StripperGate. These areas of corruption are mirrored images of other alleged areas of corruption in North County. These similar type cases are cases the District Attorney's office should be handeling. Unfortunately, both offices have had little funding support...it's about "return on the investment." Just because Lam and Dumanis have not done anything about the similar cases in North County does not mean there's no corruption with these similar type cases!
Randy wrote on Jan 13, 2007 8:03 AM:When Carol Lam was appointed U.S. Attorney, I was excited. Instead of a Republican, here was a career prosecutor with successful prosecutions of white-collar criminals such as LabCorp. Now she is being fired by President Bush to make way for a Republican crony of his. I am disgusted.
Laura (not Bush) wrote on Jan 13, 2007 10:19 AM:Carol Lam got too close to something in D.C.? This "resignation" smells just as bad as Cunningham's denials. Bush has no shame.
Winston wrote on Jan 13, 2007 12:16 PM: Smuggling of illegal aliens is morally reprehensible. It's human trafficking. The national security implications are obvious. We need MORE prosecution, not cherry picking white collar cases.
John wrote on Jan 13, 2007 2:34 PM:Why is it that everytime Darrell Issa sticks his nose into something it starts smelling? This isn't about getting low level smuggglers, it's about payback for the Duke and not playing ball with the Republican party. Darrell - don't take away our Duke catcher.
Cannibals wrote on Jan 13, 2007 2:41 PM:The Republican party is going to eat itself alive trying to squelch dissent and hide their dirty laundry. Carol Lam is now sacraficial lamb for exposing Duke's sins.
freddy wrote on Jan 13, 2007 2:47 PM:"Lam had complained that her office simply lacked the funding to pursue many smuggling cases" I agree with her. And there you have it, folks, where's the money?
Chris wrote on Jan 13, 2007 4:45 PM:Do I have this right: a Republican president, a Republican Senate, and a Republican House, and they didn't allocate enough money to fund adequate prosecution of illegal immigration? The priorities of the Bush administration have been Iraq, not immigration. Immigration and the borders helped elect Bilbray, and that's about it. It's remarkable that Carol Lam has accomplished all she has, given the total support and commitment from Washington leadership. Just remember all this when you go to vote next time. Her "resignation" reeks of payback for showing the corruption within Congress.
Leave Lam Alone! wrote on Jan 13, 2007 6:31 PM:When I first served jury duty once upon a time at the Vista Courthouse, I had Carol Lam as the trial judge - seems to me she's done a fine job of prosecuting those who need to be prosecuting - while the case load has been reduced during her tenure, who's to say that she isn't actually removing from the docket some of the more frivolous attempts at using government resources? Bush needs to have some faith - and for a man who claims to be all about faith, he needs to start demonstrating some, pronto.
Mary wrote on Jan 13, 2007 9:40 PM:Why should a prosecuting attorney have to pick and choose what cases to pursue? They should all be pursued if there is wrong doing. But they need money budgeted to do so. Sounds like the Federal Courts have been given short change in favor of the Iraq war.
Skip wrote on Jan 13, 2007 9:51 PM:RE : one more illegal sympathizer bites the dust >>> Gee if they post this, then why did they not post mine?
Is this any way to run a clam bake? wrote on Jan 13, 2007 10:31 PM: If a person is in charge of a clam bake and one of that persons subordinates is causing havoc with the best procedure, or going against that clam bake boss’ instructions, or is a lose cannon with a big mouth running off in all directions, then the person in charge of the clam bake has every right to ask the subordinate to step down so the clam bake can proceed in an orderly fashion and according to the over all agenda. That is of course if one or all of the above are true. So they can get the clam bake one the road running as planned.
CCUSA wrote on Jan 13, 2007 10:56 PM:Thank God this one is out of power. Let's get rid of all conspirators to the invasion. Bush and Gonzalez would be an even better solution!
Blind To Invasion wrote on Jan 13, 2007 11:27 PM:She had her priorities wrong! Our border is being breached by thousands of foreign aggressors every day! StripperGate was the wrong priority. Sort of like checking for lipstick on the collar while the house is buring down.
Border Enforcement wrote on Jan 13, 2007 11:30 PM:Bush needs to appoint someone who will put the scumbags who smuggle and harbor illegal immigrants out of business.
Frrank wrote on Jan 14, 2007 7:07 AM:I ran onto this story when I conducted a Google search on Golden State Fence Co, which was prosecuted for hiring illegal aliens. Once I read the first part of the article, I also found she prosecuted Duke Cunningham, a Republican who disgraced the nation and the Republican part. I was outraged when it appeared this might be done to retaliate for the congressman�s conviction. Once I read the entire article, I found two items that make me believe I was wrong and there might be a different reason. First, the president of the National Patrol Council, which represents rank-and-file U.S. Border Patrol agents, wished �her well and said he hopes that whoever follows her in the job is willing to do whatever is necessary to prosecute immigration smuggling cases.� The next comment came from President T.J. Bonner when he said, �that because Lam was so picky about what she was willing to pursue "that it was nearly impossible to prosecute cases in San Diego." These two statements lead me to believe she was �cherry-picking� cases instead of vigorous prosecution of all cases. Could it be there were not enough funds to do all? Possibly. I will wait until all of the facts are in before slamming or supporting her removal from office. I would hope others do also,
The Real Clam Bake analogy wrote on Jan 14, 2007 7:19 AM:A better analogy to a clam bake would be: If a person in charge of a clam bake has a NUMBER of his/her subordinates finding that a number of the clams are spoiled, leaving in doubt the quality of the food being served to guests. They are all fired and only one is noticed because some other guest notices that this person isn't working there and asks why, and is told because that person wanted to check the quality of the clams being served instead of the quality of the quality of the milk, wouldn't the guests, if they start seeing people get sick get upset if they found people were being fired just to cover up that they've been fed bad food? This person also got his contract changed with the agency he works for so that they no longer have to review the employees he hires too, so now he can hire employees to replace them that won't look at the food quality and just do what he tells them to. Carol Lam wasn't a loose cannon, she was following the LAW in all of her prosecutions, and they WEREN'T partisan. She went after Democrats as well as Republicans. The rationale of selection of what kind of cases doesn't wash for ALL of these Attorneys being fired across the country now. Covering up for political corruption would be a better overall explanstion for those actions. A better explanation, which the local FBI chief here also said in one of these articles is that it is political, and that Carol Lam shouldn't be forced to ignore corruption that they know exists because they don't have funding to prosecute such cases as well as the others the leadership wants them to.
Carol Lam is an equal opportunity lawyer wrote on Jan 14, 2007 5:47 PM:and a very good one. She never allowed her personal political beliefs to driver her actions. Lam is an equal opportunity lawyer - Democrat or Republican was not the issue - it was about corruption. Regional San Diego area has a known historical proclivity for corruption! Now, just think if Lam had a pot of gold? Lam could do a lot! Lam could go after a local district hospital’s ex-board members, current board members, conflicted insider doctors & lawyers, the CEO, V.P.s, and other fiduciaries of this local district hospital. Lam could go after them in their individual and official capacity. This would be one way to preserve the local community district hospital from the likes of egocentric, self-serving idiot-managers. It sure would demonstrate that government local agencies cannot hide behind a majority vote of rubberstampers.
Impeach Alberto Gonzalez... wrote on Jan 14, 2007 8:46 PM:...and say thank you, good job, to Carol Lam.
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