U.S. Attorney
Letten is a Republican,having been appointed to the U.S. Attorney's position by President George W. Bush. Nonetheless,when Republicans lost the Presidency to Democrat Barack Obama in 2008,many Democrats,including U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu,took the unusual step of urging the new President to reappoint Letten. [6]
As U.S. Attorney,Letten became known for his "successful prosecutions of public officials," ranging from corrupt elected officials to corrupt judges,police officers,and school officials. [7] The New York Times described him as "a popular crusader against the crooked traditions of Louisiana public servants." [4]
The Times-Picayune listed the following as the notable public corruption cases in which the U.S. Attorney's Office achieved convictions under Letten's leadership:"ex-Jefferson Parish Judges Ronald Bodenheimer and Alan Green;former Orleans Parish School Board President Ellenese Brooks-Simms;ex-state Sen. Derrick Shepherd;former St. Tammany Parish Councilman Joe Impastato;a whole bunch of folks who worked for or did business with the Orleans Parish School Board;several high-profile associates of ex-Mayor Marc Morial;and ex-New Orleans City Councilman Oliver Thomas,who had been pegged as a front-runner in the 2010 mayor's race." [8] These successes gained Letten bipartisan support,including from both Louisiana's U.S. Senators,Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican David Vitter. [8]
In September 2009,the Times-Picayune praised Letten and the FBI for "bringing to justice" Bill Hubbard,who resigned as Saint John Parish president after receiving bribes of $20,000 from contractors. [9]
After being retained in office by President Obama,Letten pursued a number of federal civil rights investigations into the New Orleans Police Department,a priority of the Obama administration's Department of Justice. [4]
In 2010,the conservative provocateur videographer/prankster James O'Keefe,"who specialized in often deceptively edited undercover camera work to expose what he considers to liberal hypocrisies," pleaded guilty to federal misdemeanor charges of entering the New Orleans offices of Senator Landrieu disguised as a telephone repairman and attempting to tamper with the office's phone system under false pretenses. [10] [11] fellow activists who accompanied O'Keefe also faced prosecution. [10] Although the U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case,Letten recused himself because he knew the father of one of the men involved. [10] In July 2013,after Letten left the U.S. Attorney's office to become assistant dean at Tulane law school,O'Keefe appeared at Letten's home,where he complained to Letten's wife about his prosecution,and later confronted Letten on the Tulane campus in a tense videotaped exchange. Letten called O'Keefe "scum" and told him to "stay away from my family." [10] [11] [12]
In December 2012,Letten resigned as U.S. Attorney,following revelations that senior prosecutors in Letten's office had made "provocative,even pugnacious comments about active criminal matters and other subjects under aliases at nola.com,the Web site of The Times-Picayune newspaper." [4] Senator Mary Landrieu and Attorney General Eric Holder paid tribute to Letten's service. [4]
