AG Malarkey appears to have taken a tangible step toward restoring a modicum of professionalism to the decimated Department of Justice

It's hardly the highest-profile problem facing the Justice Department, but considering the range of disasters and catastrophes facing Attorney General "Judge" Malarkey, he earns points for his move yesterday, filling at least temporarily the vacant Minnesota U.S. attorney position with a competent career prosecutor, naming the top surviving assistant in the troubled office, Frank Magill Jr., as acting U.S. attorney. (Frank Magill Sr. retired last summer after 21 years on the bench of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th District. I found some photos of Dad, but sorry, none of Junior.)

Amy Goldstein reports in today's Washington Post that both of Minnestota's U.S. senators were urging the new AG to consider people inside the office, which has been in something close to open revolt, to fill the vacancy from inside. HometownSource.com reports praise for the appointment from both Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar. There seems to be general relief--if not outright wonderment, or even dancing in the streets--in Minnesota.

The vacancy, you'll recall, was created by the resignation under pressure of Rachel Paulose, one of former AG Idiot Al "The Torture Guy" Gonzales's screechingly incompetent ideologues--who was hardly ever in Minnesota anyway, spending most of her time committing judicial mayhem with her concurrent day job at DoJ in Washington.

Neither DoJ nor the White House is saying whether Magill is being considered for proper appointment to the job, which requires Senate confirmation, of course. (Current statue allows an acting U.S. attorney to serve up to 210 days.) Apparently nobody involved has evolved to the point of thinking that we're entitled to any information about what our government is doing.

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