Paul K. Charlton
Encyclopedia
Charlton primarily represents corporations and public officials seeking to interface with federal and state law enforcement officials. Charlton also represents a number of Arizona Native American governments, including Ak-Chin, Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Haulapai and the Navajo Nation.
Prior to joining Gallagher & Kennedy, Charlton served as the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona from 2001–2007. He was nominated in November 2001 by President George W. Bush. He oversaw a staff of more than 220 employees, four offices throughout the state, and an approximately $20 million budget. During his tenure, Charlton led enforcement initiatives against terrorism, public corruption, illegal immigration
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
and crime in Indian Country.
Charlton began his legal career in 1989 as an Assistant Attorney General with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. In March 1991, Charlton joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona as an Assistant U.S. Attorney where he prosecuted a wide variety of matters from homicides to complex fraud cases.
Charlton was one of seven U.S. attorneys dismissed on December 7, 2006 by the Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
in 2006 for "performance-related issues" (see Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy
Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy
The dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy was initiated by the unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven United States Attorneys on December 7, 2006 by the George W. Bush administration's Department of Justice. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White...
).
Subsequent disclosures revealed that that three or more additional attorneys were dismissed under similar circumstances between 2005-2006. Charlton was confirmed as the U.S. Attorney for the United States Attorney's Office District of Arizona on November 6, 2001. Charlton was informed of his dismissal by Justice Department official Michael A. Battle
Michael A. Battle
For the theologian and academic see Michael J. Battle.Michael A. Battle was the Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys at the United States Department of Justice until he resigned, effective March 16, 2007. He was the person who informed seven United States Attorneys on...
on December 7, 2006, and announced his resignation on December 19, 2006, effective January 31, 2007.
Charlton's office had been honored with the Federal Service Award and hailed by the Justice Department as a "model program" for its protection of crime victims. Charlton ranked in the top third among the nation's 93 US attorneys in contributing to an overall 106,188 federal prosecutions filed in 2006; scored in the top third in number of convictions; oversaw a district in the top five highest in number of immigration-related prosecutions; ranked among the top 20 offices for drug prosecutions; and, unlike in the other seven cases, ranked high in weapons cases, prosecuting 199 of the United States' 9,313 such cases in 2006, the tenth-highest in the country and up fourfold from 2002.
United States attorney
In September 2006, it became clear that Charlton had launched an investigation of Rep. Rick RenziRick Renzi
Richard George "Rick" Renzi is a former American politician and was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing . Renzi has pending Federal criminal charges against him for his involvement in a land-swap deal. On April 19, 2007, the FBI raided his family...
, R-Ariz, over a land-swap deal. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez's chief of staff, Kyle Sampson
Kyle Sampson
D. Kyle Sampson was the Chief of Staff and Counselor of United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He resigned on March 12, 2007, amid the controversy surrounding the firing of eight United States Attorneys in 2006 and was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in July 2010...
, subsequently included Charlton on a list of U.S. attorneys "we now should consider pushing out." Sampson made the comment in a Sept. 13, 2006, letter to then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers
Harriet Miers
Harriet Ellan Miers is an American lawyer and former White House Counsel. In 2005, she was nominated by President George W. Bush to be an Associate Justice of the U.S...
.
As recently as February 2005, Charlton had been on the so-called "retain" list.
On March 19, 2007, the White House released 3,000 pages of records connected to the controversy, including emails sent by Charlton to the Justice Department about his dismissal. On Dec. 21, 2006, Charlton sent a message to William W. Mercer
William W. Mercer
William W. Mercer is a United States Attorney for the District of Montana, as well as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice. In September 2006, Mercer was nominated by George W...
, the third-ranking official in the department, writing, "Media now asking if I was asked to resign over leak in Congressman Renzi investigation." Charlton never received a response.
The Wall Street Journal explained further allegations: that the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
intentionally delayed part of the investigation of Renzi until after the November 2006 election. They wrote:
The delays, which postponed key approvals in the case until after the election, raise new questions about whether Attorney GeneralUnited States Attorney GeneralThe United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Alberto GonzalesAlberto GonzalesAlberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
or other officials may have weighed political issues in some investigations....
Investigators pursuing the Renzi case had been seeking clearance from senior Justice Department officials on search warrants, subpoenas and other legal tools for a year before the election, people close to the case said....
...the investigation clearly moved slowly: Federal agents opened the case no later than June 2005, yet key witnesses didn't get subpoenas until early this year, those close to the case said. The first publicly known search -- a raid of a Renzi family business by the Federal Bureau of Investigation -- was[n't] carried out [until April 2007]....
Further, the Journal noted that investigators had lobbied Washington for clearance to tap Renzi's phone for months. That clearance was only given in October 2006, but unfortunately for the investigators, word broke of the investigation soon after, disrupting their wiretap.
On April 24, 2007, Charlton revealed to House investigators that Brian Murray, Renzi's top aide, called Charlton spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle shortly after news of Renzi's investigation became public, asking for information on the case. Charlton, in turn, notified the Department of Justice about the call. Justice, however, had not previously notified Congress of the contact.
A second motivation for removing Charlton may have been the suggestions of Justice official Brent Ward, who said in a September 20, 2006 e-mail that Charlton was "unwilling to take good cases." Ward's reason for discounting Charlton appeared to be the US attorney's reluctance to pursue obscenity charges against adult video manufacturers in connection to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's Obscenity Prosecution Task Force
Obscenity Prosecution Task Force
The Obscenity Prosecution Task Force was an organization created in 2005 by the United States Department of Justice. The OPTF's job was to investigate and prosecute producers and distributors of hardcore pornography that meets the test for obscenity, as defined by the Supreme Court of the United...
.
Charlton had clashed with the Bush Administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
over the death penalty; in at least two cases he did not seek capital punishment but was overruled from Washington.
After a disagreement over initiating the tape-recording of interviews and confessions by the FBI on American Indian reservations, which Charlton supported and the Justice Department opposed, Charlton offered to resign. In his congressional testimony on March 6, 2007, Charlton said he found "no small amount of irony" in the fact that he was eventually fired.
Charlton has since become partner at Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A., in a practice that involves general business law and criminal defense with an emphasis on corporate compliance and Indian law issues.
See also
- Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversyDismissal of U.S. attorneys controversyThe dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy was initiated by the unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven United States Attorneys on December 7, 2006 by the George W. Bush administration's Department of Justice. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White...
- Alberto GonzalesAlberto GonzalesAlberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
- Kyle SampsonKyle SampsonD. Kyle Sampson was the Chief of Staff and Counselor of United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He resigned on March 12, 2007, amid the controversy surrounding the firing of eight United States Attorneys in 2006 and was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in July 2010...
- Rick RenziRick RenziRichard George "Rick" Renzi is a former American politician and was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing . Renzi has pending Federal criminal charges against him for his involvement in a land-swap deal. On April 19, 2007, the FBI raided his family...