WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) -- As the U.S. Justice Department was ranking U.S. attorneys in 2005, the special prosecutor probing a leaked CIA agent's name was graded as average.
Documents cited by the Washington Post had U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald ranked as: "No recommendation; have not distinguished themselves either positively or negatively."
His ranking came as officials at the White House and Justice Department contemplated dismissing all 93 U.S. attorneys. Eight were eventually dismissed and Congress is investigating whether they were politically motivated.
At the time, Fitzgerald was leading the independent probe into the CIA name leak, which led to the perjury conviction of former vice presidential aide Lewis Libby earlier this month.
Mary Jo White, who supervised Fitzgerald when she was the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, told the Post his ranking as an undistinguished prosecutor "lacks total credibility across the board."
The ranking placed Fitzgerald below the definitions of "strong U.S. Attorneys ... who exhibited loyalty" to the administration and above "weak U.S. Attorneys who ... chafed against administration initiatives, etc.," the Post reported.
