Eric Holder at U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's investiture in Manhattan on Oct. 13 (DOJ)

Attorneys General rarely venture out of Washington to attend swearing-in ceremonies for new U.S. Attorneys, according to former Justice Department officials. But Eric Holder has done so three times — deploying the power of his office to anoint rising stars or draw subtle contrasts with the Bush administration.

So far this year, Holder has attended the ceremonial investitures for U.S. Attorneys Joyce Vance in the Northern District of Alabama, B. Todd Jones in Minnesota and Preet Bharara in the Southern District of New York. Both Vance and Jones run offices that were in turmoil during the Bush administration, and Holder — who has said he wants to restore professionalism to the Justice Department — emphasized the department’s new direction by attending the ceremonies.

At the same time, Jones is also an old friend of Holder, while Vance is a respected veteran who is considered an up-and-comer in the department.

And in Manhattan, Bharara heads the largest and most prestigious U.S. Attorney office outside Washington, which prosecutes high-profile financial fraud and national security cases. Bharara is also close to an important Democratic ally on the Hill, Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Bharara was Schumer’s chief counsel before he was confirmed as U.S. Attorney.

Holder’s visits show his willingness to deploy the authority of his office for public relations purposes and to build internal morale. But it remains fairly unusual for an Attorney General to attend swearing-in ceremonies, according to ex-U.S. Attorneys.

The Justice Department doesn’t keep formal count, according to a DOJ spokesperson. It’s unclear how many — if any — ceremonies President George W. Bush’s first AG John Ashcroft attended. Ashcroft told Main Justice in that he couldn’t recall. Also, many of the federal prosecutors who were sworn in under Ashcroft arrived not long after the 9/11 terrorist attacks — not a time for pomp and circumstance. Still, Bush’s first AG commended Holder for attending investitures.

“The more you attend, the better,” Ashcroft said, adding that during his four years of service, he eventually visited about half of the U.S. Attorneys offices.

"The more you attend, the better," former AG John Ashcroft said of investitures. (doj)

Ron Woods, National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys executive director, told Main Justice that Attorneys General have attended investitures for the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney in the past. But he said their appearances at swearing-in ceremonies outside of Washington are “fairly rare.”

“Our members recall the Attorney General making office visits during their term, but not individual investitures,” said Woods, who served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas from 1990 to 1993. “Keep in mind that there are 93 U. S. Attorneys and most of the investitures will occur within a few months of each other. That would be a significant commitment of time and travel by the Attorney General.”

Holder developed close relationships with the federal prosecutorial community while serving President Bill Clinton as District of Columbia U.S. Attorney and later as Deputy Attorney General, former prosecutors interviewed by Main Justice said. Only three of the last 10 Attorneys General worked as federal prosecutors before becoming the nation’s top cop.

One of the prosecutors Holder got to know was Jones, who was the Minnesota U.S. Attorney during the Clinton administration. Shortly after Jones returned as U.S. Attorney in August, Holder named him chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, an influential policy-making and advisory body that serves as the voice of the U.S. Attorneys in Washington.

But an Attorney General does not show up to an investiture just to say hello to an old friend, according to former DOJ officials. The nation’s top federal prosecutor also attends swearing-in ceremonies for political and public relations reasons.

B. Todd Jones (left) takes the oath of office last month. Eric Holder (right) gave remarks. (doj)

An official trip to a U.S. Attorney’s office by an Attorney General for an investiture or another event will often attract the media, which will draw attention to the office. It is also an opportunity to energize prosecutors in the field. ”When the Attorney General shows up, it shows the importance of the work being done,” Ashcroft told Main Justice.

A Justice Department spokesperson told Main Justice in August that Holder’s first trip to a U.S. Attorney investiture was part of ongoing effort by the Attorney General to reach out to the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices.

“The Attorney General is making it a priority to visit U.S. Attorneys’ offices around the country to personally meet with prosecutors and other staff to hear firsthand about the cases they’re working on, the issues they face, and ways in which he can help them do their jobs,” spokesperson Hannah August said this summer. “The visit to the Northern District of Alabama was made to coincide with U.S. Attorney Vance’s swearing-in.”

Regardless of the Attorney’s General reasons behind a trip to a U.S. Attorney’s office, former prosecutors told Main Justice that a visit by the nation’s top federal prosecutor has a major impact on the office. ”It is very meaningful when the Attorney General visits,” said John Richter, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma from 2005 to 2009.

Attorney General Eric Holder praised Minnesota’s new U.S. Attorney before more than 300 people at his investiture in Minneapolis, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

B. Todd Jones (Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi)

U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones previously served as Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor during the Clinton administration. He is the first Senate-confirmed Minnesota U.S. Attorney since Bush appointee Rachel Paulose was reassigned in November 2007 amid an ethics investigation and the resignations of top prosecutors who objected to her management style. Jones announced this week that he promoted two of those prosecutors who’d been Paulose critics.

