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In Surprise Move, U.S. Attorney to Leave Philadelphia Post
The Legal Intelligencer
May 26, 2009
In a stunning development, Laurie Magid, the first woman to hold the post of U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia, announced on Friday to the prosecutors in her office that it was her last day at the helm.
Before the day was over, it was announced that Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Levy had been appointed to serve as interim U.S. Attorney. Levy previously held the top post during the waning years of the Clinton administration after Michael Stiles stepped down as U.S. Attorney and continued until Patrick Meehan was appointed by President George W. Bush.
Sources said Friday that Magid's Feb. 11 appointment by Attorney General Eric Holder to a 120-day term as an interim U.S. Attorney was set to expire next month and that she would then have needed a majority vote by the judges of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania federal bench to hang on to the job.
But the judges' vote was not likely to favor Magid, several sources said, as a result of news that broke in March that Magid was under investigation for possible ethics violations, as well as a Justice Department internal review of the office in which Magid's leadership was sharply criticized.
According to a report in The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General is investigating whether Magid acted improperly when her husband, Jeffrey A. Miller, held a $250-per-person fundraiser for Meehan, a likely Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2010.
Magid, 48, had served as Meehan's first assistant and took over as acting U.S. Attorney when Meehan left the office in July 2008. The Inquirer report said that Magid and "a handful" of the prosecutors she supervises attended the Meehan fundraiser.
The probe is also reportedly focusing on the propriety of a similar previous fundraiser Miller held for Sen. Arlen Specter during the time that Magid was serving as Meehan's first assistant.
The Inquirer report also cited sources close to Magid as saying that she had obtained clearance for the fundraiser with the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that provides guidance on activities prohibited by the Hatch Act.
Under the Hatch Act, federal employees must abide by strict limits on political activity in the office. The probe is reportedly focusing on whether any of the prosecutors who worked under Magid felt pressured to attend.
When Magid sought the advisory opinion, she was reportedly told that the Hatch Act did not prohibit a spouse from holding a fundraiser and that she was free to attend and to help in its planning.
Despite news of the probe, Magid continued to say she was interested in being appointed by President Obama to a permanent appointment as U.S. Attorney.
But several sources said Magid's chances of securing a continuing appointment from the Eastern District judges was significantly harmed by an internal report that revealed strong criticisms of Magid by some of the prosecutors who worked under her.
The sources said that the Justice Department routinely conducts internal reviews of U.S. Attorney Offices about once every three years and that the most recent report showed that morale in the office had suffered during Magid's tenure.
A statement released late Friday said that Magid "is remaining with the office in the appeals division."
The statement also said that Levy will serve as the interim U.S. Attorney until June 11, when the Eastern District judges will appoint someone to serve in the post until the arrival of a presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney.
Levy has been chief of computer crimes, child exploitation and intellectual property since 2001.
"I consider myself extremely fortunate to, again, lead this office of enormously talented and dedicated prosecutors," Levy said in the statement. "We expect that the transition will be seamless and we will continue our daily routine of working for justice. I want to thank Laurie Magid for her dedicated service and for her gracious assistance in the transition."
The statement also included a quote from Magid: "It has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve as United States Attorney and to lead this extraordinary office. I am looking forward to working with my friend, colleague, and fellow career prosecutor, Mike Levy, who will now have the wonderful opportunity to serve as United States Attorney."
