Attorneygate: Bill Clinton's 1993 Purge of U.S. Attorneys

TheVanguard.org ^ | April 14, 2007 | Richard Poe

[Richard Poe]

History is an excellent antidote for hysteria. All the huffing and puffing over the Bush Administration's firing of eight U.S. Attorneys might be tempered by an awareness that Bush's predecessor, President Bill Clinton, summarily fired all 93 U.S. Attorneys on a single day, March 23, 1993. (1) (2)

Why the Clinton Administration initiated this unprecedented purge has never been adequately investigated. For the convenience of future historians, we offer here a full list of the 93 U.S. Attorneys whose resignations the Clinton administration demanded:

1. U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama (usdoj.gov) James Eldon Wilson (1987-1994), replaced by Charles R. Pitt (1994-present) (3)
2. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama (usdoj.gov) Jack W. Selden (1992-93), replaced by Claude Harris, Jr. (1993-94)
3. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama (usdoj.gov) J.B. Sessions, III (1981-1993), replaced by Edward Vulevich, Jr. (1993-95)
4. U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska (usdoj.gov) Wevley William Shea (1990-1993), replaced by Joseph W. Bottini (1993)
5. U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona (usdoj.gov) Linda A. Akers (1990-1993), replaced by Daniel G. Knauss (1993)
6. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas (usdoj.gov) Charles A. Banks (1987-1993), replaced by Richard M. Pence, Jr. (1993)
7. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas (uscourts.gov) J. Michael Fitzhugh (1985-93), replaced by Paul K. Holmes, III (1993-present)
8. U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California (usdoj.gov)Terree A. Bowers (1992-94), replaced by Nora M. Manella (1994-present)
9. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California (usdoj.gov) George L. O'Connell (1991-93), replaced by Robert M. Twiss (1993)
10. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California (usdoj.gov) John A. Mendez (1992-93), replaced by Michael J. Yamaguchi (1993-present) (4)
11. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California (usdoj.gov) William Braniff (1988-93), replaced by James W. Brannigan, Jr. (1993)
12. U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado (usdoj.gov) Michael J. Norton (1988-93), replaced by James R. Allison (1993)
13. U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut (usdoj.gov) Albert S. Dabrowski (1991-93), replaced by Christopher Droney (1993-present)
14. U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware (usdoj.gov) William C. Carpenter (1985-93), replaced by Richard G. Andrews (1993)
15. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (usdoj.gov) Jay B. Stephens (1988-93), replaced by J. Ramsey Johnson (1993)
16. U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida (usdoj.gov) Robert W. Genzman (1988-93), replaced by Douglas N. Frazier (1993)
17. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida (usdoj.gov) Kenneth W. Sukhia (1990-93), replaced by Gregory R. Miller (1993)
18. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida (usdoj.gov) Roberto Martinez (1992-93), replaced by Kendall B. Coffey (1993-96)
19. U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia (usdoj.gov) Edgar William Ennis, Jr. (1988-93), replaced by Samuel A. Wilson, Jr. (1993)
20. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia (usdoj.gov) Joe D. Whitley (1990-93), replaced by Gerrilyn G. Brill (1993)
21. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia (usdoj.gov) Jay D. Gardner (1992-94), replaced by Harry D. Dixon, Jr. (1994-present)
22. U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana IslandsFrederick A. Black (1991-present)
23. U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii (usdoj.gov) Daniel A. Bent (1983-93), replaced by Elliott Enoki (1993-94)
24. U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho (usdoj.gov) Maurice O. Ellsworth (1985-93), replaced by Patrick J. Molloy (1993)
25. U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois (usdoj.gov) J. William Roberts (1986-93), replaced by Byron G. Cudmore (1993)
26. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois (usdoj.gov) Judge Fred L. Foreman (1990-93), replaced by Michael J. Shepard (1993)
27. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois (usdoj.gov) Frederick J. Hess (1982-93), replaced by Clifford J. Proud (1993)
28. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana (usdoj.gov) John F. Hoehner (1991-93), replaced by David A. Capp (1993)
29. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana (usdoj.gov) Deborah J. Daniels (1988-93), replaced by John J. Thar (1993)
30. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa (usdoj.gov) Charles W. Lawson (1986-93), replaced by Robert L. Teig (1993)
31. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa (usdoj.gov) Gene W. Shepard (1990-93), replaced by Don Carlos Nickerson (1993-present)
32. U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas (usdoj.gov) Lee Thompson (1990-93), replaced by Jackie N. Williams (1993)
33. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky (usdoj.gov) Karen K. Caldwell (1991-94), replaced by Joseph L. Famularo (1994-present)
34. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky (usdoj.gov) Joseph M. Whittle (1986-93), replaced by Michael Troop (1993-present)
35. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana (usdoj.gov) Harry A. Rosenberg (1991-93), replaced by Robert J. Boitmann (1993)
36. U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana (usdoj.gov) P. Raymond Lamonica (1986-94), replaced by L.J. Hymel (1994-present)
37. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana (usdoj.gov) Joseph S. Cage, Jr. (1981-93), replaced by William J. Flanagan (1993)
38. U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Richard S. Cohen (1981-1993), replaced by Jay P. McCloskey (1993-present)
39. U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland (usdoj.gov) Richard D. Bennett (1991-93), replaced by Gary P. Jordan (1993)
40. U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts (usdoj.gov) Wayne A. Budd (1989-93), replaced by A. John Pappalardo (1993)
41. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan (usdoj.gov) Stephen J. Markman (1989-93), replaced by Ross Parker (1993)
42. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan (usdoj.gov) John A. Smietanka (1981-94), replaced by Thomas J. Gezon (1994)
43. U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota (usdoj.gov) Thomas B. Heffelfinger (1991-93), replaced by Francis K. Hermann (1993)
44. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi (usdoj.gov) Robert Q. Whitwell (1985-93), replaced by Alfred E. Moreton, III (1993-present)
45. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi (usdoj.gov) George L. Phillips (1980-94), replaced by Brad Pigott (1994-present)
46. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri (usdoj.gov) Stephen B. Higgins (1990-93), replaced by Edward L. Dowd, Jr. (1993-present)
47. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri (usdoj.gov) Jean Paul Bradshaw (1989-93), replaced by Michael A. Jones (1993)
48. U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana (usdoj.gov) Doris Swords Poppler (1990-93), replaced by Sherry S. Mateucci (1993-present)
49. U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska (usdoj.gov) Ronald D. Lahners (1981-93), replaced by Thomas J. Monaghan (1993-present)
50. U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada (usdoj.gov) Monte Stewart (1992-93), replaced by Kathryn Landreth (1993-present)
51. U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire (usdoj.gov) Jeffrey R. Howard (1989-93), replaced by Peter E. Papps (1993)
52. U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey (usdoj.gov) Michael Chertoff (1990-94), replaced by Faith S. Hochberg (1994-present)
53. U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico (usdoj.gov) Don J. Svet (1991-93), replaced by Larry Gomez (1993)
54. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (usdoj.gov) Mary Jo White (1992-93), replaced by Zachary W. Carter (1993-present)
55. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York (usdoj.gov) Gary L. Sharpe (1992-94), replaced by Thomas J. Maroney (1994-present)
56. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (usdoj.gov) Otto G. Obermaier (1989-93), replaced by Roger S. Hayes (1993)
57. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York (usdoj.gov) Dennis C. Vacco (1988-93), replaced by Patrick H. NeMoyer (1993-present)
58. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina (usdoj.gov) Margaret Person Currin (1988-93), replaced by James R. Dedrick (1993)
59. U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina (uscourts.gov) Robert H. Edmunds, Jr. (1986-93), replaced by Benjamin H. White, Jr. (1993)
60. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina (uscourts.gov) Thomas J. Ashcraft (1987-93), replaced by Jerry W. Miller (1993)
61. U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota (usdoj.gov) Stephen D. Easton (1990-93), replaced by John T. Schneider (1993-present)
62. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio (uscourts.gov) Joyce J. George (1989-93), replaced by Patrick J. Foley (1993)
63. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio D. Michael Crites (1986-93), replaced by Barbara L. Beran (1993)
64. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma (usdoj.gov) John W. Haley, Jr. (1990-present)
65. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma (usdoj.gov) Tony M. Graham (1987-93), replaced by Frederick L. Dunn, III (1993)
66. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma (usdoj.gov) Joe L. Heaton (1992-93), replaced by John E. Green (1993)
67. U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon (usdoj.gov) Charles H. Turner (1982-93), replaced by Jack C. Wong (1993)
68. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (usdoj.gov) Michael M. Baylson (1988-93), replaced Michael J. Rotko (1993)
69. U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (uscourts.gov) James J. West (1985-93), replaced by Wayne P. Samuelson (1993)
70. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania (uscourts.gov) Thomas W. Corbett, Jr. (1989-93), replaced by Frederick W. Thieman (1993-present)
71. U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico (uscourts.gov) Daniel F. Lopez-Romo (1982-93), replaced by Charles E.. Fitzwilliam (1993)
72. U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island (usdoj.gov) Lincoln C. Almond (1981-93), replaced by Edwin J. Gale (1993)
73. U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina (usdoj.gov) John S. Simmons (1992-93), replaced by Margaret B. Seymour (1993)
74. U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota (usdoj.gov) Kevin V. Schieffer (1991-93), replaced by Ted L. McBride (1993)
75. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee (uscourts.gov) Jerry G. Cunningham (1991-93), replaced by David G. Dake (1993)
76. U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee (uscourts.gov) Ernest W. Williams (1991-94), replaced by John M. Roberts (1994-present)
77. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee (uscourts.gov) Edward G. Bryant (1991-93), replaced by Daniel A. Clancy (1993)
78. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas (uscourts.gov) Robert J. Wortham (1981-93), replaced by Ruth Yeager (1993)
79. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas (uscourts.gov) Marvin L. Collins (1985-93), replaced by Richard H. Stephens (1993)
80. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas (uscourts.gov) Ronald G. Woods (1990-93), replaced by Lawrence D. Finer (1993)
81. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas (uscourts.gov) Ronald F. Ederer (1989-93), replaced by James H. DeAtley (1993-96)
82. U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah (uscourts.gov) David J. Jordan (1991-93), replaced by Richard D. Parry (1993)
83. U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont (usdoj.gov) Charles A. Caruso (1991-93), replaced by Charles R. Tetzlaff (1993-present)
84. U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands (usdoj.gov) Terry M. Halpern (1987-93), replaced by Hugh P. Mabe, III (1993)
85. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (usdoj.gov) Richard Cullen (1991-93), replaced by Kenneth E. Melson (1993)
86. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia (usdoj.gov) E. Montgomery Tucker (1990-93), replaced by Morgan E. Scott, Jr. (1993)
87. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington (usdoj.gov) William D. Hyslop (1991-93), replaced by Carroll D. Gray (1993)
88. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington (usdoj.gov) Michael D. McKay (1989-93), replaced by Susan L. Barnes (1993)
89. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia (uscourts.gov) William A. Kolibash (1981-93), replaced by William D. Wilmoth (1993-present)
90. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia (uscourts.gov) Michael W. Carey (1986-93), replaced by Charles T. Miller (1993)
91. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (usdoj.gov) John E. Fryatt (1988-93), replaced by Nathan A. Fischbach (1993)
92. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin (usdoj.gov) Kevin C. Potter (1981-93), replaced by Grant C. Johnson (1993)
93. U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming (uscourts.gov) Richard A. Stacy (1981-94), replaced by David D. Freudenthal (1994-present)