“Todd will be an integral part of the Justice Department team we’ve assembled to keep the American people safe, restore the credibility of a department badly shaken by allegations of improper political interference, and reinvigorate our traditional law enforcement missions,” said Holder at the event, according to the news release.

He also attended the swearing in ceremony for Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance last month. Vance succeeded Alice Martin, who came under criticism by Democrats and liberals who charged her prosecuting decisions were partisan.

Holder added that Jones is also the new chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. The AGAC is an influential policy-making and advisory body that serves as the voice of the U.S. Attorneys in Washington.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who recommended Jones to President Obama, lauded the U.S. Attorney further. She said at the ceremony that he is part of a “long tradition of outstanding U.S. Attorneys.”

“Todd brings integrity and independence to a U.S. Attorney’s office already respected for its professionalism,” Klobuchar said at the event, according to the news release. “He understands the role of a prosecutor is to enforce the laws and ensure justice is done, without fear or favor. He’s done that before, and I know he’ll do it again.”

The Minnesota U.S. Attorney said he was honored to serve as U.S. Attorney again.

“The opportunity to serve our country again is one I will always cherish,” Jones said at the event, according to the news release. “The four simple words embedded somewhere on the wall of every federal courthouse in the land – equal justice under law – represent a bedrock principle upon which our great nation will continue to thrive. They are words intended to guide us every day as we represent the people of the United States as members of the Department of Justice.”

Jones officially took office in August, but he did not have a public swearing-in ceremony at the time.

The veteran prosecutor who led the troubled Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office for 20 months after controversial Bush appointee Rachel Paulose was reassigned has been named to a new leadership post, the office announced today.

Rachel Paulose (DOJ)

Frank Magill, who stepped down as Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor last month, will be counsel to newly confirmed U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones. Magill was named acting U.S. Attorney in January 2008, after Paulose’s interregnum came to an end in November 2007. His appointment was viewed as a way to heal the rifts in the office, Minnesota Public Radio reported at the time.

Jones previously served as Minnesota U.S. Attorney in the Clinton adminstration, from 1998 to 2001, and had worked with Magill, who’s been a prosecutor in the office since 1990.

Paulose’s tenure was marked by politics and turbulence. She was appointed by then-U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in February 2006 as an interim U.S. Attorney, at the age of 32. The Senate later confirmed her in December 2006.

Her predecessor, Tom Heffelfinger, was on a list of U.S. Attorneys slated for firing compiled by Kyle Sampson, Gonzales’ chief of staff. Heffelfinger, however, resigned before the firings.

During her short tenure, Paulose became a focus of complaints that the Bush Justice Department promoted some prosecutors based on ideology instead of competence. Several of her top managers stepped down in protest of her leadership style, including former First Assistant John Marti and former criminal division chief James Lackner.

Paulose demoted Marti in April 2007 after he reported her for mishandling classified documents. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an executive branch agency that deals with whistle-blower cases, determined last year that Paulose retaliated against Marti.  The complaint ended Paulose’s tenure; she was reassigned to a non-supervisory position in the Office of Legal Policy at Main Justice in November 2007 while the OSC investigated. Paulose is now at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Miami, we reported last month.

B. Todd Jones (Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi)

Jones made Marti his First Assistant and Lackner the office’s appellate chief, according the U.S. Attorney’s office announcement. We reported last month that Jones intended to make Marti his deputy.

Here are the appointments made by Jones, with biographies from the U.S. Attorney’s office:

• Frank Magill (Counsel to the U.S. Attorney)
  Before the appointment, he served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota from January 2008 to August 2009 and First Assistant U.S. Attorney from July 2007 to January 2008. From 1998 to July 2007, he headed the Office’s economic crimes section. Magill, who joined the Office in 1990, graduated from Georgetown University in 1981 and earned his law degree from the Georgetown Law Center in 1985. Prior to his tenure with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Magill was employed at the Dorsey & Whitney law firm in Minneapolis.

• John Marti (First Assistant)
  Prior to this appointment, Marti worked in the Office’s economic crimes section, prosecuting financial and public corruption crimes. Marti, who joined the Office in November 2000, also was the First Assistant U.S. Attorney from December 2006 to April 2007. Marti is a 1985 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a 1991 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law. Before joining the Office, Marti served as a Trial Attorney with the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal division in Washington D.C. and on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps.

