Editorial: Renew inquiry into removal of U.S. attorney in Guam

Renew inquiry into removal of U.S. attorney in Guam
THE ISSUE
Two congressmen are calling for a new inquiry into the demotion in 2002 of an interim U.S. attorney in Guam.

COMPLAINTS by the former interim U.S. attorney for Guam and the Northern Marianas that he was removed because of his investigation of yet-to-be-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff were determined by the Department of Justice inspector general last year to have been unfounded. The controversy over the purge of other U.S. attorneys should prompt a new inquiry into the Guam controversy, as called for by two House committee chairmen.

Frederick A. Black had been acting U.S. attorney in Guam since his appointment to the post by the first President Bush in 1991. He was demoted Nov. 18, 2002, a day after a federal grand jury issued a subpoena seeking records involving lobbying fees paid to Abramoff by the Superior Court of Guam.

Abramoff, now serving six years in prison for public corruption, had unsuccessfully lobbied Congress against giving the Guam Supreme Court authority over the Superior Court. Abramoff received a series of $9,000 checks through a California attorney to disguise his role, according to the Los Angeles Times. Abramoff was known in the Pacific for his work for garment manufacturers accused of employing people in sweatshops.

In a report last June, the Justice Department's inspector general concluded that Black's investigation of Abramoff could not have played a role in his demotion because Black's successor, Leonardo Rapadas, already had been chosen for the post without Abramoff's knowledge. The White House had approved Rapadas for the job in March 2002, pending background checks, according to the report.


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