Senator (Feinstein) eyes another attorney departure

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070320/ap_on_go_co/fired_prosecutors_yang

Senator eyes another attorney departure

By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer 2 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record) said Tuesday she wants answers about the departure of the former U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, who resigned last October before the Justice Department's dismissal of eight other U.S. attorneys sparked controversy.

"I have questions about Debra Yang's departure and I can't answer those questions right at this time," Feinstein, D-Calif. and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters in response to a question. "Was she asked to resign, and if so, why? We have to ferret that out."

Debra Wong Yang, who went to work for a private law firm and has said she left of her own accord, did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday. Justice spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said she was not asked to leave.

"Debra Yang was a highly regarded and well-respected prosecutor for the Justice Department," he said.

Feinstein noted Tuesday that there are numerous names blacked out in documents the Justice Department has released in recent days in response to the controversy. Feinstein did not specify what her concerns were about Yang, but she has complained repeatedly that six of the eight U.S. attorneys dismissed last year were in the midst of prosecuting public corruption cases, mostly focused on Republicans.

About five months before Yang's departure her office had opened an investigation into ties between Rep. Jerry Lewis (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., and a lobbyist. When Yang left her U.S. attorney's job she went to work for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, the firm where Lewis' legal team works, but government rules required that she recuse herself from that case or any other she was involved with while a government prosecutor.

The Lewis case is connected to the ongoing corruption investigation in San Diego that began with the 2005 conviction of former GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who is serving jail time for bribery. Former U.S. attorney Carol Lam in San Diego, who was among those dismissed last year, was prosecuting that case. Feinstein contends that Lam's dismissal had something to do with the her role in the Cunningham investigation, though the Justice Department denies it.

I have a question for Feinstein, how much money (millions?) has your husband, and thereby you, made from the Iraq war? Isn't that a conflict of interest?