Ashcroft's Enforcer

September, 2004

John Ashcroft needs all the friends he can get. The attorney general's best friend in Pittsburgh is Mary Beth Buchanan, the federal prosecutor who oversees 25 counties in western Pennsylvania. There are 92 other U.S. attorneys like her, each nominated by the president and appointed by the Senate to prosecute federal crimes and civil cases in a relatively small region. They are given wide discretion over what crimes they pursue, which is the source of their power and often a springboard to politi...