- On October 24th of last year, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee, after years of effort and with the approval of the head of the DOJ criminal division, is a day away from securing a guilty plea from the manufacturer of OxyContin.
- Mary Jo White, a defense lawyer representing an executive for OxyContin’s manufacturer, calls Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty to beg for a postponement.
- McNulty tells his chief of staff, Paul Elston, to call Brownlee and ask him to slow down.
- Brownlee declines and announces the settlement.
- Eight days later, Elston puts Brownlee’s name on a list of U.S. Attorneys to be fired.
He survived the purge, but what other public business was tabled in a similar fashion?