Source:
McClatchyColorado U.S. attorney was suggested for ouster
By The Washington Post
and McClatchy Newspapers
Article Last Updated: 05/17/2007 12:40:09 AM MDT
Washington - The Justice Department considered dismissing many more U.S. attorneys than officials have previously acknowledged, with at least 26 prosecutors - including William Leone of Colorado - suggested for termination between February 2005 and December 2006, according to sources familiar with documents withheld from the public.
~snip~
Leone, then the acting U.S. attorney for Colorado, was placed on a firing list in January 2006, 13 months after he took over as interim U.S. attorney. He previously had been the top assistant in the office. He was lead prosecutor on the insider-trading case against Joe Nacchio, former chief executive of Qwest Communications, until he announced in August that he would return to private practice.
Leone said in a phone interview that he was never asked to step aside, nor did he know he was targeted for firing. He said he had expressed interest in becoming the permanent U.S. attorney but was never told why he was passed over.
~snip~
His replacement was Troy Eid, a former lawyer with the Washington-based lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig, which at one time had employed convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Eid had little courtroom experience and was a member of the conservative Federalist Society, Leone said.
Eid's office didn't return calls requesting comment.
Read more:
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5914809?source=rss