Tom Corbett (gov)

Four former U.S. Attorneys have filed to run for office in Pennsylvania. Tuesday marked the deadline for major party candidates to file with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State’s office. The primary elections to decide who will run in the November general elections will take place May 18.

Tom Corbett, who was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania by President George H.W. Bush in 1989 and served until 1993, is one of two candidates vying for the Republican nomination for governor. Current Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) is term limited.

Corbett, who is the current state attorney general, will face state Rep. Sam Rohrer in the Republican primary. On the other side of the political aisle, four candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination: Montgomery County Commissioner and former U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, state auditor general and former state Sen. Jack Wagner and state Sen. Anthony Williams.

Several former U.S. Attorneys are running for Congress in Pennsylvania:

Mary Beth Buchanan (Steve Pope)

Mary Beth Buchanan, who served as the Western District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney from 2001 until November 2009, is one of two candidates seeking the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional District. She will face former Department of Homeland Security official Keith Rothfus in the Republican primary. Both candidates hope to challenge Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Patrick Meehan (doj)

In the 7th Congressional District, Pat Meehan, who led the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2001 to 2008, is running unopposed in the Republican primary. Three Democrats — attorney Gail Conner, state Rep. Bryan Lentz and political consultant E. Teresa Touey – are looking to win their party’s nomination. The candidates hope to replace Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak, who is challenging Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary.

Tom Marino (Tom Marino for Congress)

Finally, Tom Marino, who was the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania from 2002 to October 2007, is one of three Republicans looking to unseat Rep. Chris Carney (D), who is unopposed in the Democratic primary. The other two Republicans seeking the nomination are chiropractor and 2006 state Senate candidate David Madeira and Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm Derk.

Mary Beth Buchanan (Steve Pope)

Two weeks into her official congressional campaign, former Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan is on the offensive, defending her actions as a federal prosecutor and threatening a lawsuit against a radio talk show host for repeating “flat-out wrong” information about a case she prosecuted.

Buchanan, who served as the Western District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney from 2001 until November 2009, filed papers on Feb. 4 to seek the GOP nomination for the 4th District seat just north of Pittsburgh that is held by Democrat Jason Altmire. Buchanan and Keith Rothfus are seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Altimire. Rothfus is an attorney and former Department of Homeland Security official.

Cyril Wecht (CyrilWecht.com)

During “The Real Deal with Marty Griffin” on a Pittsburgh radio station on Thursday, host Griffin interviewed Cyril Wecht, Talking Points Memo reports. Wecht, who is a former Allegheny County medical examiner, was prosecuted by Buchanan for alleged corruption. Buchanan’s U.S. Attorney’s office dismissed all charges against the prominent Democratic defendant after a federal judge threw out evidence that he ruled was improperly obtained. Buchanan has received harsh criticism for her unsuccessful prosecution of Wecht, while Wecht’s supporters accused Buchanan of targeting him because of his politics.

Wecht during the radio interview said the case cost $20 million to prosecute. That figure did not sit well with Buchanan, who called into the radio show. After a polite introduction, the conversation very quickly turned curt.

Griffin: Just talked to Cyril Wecht live. On the phone now Mary Beth Buchanan. Good morning Mary Beth.

Buchanan: Good morning Marty.

Griffin: You heard Dr. Wecht. You heard his comments. Uh — (interrupted)

Buchanan: Yeah, you know what, listen Marty. Normally I don’t have the opportunity to listen to your show but this morning I happened to catch it and I’m calling in because you and Cyril were batting around what my qualifications are so I’m here to tell you what they are.

After talking about other issues for a while, the conversation turned confrontational.

Marty Griffin (KDKA Radio)

Buchanan: Let’s also talk about another issue. Let’s talk about that issue. You keep rolling around numbers wildly exaggerated that this case cost $10 million — (interrupted)

Griffin: No, Dr. Wecht said 20 (million) actually.

Buchanan: But you repeat it and that’s just flat-out wrong. And you know, we still have defamation laws in this country. And to the extent that you keep repeating things are flat-out wrong, you’re running afoul. That case could not have cost the government more than $500,000, and that’s on the outside.”

Griffin: So you’re saying you’re going to sue me? “Is that what you’re saying, Mary Beth, because Dr. Wecht and others are suggesting? So you’re gonna run for Congress, and you’re threatening to sue me because we’re suggesting that the case cost $20 million?

Buchanan: I’m saying you have to know what you’re talking about before you start repeating things.

Griffin: So his lawyers are wrong and you’re right? Is that what you’re saying?

Buchanan: That’s right. And I was the U.S. Attorney and I know what it cost. And to the extent that you were misinformed and you’re misinforming your viewers I’m here to correct you.

Griffin then asks Buchanan if she’s willing to provide documents indicating exactly how much the case cost.

Griffin: Are you gonna answer my question?

Buchanan: I am answering your question, if you would shut up and let me talk.

Griffin: Oh, so this is how you’re gonna run? Telling people to shut up and threatening them with lawsuits?

Buchanan: Listen, if you want the facts, I’m here to give them to you. If you hear want to hear yourself talk, then why do you even invite people to come on and be guests?

Griffin: Go ahead, Mary Beth.

Buchanan: Okay, thank you.

