The jockeying for U.S. Attorney spots around the country is in full swing. The Editorial page of the Philadelphia Inquirer is asking the President to do the right thing.
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With the change in presidents, one of the key moves by the Obama administration regarding the Justice Department will be to fill the 93 U.S. attorney posts nationwide, including one in Philadelphia.
The selection process hasn’t received much attention given the focus in Washington on the stimulus and bailout measures, but there is much jockeying behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, politics often play a big role in who gets nominated for these coveted U.S. attorney posts. But that doesn’t mean the job should go to a political hack.
To understand how important it is for Philadelphia to have a strong and independent U.S. attorney who is not afraid to investigate sacred cows, one needs only to peek inside the federal courthouse at Sixth and Market Streets, where the lengthy criminal trial of former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo is nearing an end.
Federal prosecutors spent years building a detailed case against Fumo, perhaps the most powerful politician in Pennsylvania over the last three decades.
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