Keep politics to a minimum with new U.S. Attorney: James Varney ...

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It won't be long into 2013 that Sen. Mary Landrieu submits to President Obama her short-list of candidates to become the next U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. It may be a long time, however, before she makes another move so important.

It is a sad, infuriating fact that the federal prosecutors in Louisiana have so much to do, but it is a fact nonetheless. Departed U.S. Attorney Jim Letten set a high bar, managing to nail corrupt politicians and get involved in the dirtier sort of crimes, like those committed by some New Orleans Police Department officers after Hurricane Katrina.

That sort of track record shows the broad reach a talented and aggressive U.S. attorney enjoys, and it also, more lamentably, reflects the deep list of targets available in our neck of the woods.

It also means that, above all, Landrieu cannot let political considerations be her guiding principle. To be sure, it's not as if the process will ever be, or need be, politically-free. In the realm of political patronage, a job as U.S. attorney is a ripe plum. Elections have consequences, and a victorious president gets to make these calls. So no one is na?ve enough to think politics will not play a role here.

But it can't have the lead role. I mean, it's not as if a president can take office and immediately pink slip every U.S. attorney. That would look like the president had something to hide or wasn't expecting to abide by the rules in the future and thus needed to neuter the Justice Department, would it not? That's a big reason why, with few exceptions, presidents on the up-and-up take a more measured approach to picking and choosing federal prosecutors, even if they eventually get a full slate of their own men and women.

So what's Landrieu to do? One smart move would be to pick a prosecutor, not a politician. For example, two names that have already floated about have been Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro and state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson. Both have law degrees and both, as their Louisiana careers attest, are talented, adroit politicians.

But Cannizzaro is, in fact, a prosecutor; Peterson chairs the Louisiana Democratic Party. As befits the position and the situation, neither Peterson nor Cannizzaro have been publicly campaigning for the job and it's not known if either of them even wants it - although it is a hell of a job. The point is if Landrieu were to choose between two such resumes, the choice should be clear.

That difference also underscores the fact appearances matter in a job like this. Indeed, it was the appearance of Letten's office, with underlings engaged in ill conceived, if occasionally funny, online commentary more than anything Letten actually did that spelled his end. So Landrieu must not suggest, or Obama approve, someone whose key qualification appeared to be a capital letter in parentheses after their name. In that case, it would be reasonable for the public the prosecutor is sworn to protect to conclude partisan considerations trumped public safety.

That's especially true in New Orleans, where a Democratic machine has controlled the city for decades. Indeed, with few exceptions U.S. cities today are one-party fiefdoms and many of them are being, or have been, run into the ground by corrupt, intellectually bankrupt Democratic machines.

Insiders of former Mayor Marc Morial were convicted, all indications are that former Mayor Ray Nagin is squarely within the federal prosecutorial crosshairs. Former City Councilman Oliver Thomas went down, as did former U.S. Rep. Bill Jefferson. This is a long list of high-ranking Democrats, and it shows that while the next U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana will come with the imprimatur of the modern liberal establishment, party affiliation must be ignored in the execution of the office's duties.

To be sure, there will be Republicans deserving of the federal hammer around, too. Former Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price shows the GOP hasn't been vaccinated against the Louisiana political corruption virus. But the situation will be one in which, primarily, a Democrat is watching over Democrats.

Still, as outside-the-city malefactors like Price or former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard prove, the local U.S. attorney isn't only worried about New Orleans criminals. Thus, Landrieu should not be swayed unduly by local "groups," such as the unnamed one recently featured in a local television report. Vague musings about "justice for African-Americans" and complaints Letten was insufficiently diligent in pursuing unspecified allegations often act like a siren call for modern Democrats, but the constituency being served here is a broader one.

Landrieu faces her own re-election challenge in 2014. It's unlikely (though not inconceivable) her suggestions on this matter will have an impact on that race. But it's certain the choice now will have a big impact for a potentially longer timeframe, and on a great many, diverse people. All of which means that while this process is never pure, it's got to at least be played smart and straight.

Source: http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2012/12/keep_politics_to_a_minimum_wit.html

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