Live and Learn: Depoliticizing the Interim Appointments of U.S. Attorneys

Following the U.S. Attorney purge of 2006-2007, it is time to reassess the approach used to appoint interim U.S. Attorneys. Recent events have taught us how quickly U.S. Attorneys can become political pawns. Indeed, this scandal has jeopardized the credibility of federal prosecutors, disillusioned career prosecutors in those positions, and called into question the separation between professionalism and politics in the enforcement of our federal laws. To restore confidence in U.S. Attorneys Offices, a reexamination of the interim appointment process is critical so that the mistakes of 2006 are not repeated.