• James Lackner (Appellate Chief)
  Prior to this appointment, Lackner served as Senior Litigation Counsel from December 1994 to August 2005; Criminal Division Chief from August 2005 to April 2007; and First Assistant U.S. Attorney from March 2006 to December 2006. Lackner, who joined the Office in December 1983, graduated from Macalester College in 1975 and Northwestern University Law School in 1978. He joined the Office after working in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.

• Andrew S. Dunne (Criminal Division Chief)
  Before this appointment, Dunne served as the Office’s narcotics crimes section chief from 1997 to September 2006 and was an Assistant Director for Criminal Programs at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C., from 2007-2009. Dunne is a 1980 graduate of Springfield College (Mass.) and a 1986 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. Before joining the Office in February 1990, Dunne worked at the law firm of Faegre & Benson in Minneapolis.

• Greg G. Brooker (Civil Division Chief)
  Brooker was named to that post in 2007. Prior to that appointment, Brooker, who joined the Office in 1999, practiced law in the civil division. Brooker is a 1982 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a 1985 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School. Brooker clerked for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice George M. Scott from 1985-1986, worked at the law firm of Popham, Haik from 1986-1992 and served as an assistant city attorney for the City of Bloomington from 1992-1999.

• Joseph T. Dixon III (Economic Crimes Section Chief)
  Dixon has served in that capacity since January 2008. Before then, he served as Senior Litigation Counsel and worked in the Office’s economic crimes, narcotics and major crimes crimes sections. Dixon graduated in 1991 from the University of Wisconsin and earned his law degree in 1995 from the Columbia School of Law. He clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Judge Gerald W. Heaney from 1995-1996. Prior to joining the Office in January 2001, Dixon worked for the law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York.

• Michelle E. Jones (Major Crimes Section Chief)
  She has held that position since March 2008. Jones, who began her career in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in March 2000, is a 1989 graduate of the University of California at Berkley and a 1992 graduate of Harvard Law School. She clerked for Massachusetts Appeals Court Justice Frederick L. Brown from 1992-1993 and U.S. District of Minnesota Judge James M. Rosenbaum from 1993-1995. Before accepting a job with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jones was employed at the law firm of Howrey & Simon in Washington, D.C.

• Carol M. Kayser (Narcotics Crimes Section Chief)
  Prior to that appointment, she worked in the major crimes section. Kayser also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia from 1999-2008. Kayser is a 1983 graduate of Northwestern University and a 1988 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School. Before her employment with the Justice Department, Kayser served as an assistant district attorney for Dekalb County, Georgia.

B. Todd Jones (Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi)

Minnesota U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones intends to name as his deputy a prosecutor who clashed with Rachel Paulose, the brash young Bush administration official who once ran the office, a person familiar with his plans told Main Justice today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marti, a line prosecutor in the office, also served as Paulose’s First Assistant. But she demoted him in April 2007 after he reported her for mishandling classified documents. Paulose’s 20-month tenure marked a period of intense turmoil in the Minneapolis-based office, and she became a symbol of the Bush Justice Department’s tendency to promote prosecutors based on ideology instead of competence.

Rachel Paulose (DOJ)

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an executive branch agency that deals with whistle-blower cases, determined last year that Paulose retaliated against Marti. ”Based on considerable evidence of intent, animus, and motive, OSC concluded that Ms. Paulose constructively demoted” Marti for reporting her conduct to Justice Department officials, according to a news release announcing the findings.

The Justice Department reached an agreement with Marti after the OSC investigation. He was given back pay and a lump-sum payment for damages. The department also agreed to remove any negative references from his personnel records.

Two other lawyers in the office resigned their management positions in protest of her policies and management style, and more threatened to defect if Paulose remained at her post. She resigned as U.S. Attorney in November 2007 after spending less than 20 months as Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor. Paulose was appointed by then-U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as an interim U.S. Attorney, at the age of 32. The Senate later confirmed her in December 2006.

Her predecessor, Tom Heffelfinger, was on a list of U.S. Attorneys slated for firing compiled by Kyle Sampson, Gonzales’ chief of staff. Heffelfinger, however, resigned before the firings.

Paulose is now a senior trial counsel in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Miami regional office. Read Main Justice’s report about her new gig here.

Jones, a former Minnesota U.S. Attorney during the Clinton administration, is the first Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney for the office since Paulose. He was sworn into office last week.

U.S. Attorneys typically change some of the leaders in their offices after they are sworn in.

Marti did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Joe Palazzolo contributed to this report.

Four Obama U.S. Attorneys were sworn in today, according to U.S. Attorney spokespersons and news reports.

They are:

Tristram Coffin (Paul Frank & Collins)

-Tristram Coffin, Vermont U.S. Attorney

Coffin succeeded Paul J. Van de Graaf, who resigned as U.S. Attorney in February. Coffin was at Burlington, Vt. law firm Paul Frank & Collins from 2006 to 2009. Prior to joining the firm, he spent 12 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Vermont office.

