Jay Stephens did it. So did Kenneth Wainstein. Many thought Eric Holder Jr. might, but he never did. And Ronald Machen — he has to decide.
“It” is prosecuting Marion Barry, the four-time District of Columbia mayor and current council member who last week became the subject of new corruption allegations in a report compiled for the D.C. Council by Hogan & Hartson partner Robert Bennett. Making the call on whether to bring charges against the man once known as Washington’s “mayor for life” has been a ritual of sorts for the District’s U.S. attorneys. Now Machen, the former Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner confirmed to the office earlier this month, will be going through the process sooner than most.
