Op-Ed:Should US Attorney Laura Duffy Resign over Conflict?

image
420 Times420 Times
Published: 19 Oct, 2012
3 min read
Photo: Stephanie Woodrow

US Attorney Laura Duffy

US Attorney Laura Duffy heads the Southern California Office of the Justice Department. The San Diego U-T reported that she has involved herself in the local San Diego mayoral election. In the article she described her involvement as organizing and moderating a campaign forum for the local Jewish community.

Apparently, the event got a bit testy when candidate Bob Filner strenuously objected to his opponent, Carl DeMaio’s aggressive questioning. Duffy followed up the event with an email to the DeMaio campaign “apologizing” for Filner’s conduct and characterizing the audience reaction as positive for DeMaio.

The DeMaio campaign made this email public. Duffy was quick to characterize the email as “private,” but then weighed in with additional on-the-record comments for the U-T article. Duffy’s urgency about characterizing the email as “private” is clearly borne out of her knowledge of the Hatch Act.

The Hatch Act is the Federal law prohibiting Federal employees from participating in elections. The “release” of the “private” email is a pretty transparent tactic to protect Duffy from charges that she has violated at least the spirit, if not the letter, of the Act.

But, the revelation that she also gave money to DeMaio is a smoking cannon. Laura Duffy is not just a federal employee; she is the U.S. Attorney. The issue isn’t that she violated the Hatch Act. The mayor’s race is technically nonpartisan and therefore exempt from the Hatch Act, but California now has nonpartisan Open Primaries. Meaning that, technically, the Hatch Act no longer applies to any California elections except that for President.

Yet, the U.S. Attorney’s office has, as recently as this summer, enforced the Hatch Act against an Orange County Social Services Agency employee who administered federal funds and had sought to run for office in Southern California. He was forced to withdraw, even after his name was placed on the ballot.

There is room for argument concerning rank and file federal employees and the question about how far away from the “electioneering” line they should stay. But, the U.S. Attorney has to enforce these laws. In this case, Duffy has not only crossed the line of appropriate behavior by participating in the election. She has added an element of sleaze to the story by participating in what appears to be an orchestrated leak of a “private” email clearly designed to benefit the candidate she has supported financially.

At a minimum she put herself in a position that a U.S. Attorney should know better than to be in. But, the more believable interpretation of events is even more troubling. She gave money to a candidate. She organized an event. She invited both candidates. She established the rules of the event. She moderated the event. Filner clearly began to smell a rat as the event unfolded. After the event, she initiated an email to the candidate she supports articulating a partisan view of what occurred. She participated in an interview with the local newspaper to insist that the “leaked” email was “private”, never intended for publication. But, then she kept talking.

IVP Donate

This isn’t about who people support in a Mayor’s race. It’s not even about San Diego. I do not live in the City of San Diego. The DeMaio campaign tactic is shady, but I’m sure the Filner campaign has its share of similar efforts. That’s politics. That’s why, of all institutions, the Department of Justice simply has to keep itself miles and miles away from politics. For the U.S. Attorney to involve herself, or even get close enough to let others get her involved, is inexcusable.

In the words of the Vice President, “This is a big … uh … deal.” She should resign.

 

You Might Also Like

National Reform Organizations Condemn Texas and California Over Gerrymandering
National Reform Organizations Condemn Texas and California Over Gerrymandering
The United States has passed the point of no return in the unprecedented mid-cycle redistricting fight between Texas and California, which threatens to expand to other states like Republican-controlled Florida and Democratic-controlled New York....
25 Aug, 2025
-
6 min read
Gerrymandering Wars Escalate Beyond Texas and California: A National Race to the Bottom?
Gerrymandering Wars Escalate Beyond Texas and California: A National Race to the Bottom?
Republicans currently hold a narrow 219 to 212 edge over Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, with four vacancies: three from Democratic members who have died and one from a Republican who has resigned. This is the smallest House majority held by either party in nearly a century. The razor-thin margin means the stakes in the 2026 midterms could not be higher. With so few competitive seats left nationwide, both parties are turning to mid-decade redistricting as a way to secure advantages....
27 Aug, 2025
-
10 min read
Hand in ballot that says independent on it.
Why 1.2 Million California Independents Are The Biggest Wild Card in American Politics Today
The fate of Proposition 50, California’s proposed redistricting measure, may come down to voters who have declined to join one of the two major political parties....
22 Aug, 2025
-
5 min read