No link in Lam's firing and Cunningham case, report says

Low immigration, gun prosecutions said to have led to removal

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer | Tuesday, September 30, 2008 7:27 PM PDT ∞

A Justice Department report released Monday on the firing of nine U.S. attorneys found no evidence that former San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was dismissed because of her office's investigation into former North County Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's bribery scandal.

Instead, she was dismissed because the administration felt her office was not prosecuting enough immigration cases, including illegal immigrant smuggling, according to the report.

Some Democrats, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., raised questions last year about whether politics had played a role in Lam's 2007 firing. It was widely reported at the time that Lam's dismissal was in retaliation for her prosecution of political corruption cases that damaged the careers of prominent Republicans, including Cunningham.

The report found that political pressure drove the dismissals of at least three federal prosecutors between 2006 and 2007; Lam's was not one of them.

The Justice Department's inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility have been investigating the firings since last year, trying to determine who in the Bush administration ordered the firings, whether the dismissals were intended to thwart investigations, and whether anyone had broken the law in carrying out the firings or in testifying about them.

In Lam's case, the report said: "We found no evidence that Lam was removed because of the investigation of Representative Cunningham or CIA official (Kyle "Dusty") Foggo, as claimed by some after the U.S. attorney removals became public."

Lam, now a corporate attorney for San Diego-based wireless technology firm Qualcomm Inc., has not commented publicly about her dismissal. She could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

After being appointed U.S. attorney in 2002, Lam's office made white-collar crime a priority, and took on a number of high-profile cases ---- among them the successful prosecution of Cunningham on charges of bribery and tax evasion. She is a former San Diego Superior Court judge.

In March 2007, Feinstein said an e-mail from the Justice Department to the White House suggesting that Lam needed to be replaced looked "suspicious" and raised "serious questions that need to be answered."

The report said the e-mail was in reference to Lam's "office's prosecution of immigration cases."

Feinstein could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Her office forwarded a brief statement on the report's examination of Lam's dismissal.

"In my view, the jury is still out," Feinstein said. "I would ask the special prosecutor to take a look at this."

Lam's former bosses at the Justice Department also alleged that Lam's poor management of the office led to her removal. However, the report said those allegations were "disingenuous" and "played no role in the decision to remove her."

Lam was fired because top department officials at the Justice Department said they were not happy with the number of immigration and gun-related cases her office was prosecuting, according to the report.

In an e-mail to Justice Department attorney Rebecca Seidel, Lam defended her record by explaining that she had traded "low-end coyote cases" ---- a reference to immigrant smugglers ---- for more complicated prosecutions of smuggling ringleaders and violent criminals.

"Essentially, I must make a choice ---- prosecute the coyotes who are smuggling but not endangering anyone, or the rapists and murderers who are coming back to rape and murder again," Lam wrote.

Lam was heavily criticized by some, including U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, for that policy.

However, the report also criticized department officials for not seriously examining Lam's justifications for these low figures, or following through on a plan to confront Lam about these issues.

Issa waged a two-year campaign starting in 2004 for more prosecutions of immigrant smugglers in San Diego. In a letter dated May, 2006, Issa wrote that the U.S. attorney's office had "disregarded (his) requests for information that can help (him) understand the extent of the problem."

On Tuesday, Issa said he felt "vindicated" by the report.

"She failed to do her part in securing the border," Issa said in a phone interview.

In 2006, Issa's office leaked a Border Patrol memo critical of Lam's office's record on prosecuting those responsible for smuggling immigrants into the U.S. He did so to spotlight what he saw as Lam's unacceptable performance, one of his top aides said at the time.

The Justice Department's report concluded that dissatisfaction with Lam's performance was what led to her removal.

"The evidence in our investigation demonstrated that Lam was removed because of the Department's concerns about her office's gun and immigration prosecution statistics," according to the report.

Wire reports contributed to this story. Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.