Griffin: You sound very defensive to me. It’s a long road, Mary Beth, to run for office. This is just the beginning. This is just your toe in the water. But go ahead.

Click here for the audio of the conversation between Griffin and Buchanan.

Former Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan will decide within the next couple weeks whether she will seek the Republican nomination for a House seat in Western Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported today.

Mary Beth Buchanan (Steve Pope)

Buchanan, who served as the Western District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney from 2001 until November 2009, told the newspaper that she was “very encouraged” by meetings she had with local Republicans about seeking the 4th District seat just north of Pittsburgh that is held by Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), who is running for a third term.

“The common message I’ve been hearing, consistently, is that most voters feel the current administration is forcing its agenda and programs on people who don’t want them, who don’t feel like paying for them and who are not willing to leave this tax bill for future generations,” Buchanan told the Tribune-Review.

The ex-U.S. Attorney would likely challenge lawyer Keith Rothfus in the Republican primary, according to the newspaper. Congressional Quarterly rates the district as “likely Democratic” for the 2010 election.

Beaver County GOP Chairman Marty Matthews told the Tribune-Review that Buchanan would face an “uphill battle” if she runs. The former U.S. Attorney has received harsh criticism for her unsuccessful prosecution of former Allegheny County medical examiner Cyril Wecht.

Her office dismissed all charges against the prominent Democratic defendant after a federal judge threw out evidence that he ruled was improperly obtained. Wecht’s supporters accused Buchanan of targeting him because of his politics. And former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh asked Attorney General Eric Holder to discipline Buchanan for “vindictively� suggesting at a news conference that Wecht was guilty, but nothing ever came of the request -– at least publicly.

“Personal opinion, I think if there were another candidate who had the recognition that Mary Beth Buchanan has, it would be the better choice,” Matthews told the newspaper. “It’s the Wecht thing, primarily.”

We reported last week that Buchanan also came out on the losing end of an apparent political skirmish over a rescue mission for 53 Haitian orphans. She was trying to organize efforts to help Haitian children stranded in an orphanage destroyed by this month’s earthquake. But Altmire and Gov. Ed Rendell (D) planned their own rescue mission and kept the Bush U.S. Attorney mostly out of the loop.

Two other former U.S. Attorneys from Pennsylvania who served during the administration of George W. Bush have already declared their candidacies for House seats.

Tom Marino, who was the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania from 2002 to October 2007, is running for the seat held by Rep. Chris Carney (D). Patrick Meehan, who led the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2001 to 2008, is seeking the seat that is being vacated by Rep. Joe Sestak (D), who is running against Sen. Arlen Specter in the state’s Democratic Senate primary.

Another controversial Bush-era U.S. Attorney is mulling a run for higher office.  The Western District of Pennsylvania’s Mary Beth Buchanan is considering a bid for a House seat, according to Jim Roddey, the head of Allegheny County’s Republican Party, told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Mary Beth Buchanan (Steve Pope)

Buchanan wore multiple hats in the Bush administration, serving as the district’s top federal prosecutor since 2001 while simultaneously holding leadership positions at Department of Justice headquarters in Washington. She headed the Executive Office of United States Attorneys From 2004 to 2005, and came under scrutiny in the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation of events leading up to the 2006 U.S. Attorney firings. Democrats have also accused her of targeting Democrats for prosecution.

Last November Buchanan told local reporters she would not voluntarily step down. Roddey told The Post-Gazette that Buchanan should resign if she announces her candidacy. (Well, we’d guess so.)

If Buchanan ran, she’d join former White House aide and ex-interim Eastern Arkansas U.S. District Attorney Tim Griffin — another figure from U.S. Attorney firings scandal — in running for the House. Griffin has begun raising money for the GOP nomination against Democratic Rep. Vic Snyder in Little Rock. And former New Jersey U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R) is locked in an acrimonious battle for governor against the incumbent, Gov. Jon Corzine (D).

Also in Pennsylvania, the Bush-appointed former U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia, Patrick Meehan, is running for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), who is mounting a Democratic primary challenge against party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter next year.

Pennsylvania Democratic Sens. Specter and Bob Casey are in charge of recommending a Democratic replacement for Buchanan to President Barack Obama. But they have yet to make any announcements.

Roddey told The Post-Gazette that Buchanan has been weighing a challenge to  Rep. Jason Altmire (D), who represents Pennsylvania’s 4th congressional district, for at least a month. In addition, Buchanan is consulting with state and national GOP leaders to gauge party support and her chances are of winning, Roddey told The Post-Gazette.

Buchanan’s chances are 50-50, Roddey told The Post-Gazette, adding, “She’s in the exploratory phase right now. It will take at least a million dollars to run, so that’s a big consideration.” Roddey also told The Post-Gazette, “[Ms. Buchanan has] certainly got the name recognition, and I think a woman could do well in that district. And she’s a fresh face. … It’s generally a conservative area. A lot of them are now concerned that Obama may be a little too liberal for them. You never know. It’s still a long way to go, but I know she would be a viable candidate.”

Former Department of Homeland Security official Keith Rothfus is planning to run for the Republican nomination in the 4th district. And Mike Turzai, the  state House Whip, has been mentioned as a possible candidate.