---

NOTES

1. David Johnston and Neil A. Lewis, "Gonzales Draws Strong Criticism of Prosecutors", The New York Times, 29 March 2007

2. David Johnston, "Attorney General Seeks Resignations from Prosecutors", The New York Times, 24 March 1993

3. For a full listing of U.S. Attorneys, district by district, from 1784 to 1994, see: Richard A. Hertling, Acting Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Legislative Affairs, letter to The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. and The Honorable Linda Sanchez, 5 March 2007 (download pdf file)

4. "President Nominates Eight U.S. Attorneys", Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, 29 July 1993

[Richard Poe]

I hope this list inspires others to take the research to the next level. Many questions cry out for exploration. For instance, what cases were the fired U.S. Attorneys working on? Why did so many of their Clinton-appointed replacements serve such a short time, before being replaced in turn? And so forth.

[Richard Poe]

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF of my Hillary ping list.

[potlatch]

93 U.S. Attorneys whose resignations the Clinton administration demanded

Excellent list Richard and I have it bookmarked. Thanks for the post and ping!

[fanfan]

Hi.

Please remove me from this ping list.

Thanks.
:-)

[M Kehoe]

Good afternoon, and good work.

I have an answer for this question: "For instance, what cases were the fired U.S. Attorneys working on? "

And the answer is numbers 6 and 7 on your list.

[Queue Carson] Karnak: give me the envelop Ed, the question: What is Whitewater, and why are so many people associated with it in prison or dead?"

Not to mention Castle Grande (sp) or cattle futures...

5.56mm

[the_Watchman]

I visited the site for the District of Connecticut. Your list says that the Clinton appointee served to “present”. The DOJ site lists a Bush appointee who began service in 2002.

Do you know the pedigree of your list? When was it prepared? Prior to 2002?

Are any of the Clinton appointees still serving?

[conservative in nyc]

Not all 93 USAs were fired by Clinton. Some USA seats were already being held by temporary appointments, and as your chart suggests, some Bush-appointed USAs were ultimately allowed to serve past that day in March 1993. In fact, as your chart shows, John Raley from the Eastern District of Oklahoma was reappointed to his post by President Clinton.

The number of Clinton-fired Bush appointees was likely about 70.

Thoughts at the time were that all were fired so that the U.S. Attorneys investigating Rostenkowski and Whitewater could be canned without causing a major uproar.

[processing please hold]

Thanks for the ping and your post.

Different rules apply to dims.

[DakotaRed]

More impotant than this list, what of the other 30 or so he let go during his administration? Why were they discharged? What were they working on?

[Richard Poe]

Not all 93 USAs were fired by Clinton. ... The number of Clinton-fired Bush appointees was likely about 70.

