Carol Lam, Former US Attorney, California

Carol Lam served as the US Attorney for the Southern District of California since 2002. She was probably the most high profile of the eight fired US Attorneys because of her successful prosecution of Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. She resigned under pressure in February 2007.

The Boston Globe reports that "Lam built her reputation by securing convictions of two San Diego City Council members on extortion, fraud, and other charges."

In January, the off-the-record explanation for her ouster was that she failed to "make smuggling and gun cases a top priority."

However, in March we learned:

Fired San Diego U.S. attorney Carol Lam notified the Justice Department that she intended to execute search warrants on a high-ranking CIA official as part of a corruption probe the day before a Justice Department official sent an e-mail that said Lam needed to be fired, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Sunday...

Feinstein said Lam notified the Justice Department on May 10, 2006, that she planned to serve search warrants on Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo, who'd resigned two days earlier as the No. 3 official at the CIA.

On May 11, 2006, Kyle Sampson, then Gonzales' chief of staff, sent an e-mail to deputy White House counsel William Kelley, asking Kelley to call to discuss "the real problem we have right now with Carol Lam that leads me to conclude that we should have someone ready to be nominated on 11/18, the day her 4-year term expires."

Lam's investigation into the corruption surrounding Cunningham continued until her resignation. On 13 February, "Former CIA Executive Director Kyle Foggo and defense contractor Brent Wilkes are indicted on corruption charges. Both plead 'not guilty' the following day."

On 15 February, Lam resigned.

She is replaced by Karen P. Hewitt, formerly Executive Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of California.