Lonely at the Top for the AG

The Department of Justice continues to erode--although, unfortunately, not in the most preferred way. No, don't you worry--Alberto Gonzales remains in place. But he's going to be looking for a new number two. Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty offered his resignation today to take effect toward the end of the summer. Interestingly enough, he didn't mention the current DOJ scandal in his reasons for leaving--apparently he can simply no longer make ends meet on a civil servant's salary. "The financial realities of college-age children and two decades of public service lead me to a long overdue transition in my career."

McNulty was an early voice disagreeing with the AG about his role in the firing of the U.S. attorneys. I wouldn't say he's being pushed out, but my guess is that he's become very tired of the machinations of life at Justice these days. The Washington Post story I linked to above, points out that he's the fourth senior DOJ official to leave since the scandal broke (now if that number will only rise to five). His story doesn't track with the ever-shifting official cover story, and he's given the impression that he's willing to talk about aspects of the situation that Alberto apparently can't recall or simply doesn't want to touch, so it's a no-brainer to expect McNulty, even if he's part of the Justice Department no longer, will be making more journeys to Capitol Hill to talk to House and Senate Judiciary Committees.