01/17/2007

Associated Press

Two U.S. attorneys in California announced they are stepping down, as critics alleged political pressure from the Bush administration was pushing them and others out of their jobs.

Kevin Ryan, chief federal prosecutor for the state's Northern District, and Carol Lam, who headed the state's Southern District, both announced Tuesday they would be leaving.

The two are among 11 top federal prosecutors who have resigned or announced their resignations since an obscure provision in the USA Patriot Act reauthorization last year enabled the U.S. attorney general to appoint replacements without Senate confirmation.

Also leaving this month is U.S. Attorney John McKay in Seattle, who made no mention of the Patriot Act when he announced his decision.

On Dec. 14, the same day he learned he would not be nominated to be a federal judge, McKay said he was leaving the post as the Justice Department's top lawyer in Western Washington to return to the private sector. He said the timing was coincidental.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, complained on the Senate floor Tuesday that the White House is using the provision to oust Ryan, Lam and other federal prosecutors and replace them with Republican allies.

"The Bush administration is pushing out U.S. attorneys from across the country under the cloak of secrecy and then appointing indefinite replacements," Feinstein said.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales denied the claim, saying administration officials "in no way politicize these decisions."

Ryan, who was appointed to his post in 2002, replacing now-FBI director Robert Mueller, reached a "mutually agreeable decision with Washington" to step down, spokesman Luke Macaulay said. He declined to say whether President Bush had asked Ryan to resign.

Ryan did not give a date for his last day on the job.

During his tenure, Ryan oversaw high-profile prosecutions on stock options fraud and steroids in sports, which led to the convictions of five people linked to the Burlingame-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.

Criticism has mostly centered around his administration of the office. Last year, a Justice Department audit reportedly questioned Ryan's management and rated staff morale as low.

Lam, also appointed in 2002, did not comment on the circumstances of her departure, slated for Feb. 15., or discuss future plans in a statement.

In her tenure leading the Southern District, which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, she prioritized prosecuting political corruption and health care fraud. She oversaw the government's case against Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the former Republican congressman who pleaded guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes, and her office won corruption convictions of two San Diego city councilmen.

McKay was nominated by President Bush on Sept. 19, 2001, and confirmed by the Senate a month later. His resignation takes effect Jan. 26.

His tenure included the sentencing of millennium terrorist Ahmed Ressam, the indictment of an alleged eco-terrorism ring responsible for the firebombing of the University of Washington's horticulture center and the prosecution of those responsible for building the first tunnel discovered under the U.S.-Canada border.