Preet Bharara (North American South Asian Bar Association )

-Preet Bharara, Southern District of New York U.S.
Attorney

Bharara succeeded Michael J. Garcia, who resigned as U.S. Attorney in December. Bharara was chief counsel to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee staff from 2005 to 2009. Before that, he spent five years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District.

John Kacavas (Kacavas Ramsdell & Howard)

-John Kacavas, New Hampshire U.S. Attorney

Kacavas succeeded Tom Colantuono, who resigned as U.S. Attorney in March. He was a partner at Manchester, N.H. law firm Kacavas Ramsdell & Howard, which he co-founded in 2002.

-B. Todd Jones, Minnesota U.S. Attorney

B. Todd Jones (Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi)

Jones is the first Senate-confirmed Minnesota U.S. Attorney since Bush appointee Rachel Paulose stepped down in November 2007 amid resignation threats from top prosecutors in Minneapolis who objected to her management style. Jones was the Minnesota U.S. Attorney during the Clinton administration. He most recently worked at Minneapolis law firm Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi. (A spokesperson for the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s office told Main Justice Friday that Jones was sworn in Thursday. The aide didn’t respond to a message left Thursday regarding the swearing in date for Jones.)

Northern District of Alabama interim U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance will be sworn in as U.S. Attorney in a Aug. 27 ceremony that Attorney General Eric Holder is slated to attend.

Read our report on the five U.S. Attorney confirmations last week here.

This post was updated from an earlier version.

A MAIN JUSTICE EXCLUSIVE

“Where IS Rachel Paulose these days?” one of our readers recently asked us. You remember her, the former U.S. attorney in Minnesota who resigned under a cloud in November 2007?

Rachel Paulose (USDOJ)

Her tenure was marred by staff rebellions and a federal probe into her handling of classified information. Paulose’s defenders said she was scorned, unfairly, for her conservative Republican bent and her outspoken Christian beliefs. Her detractors said she was impossible to work for and questioned whether she had the requisite experience for the job. (At the time of her resignation, Paulose was 34 years old.) Three lawyers in the office resigned their management positions in protest of her policies and management style, and more threatened to defect if Paulose remained at her post.

After stepping down, she returned to Main Justice as a counsel in the Office of Legal Policy. Then came this news release, last December, from the Office of Special Counsel, which concluded that Paulose retaliated against the No. 2 official in her office who reported her for carelessly handling classified homeland security reports. (“Based on considerable evidence of intent, animus, and motive, OSC concluded that Ms. Paulose constructively demoted” John Marti, the office’s first assistant, after he reported her conduct to Justice Department officials, the release said.)

We assumed Paulose would make a swift exit from public service after the OSC aired its findings — or at least wash out quietly during the presidential transition.

We were wrong.

Paulose is back! She’s landed a job as a senior trial counsel in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Miami regional office. Her first appearances as an SEC lawyer, as far as we can tell, were entered in late March. Click here, here and here for copies of the filings.

A spokesman for the SEC confirmed that Paulose was hired in March but declined to offer further details. Paulose did not return calls seeking comment.

The SEC’s Miami outpost has 100 employees, including about 40 lawyers.

Joe Palazzolo can be contacted at jpalazzolo@mainjustice.com

Note: This post has been updated.

President Obama nominated B. Todd Jones for the U.S. Attorney position in Minnesota, a job Jones held in the past.

Jones, a partner at Minneapolis-based Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, served as Minnesota U.S. Attorney from 1998 to 2001.

(Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi)

He would replace acting U.S. Attorney Frank Magill if confirmed by the Senate. Magill took over after resignation of controversial U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose, who was originally put into office on an interim basis by then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in 2006.

Obama touted the nominee’s past military service. Jones served in the Marine Corps from 1983 to 1989, and was called back to active duty during the first Iraq war, where he earned the rank of major.

“Todd Jones made the utmost sacrifice for his country and served with honor as a member of the United States Marine Corps who fought in Operation Desert Storm,” President Obama said in a statement.  “And he has served the public in his civilian life, too, with a distinguished career in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesota.  It is my honor to ask him to serve in this capacity again.”

Jones also served as a First Assistant and Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Minnesota office.
The White House said it has forwarded his name along with several other U.S. Attorney nominations to the Senate. They include:

-Preet Bharara for Southern District of New York

-Tristram Coffin for the District of Vermont

-Jenny Durkan for the Western District of Washington

-Paul Fishman for the District of New Jersey

-John Paul Kacavas for District of New Hampshire

-Joyce Vance for the Northern District of Alabama