Rachel Paulose

Last updated
Rachel Paulose
United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota
In office
March 9, 2007 –November 19, 2007
Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

On April 17, the Associated Press reported that the House Judiciary Committee had contacted Paulose for voluntary questioning about the "firings of 8 U.S. federal prosecutors" [18] On May 31, 2007, the Los Angeles Times published an article stating that Paulose's predecessor was removed from his post for failing to pursue voter fraud cases that would prevent a significant number of Native Americans in Minnesota from casting ballots in the 2004 election, and that Paulose's appointment stemmed not only from her credentials, but from her work in private law filing "election lawsuits on behalf of the Minnesota GOP." [18] Heffelfinger and an assistant U.S. Attorney, Rob Lewis, had previously expressed concern "about possible voter discrimination against Indians", according to the Times. Also reported was that one of Paulose's "first acts in office was to remove Lewis, who had written the 2004 e-mails to Washington expressing concern about Native American voting rights in Minnesota, from overseeing voting rights cases."[ citation needed ]

On September 24, 2007, the Washington Post reported that Paulose "is the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel into allegations that she mishandled classified information, retaliated against those who crossed her, and made racist remarks about a support staff employee, said multiple sources in Minnesota and Washington, who declined to be identified because the probe is still under way.[ citation needed ] In addition, an internal Justice Department audit found that her employees gave her very low marks, alleging that she treated subordinates harshly and lacked the requisite experience for the job, according to several sources familiar with the audit. Her performance review was so poor that Kenneth E. Melson, head of the department's Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, took the unusual step of meeting with her in Minnesota several weeks ago, according to two sources. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel released its findings on December 3, 2008, and found that there "were reasonable grounds to believe that a prohibited personnel practice had occurred that warranted corrective action". [19] Paulose did indeed retaliate inappropriately against her top subordinate after he reported her for those transgressions. But the OSC noted that the settlement agreement "was entered into by the Department of Justice as a no-fault agreement and was not to be construed as an admission of liability by DOJ." The office and home of the OSC official who led the investigation against Paulose were raided "as part of an investigation into whether he himself mixed politics with official business." [20]

Resignation from office

Palouse resigned on November 19, 2007, to work at the Justice Department. In reaction, Senator Norm Coleman said, "I support Rachel Paulose's decision today to step down from her duties as Minnesota's U.S. attorney. I have made it clear that I have had concerns about the office of the U.S. attorney under her watch, and I believe this decision will allow the office to move forward." Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota's other U.S. senator, also welcomed the resignation.[ citation needed ]

Memberships

Paulose is a contributing author for the American Bar Association focusing on Supreme Court cases and a guest writer for the Asian-American Press.[ citation needed ] She is Vice President for the Minnesota chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and for the Eighth Circuit chapter of the Federal Bar Association. She also serves on the boards of directors of the League of Women Voters, the Yale Law School Fund, and the Trust for Public Land, in addition to being a scholarship selection judge for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. ↑ Senate Confirms U.S. Attorney For Minnesota Archived 2007-07-04 at the Wayback Machine WCCO - December 9, 2006
  2. ↑ "Home electronics keeps pace". Rivertowns.net. 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  3. ↑ "Obituary: Elizabeth "Lisa" Sarah (Paulose) Goulette (1975-2019)". Asian American Press. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  4. 1 2 Justice Department Announces Appointment of Rachel K. Paulose as United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota U.S. Department of Justice - February 17, 2006
  5. 1 2 Rachel Paulose Confirmed as U.S. Attorney for Minn. District (2007, January 12). India-West, p. A1, A37.
  6. ↑ SEC Press Release: SEC Charges Florida Broker in Astrology-Based Ponzi Scheme] U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - June 21, 2012
  7. ↑ "Rachel Paulose Joins DLA Piper in Minneapolis". Corporate Crime Reporter. 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  8. ↑ "Rachel Paulose". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  9. ↑ "Rachel Paulose" . Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  10. 1 2 McLean, Leah; "Was U.S. Attorney's swearing-in ceremony too extravagant?"; KSTP, Minneapolis-St. Paul. 23 March 2007.
  11. ↑ Cohen, Mark; April 2, 2007; Making a federal case over a $225 'coronation'" Minnesota Lawyer; retrieved from blogspot.com April 7, 2007.
  12. ↑ "The latest from the StarTribune". Star Tribune .
  13. ↑ Minnesota's U.S. Attorney Being Moved To D.C. CBS2Chicago. 20 November 2007.
  14. ↑ U.S. Attorney "Kicked Out And Kicked Up" CBS News. 20 November 2007.
  15. ↑ 3 federal prosecutors quit manager posts Minneapolis Star Tribune. 5 April 2007.
  16. ↑ Murphy, Esme; April 6, 2007; 4 In U.S. Attorney's Office Resign In Protest; WCCO-TV; retrieved April 8, 2007.
  17. ↑ Johnston, David; April 7, 2007; Deputies to a U.S. Attorney Step Down; The New York Times ; retrieved April 8, 2007.
  18. 1 2 Hamburger, Tom (May 31, 2007). "A targeted prosecutor, a pattern". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 15, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
  19. ↑ "Office of Special Counsel Settles Whistleblower Reprisal Complaint Against Minnesota U.S. Attorneys' Office". U.S. Office of Special Counsel. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  20. ↑ David Stout (2008-05-07). "F.B.I. Raids Office of Special Counsel". New York Times.
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2006-2007		Succeeded by
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