As I understand it, Janet Reno demanded resignations from all 93 U.S. Attorneys, but did not accept every resignation tendered, in obedience to her order. Some U.S. Attorneys were left in place -- on a probationary basis, one might say.

[Liberty Wins]

From the NY Times of March 26, 1992: "Any hope that the Clinton Administration would operate a Justice Department free of political taint -- or even the appearance of political taint -- grew dim yesterday when the White House confirmed that it would dismiss the U.S. Attorney investigating one of its chief Congressional allies." (Rostenkowski)

And by the way, when is Congress looking into cases where partisan politics played a role in false indictments, say, that of Majority Leader Tom DeLay?

[GiovannaNicoletta]

bookmark

[conservative in nyc]

As best I can tell, 35 Clinton-appointed U.S. Attorneys left office during the Clinton years (including one Clinton re-appointee from the Bush I administration). Of the 35:

7 left to become federal judges;
2 left for other jobs in the Clinton administration;
1 left to become an immigration judge (N.D.CA USA Yamaguchi - under circumstances very similar to Bush N.D.CA USA Ryan);
7 left to run for elective office (including 1 who ultimately ran for NYS judge);
13 left to go into private practice or non-elected public service;
2 retired;
1 joined the office of special counsel investigating Waco; and
2 left because they assaulted someone (Colleton/Coffey).

6 of the Clinton Appointees resigned in August-October of 1997 to retire or enter private practice. These included:

1) Frederick W. Thieman (W.D.PA) (8/1/97). He had just indicted some bigwig Democrat donors on 7/18/97;
2) Kent B. Alexander (N.D.GA) (8/15/97). He was responsible for prosecuting the Centennial Olympic Bombing case;
3) John W. Raley, Jr. (E.D.OK) (8/15/97). Raley was a George H.W. Bush appointee who was reappointed by Clinton. He supposedly retired;
4) James B. Burns (N.D.IL) (8/20/97);
5) Patrick H. NeMoyer (9/26/97). He ultimately ended up running for NYS Supreme Court - in 1998 (which, despite the name, is our lowest state court, one step above city and town courts); and
6) Gaynelle Griffin Jones (10/10/97). According to some reports, she may have been subject to an internal DOJ probe regarding her handling of local investigations.

I have no proof that any of the six were forced out, but isn't it a bit strange that they all left about the same time, which also happened to be around the time some of their terms were going to expire?

[Richard Poe]

"I visited the site for the District of Connecticut. Your list says that the Clinton appointee served to “present”. The DOJ site lists a Bush appointee who began service in 2002.

"Do you know the pedigree of your list? When was it prepared? Prior to 2002?

You're right. The list is old, and does not always include recent appointees. It is mainly of interest to see what happened during the Clinton years.

The list was provided to the House Judiciary Committee on March 5, 2007, by one Richard A. Hertling, Acting Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice's Office of Legislative Affairs.

However, Hertling notes that the list was taken from an older publication titled, The Bicentennial Celebration of the United States (he gives no date).

You can download a copy of the list, along with Hertling's correspondence, from this link.

[hosepipe]

Yoemans and worthy work.. thanks..

[conservative in nyc]

As I understand it, Janet Reno demanded resignations from all 93 U.S. Attorneys, but did not accept every resignation tendered, in obedience to her order. Some U.S. Attorneys were left in place -- on a probationary basis, one might say.

Some of the U.S. Attorneys were court-appointed temporary replacements whose resignations probably couldn't be forced. Not every USA position was filled with a political appointee in March 1993.

And of the Carter/Reagan/Bush USA appointees in office, John Raley, James Wilson (M.D.AL), Karen Caldwell (E.D.KY), Raymond LaMonica (M.D.LA), Michael Chertoff (D.NJ), Ernest Williams (M.D.TN), Richard Stacy (D.WY), John Smietanka (W.D.MI), George Phillips (S.D.MS) and Frederick Black (D. Guam) likely served past the March 1993 firing date.

[Richard Poe]

Good analysis.

I suppose this may have some relevance as well:

---

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

July 29, 1993

The President nominated eight individuals to be U.S. Attorneys today:

Eric H. Holder, Jr., for the District of Columbia
Michael Joseph Yamaguchi for the Northern District of
California
Randall K. Rathbun for the District of Kansas
Thomas Justin Monaghan for the District of Nebraska
Stephen Charles Lewis for the Northern District of Oklahoma
Vicki Miles-LaGrange for the Western District of Oklahoma
John W. Raley, Jr. for the Eastern District of Oklahoma
Frederick W. Theiman for the Western District of
Pennsylvania

Read more »

[HardStarboard]

It is my understanding that, after replacing all 93 US Attorneys in March '93, Clinton then proceeded to replace 30 of those over the rest of his tenure.

It would be interesting to know the circumstances of those 30 firings replacements.

[JessieHelmsJr]

bm for later