Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Going Number 2

Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty’s resignation from the Justice Department makes him the fourth top-level — and highest-ranking — official to decide to spend more time with his family. He says the purge of the U.S. attorneys had nothing to do with his decision to leave.

In a one-page letter to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, McNulty said he will leave his post in late summer because of the “financial realities” brought on by “college-age children and two decades of public service.”

McNulty, 49, said in an interview that the political tumult over the prosecutor dismissals — including his role in providing inaccurate information to Congress — did not play a part in his decision. He said he has not lined up a job but is considering his options.

“It’s been a big issue for the past few months, but the timing of this is really about other things,” McNulty said. He said he timed the announcement to coincide with a prosecutor conference in San Antonio, which he attended, and sought to leave enough time for an orderly transition before his departure.

Sure, let’s take him at his word. He can probably make a lot more money in private practice. Okay…

But it’s also been no secret that Mr. McNulty has been the one official at the DOJ who has been cooperating with the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has made the relationship between him and Mr. Gonzales a little dicey.

No matter how they spin it, Mr. McNulty’s departure isn’t good news for the White House and the attorney general.