U.S. attorney leaves office with no word on successor

Sam Skolnik

Thursday, March 1, 2007 | 7:07 a.m.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden's last day in office came and went Wednesday with no word from the Justice Department about who will replace him.

Even though Bogden was told by a department official soon after he was fired from the job that his office would be given the name of a replacement by the time he left office - Wednesday at midnight - no one had called, at least as of 6 p.m.

"I've been sitting here, waiting for the call," said Bogden, the well-regarded Bush appointee who said he has spent the bulk of his last day packing up his office. "It would have been nice to have gotten some notice by now," he said during a late afternoon interview.

According to Bogden, federal statutes dictate that First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre would take over this morning as acting U.S. attorney, pending further word from Washington.

Bogden's last day as the top federal prosecutor in Nevada came as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she likely would be issuing subpoenas to the seven U.S. attorneys, including Bogden, who were fired by the Bush administration within the last few months.

Bogden had received positive notices and work reviews by his Justice Department bosses - as had all but one of the six other fired U.S. attorneys, according to media reports - begging the question as to why the prosecutors were fired. Justice Department officials said it was because of poor job performance, a notion vehemently rejected by the U.S. attorneys and their supporters.

In a statement Wednesday, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the dismissal of Bogden and the others "unfair."

"Under his leadership, the U.S. attorney's office has prosecuted many dangerous criminals and resolved a number of important civil cases," Reid said. "Throughout his career, Dan Bogden has strived to make our communities safer, and I appreciate all the remarkable work he has done."

Tory Mazzola, a spokesman for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said his office was "in the process, working with the Justice Department to find a replacement" for Bogden. He referred questions regarding why no replacement had yet been named for Bogden to the Justice Department.

No one with the Justice Department's press office in Washington could be reached late Wednesday. Michael Battle, director of its Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, also could not be reached.

Bogden said he would appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee if called by Feinstein - but only reluctantly.

"If subpoenaed, you've got to go, you've got to testify," he said. "But would I be eager to testify? No."

After 16 years with the Justice Department, including the last 5 1/2 as U.S. attorney, Bogden said testifying would be a difficult thing to do "even though I don't agree with their decision" regarding his dismissal.

Speculation has been rampant regarding the motives of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the Bush administration in the systematic purgings . Much of it has centered on politics: Democrats and other critics say they believe that the Bush White House is eager to have new prosecutors in place to steer investigations toward Democratic officials and away from Republicans.

Detractors also say the new crop of replacements, likely to include more politically minded appointees and fewer career prosecutors, are being groomed to run for congressional seats held by vulnerable Democrats.

Those theories were bolstered by a recent McClatchy Newspapers report, referred to by Feinstein on Wednesday, in which the U.S. attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias, said two unnamed members of Congress called him in mid-October to inquire about the timing of an ongoing probe into an alleged kickback scheme.

Iglesias, according to the report, believed the congressmen were eager for an indictment to be issued on the eve of the November elections to benefit the Republican candidates.

It is unclear who, in the end, will be named to replace Bogden.

The names of several officials inside Bogden's office have been floated, including Myhre and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kurt Schulke and Dan Schiess, as well as Nevada Chief Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen.

Myhre couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. Schulke, Schiess and Hafen declined to say whether they had been in touch with Ensign's office or the Justice Department about the post. Bogden said he didn't know who was in line for his job.

Sun Washington correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.