Princess Jasmine

I wrote about Rachel Paulose, the US Attorney from Minnesota and BFF of Monica Goodling, back in April during the height of the Attorneygate scandal. See The Face of a "Loyal Bushie". After her "royal ordination" ceremony inducting her into office, she proceeded to cause great upheaval in the US Attorney's Office, so much so that 4 top staffers voluntarily demoted themselves to protest her dictatorial style.

Gonzo may be gone, but Rachel apparently has reared her ugly head. TPM is reporting that the federal Office of Special Counsel is investigating Paulose for a variety of infractions, Report: Minnesota USA Under Investigation. According to a report from the Minnesota Monitor:

The federal Office of Special Counsel is investigating allegations that Rachel Paulose, U.S. attorney for Minnesota, mishandled classified information, decided to fire the subordinate who called it to her attention, retaliated against others in the office who crossed her, and made racist remarks about one employee.

Eric Black, the Monitor reporter, expands on his coverage on his blog, Paulose under investigation by feds, detailing the allegations asserted against her:

My knowledge of the allegations comes from sources familiar with the investigation. The summary below reflects the areas into which the investigators have been inquiring:

*As U.S. attorney, Paulose received regular reports about the status of the war on terror, drawing on up-to-date information assembled by intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The reports, classified “secret,” were supposed to kept locked up. For about a year, Paulose regularly left the reports loose in her office, sometimes unattended, where they could have been seen by unauthorized people. Marti spoke to her about it and, as required by regulations, filed a report with the national office that oversees U.S. attorneys.

Paulose began threatening Marti with the loss of his position as the No. 2 attorney in the office. He heard from colleagues and even from a federal judge that Paulose was bad-mouthing him, making false allegations against him and telling them that she was going to replace him.

*Paulose committed large and small acts of retaliation against others in the office whom she accused of disloyalty to her. In one instance, after changing the job assignment of one employee, Paulose allegedly said that she would make the woman so miserable that she would want to quit. In some instances, Paulose allegedly ordered those in charge of performing job evaluations to downgrade the reviews of those she considered disloyal, or turned down requests that they be allowed to perform work outside the office. The allegation is that Paulose took these actions against employees for reasons other than the quality of their work, but rather for offenses like advising her that some actions she was contemplating would exceed her legal authority.

*Paulose allegedly denigrated one employee of the office, using the terms “fat,” “black,” “lazy” and “ass.”

For more on Paulose's background (and paucity of experience), see The Curious Case of Rachel Paulose. A Commenter at TPM notes:

She is from a prominent family of an Indian Christian community called the Kerala Brethren, a Christian evangelical sect with extreme views. . . . What appears to have happened is that this combination of high intelligence, Christian fundamentalism, inexperience, and utter lack of self-doubt was effectively put to use by Rove and Gonzales. I expect that Paulose believes that by her work she is making great strides toward bringing the millenial rule of Christ here on earth.

Religion and intolerance, a winning combination every time.

One would think that Paulose, as a minority -- an Indian American who was not born in this country -- would be sensitive to racial issues. She has to be aware of our tendency to make ethnic slurs about things such as tech support in India, as well as our less than enlightened policy towards the foreign born (especially if they are brown). Because of this, you would expect her to empathize with other ethnic groups who may be subjected to discrimination. Instead, she refers to a staffer using the terms “fat,” “black,” “lazy” and “ass.” An Indian American Clarence Thomas.

And what of the investigation? Eric Black notes:

If the Office of Special Counsel finds evidence of serious wrongdoing by Paulose, they could refer the matter to the president, the only person who could remove her. The lesser specific allegations of bad personnel practices, if substantiated, could be referred to Paulose for corrective action. If Paulose remains in office until the end of Pres. Bush’s term, it would be normal practice for the next president to replace her.

In other words, nothing will happen, no matter what the findings are. The Republican regime at work.

Tags: Law, News, Attorneygate, Rachel Paulose