Mary Beth Buchanan

Mary Beth Buchanan is the former United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She was nominated by George W. Bush on September 5, 2001, and confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 2001.

Buchanan was the first woman and youngest person to be appointed to the position. Under Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales, Buchanan held two key Justice Department posts, splitting time between Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh up until her resignation as Acting Director of the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women in December 2007. In May 2010, Buchanan was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, but was defeated in the Republican primary.

Personal Buchanan was born in July 25, 1963, and is a native of suburban Roscoe, Pennsylvania. She is a 1984 graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, and a 1987 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Her second husband, Thomas C. Buchanan, is the grandson of the founder of the Buchanan Ingersoll law firm. The firm, in which he is a partner, is now called Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney.

Career Buchanan worked temporarily as an associate at Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Potter after her 1987 law school graduation.

Buchanan is an active member of the Federalist Society. She has spoken at many of the organization's conferences on various topics and has published two articles in the society's news magazine. Buchanan was slated to speak on "Warrantless Wiretapping, Wireless Tracking, and Law Enforcement" at the Boston University Student Chapter of the Federalist Society on January 28, 2009.

Federal appointments Buchanan joined the U.S. Attorney's Office as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1988. From 1988 to 1992, she represented the United States in the office's Civil Division. From 1992 until her appointment as U.S. Attorney, she served in the Criminal Division.

Buchanan was the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 2001 to 2009. She was nominated by George W. Bush on September 5, 2001, and confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 2001. On December 3, 2008, Buchanan released a statement to the press that she did not intend to step down or offer her letter of resignation to President-elect Barack Obama despite the ordinary practice that sitting U.S. Attorneys offer a new administration their resignations. As an appointed position, U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President. On October 29, 2009, Buchanan's office released a statement that she would step down from her post as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania on November 16, 2009.

Buchanan concurrently served in more than one position within the Department of Justice. These appointments were as follows:

Between April 2003 and May 2004, Buchanan served as chair of Attorney General John Ashcroft's Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys. This committee counsels the Attorney General on law enforcement issues and plays an integral role in setting Justice Department policy.

From February 2002 to 2004, she served on the Advisory Committee to the United States Sentencing Commission, which was established to study the effectiveness of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

From June 2004 until June 2005, Buchanan served as Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. This Washington, D.C.-based office provides administrative support to the 94 United States Attorneys' Offices nationwide. Buchanan held this post at the start of the period that relates to the Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy. Buchanan hired Monica Goodling to work in the executive office.

From November 2006 through December 2007, Buchanan served as the Acting Director of the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women. This office, based in Washington, DC, administers financial and technical assistance to communities nationwide that are creating programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and provides leadership in developing the nation's capacity to reduce violence against women through implementation of the Violence Against Women Act.

Controversial cases

United States vs. Tommy Chong (2003)

Buchanan oversaw Operation Pipe Dreams, which was a $12 million law enforcement operation targeted at individuals conducting online sales of water pipes and other devices that could be considered drug paraphernalia. The investigation resulted in 55 individuals being charged, most notably comedian and actor Tommy Chong, who was charged for his role in the financing and promoting of Chong Glass/Nice Dreams, a company started by his son, Paris Chong. Chong's case never went through a federal trial; instead he came to a settlement with Buchanan's office in which he admitted to distributing 7,500 bongs and water pipes via the Internet through Nice Dreams, a family company named for one of his movies. Of the 55 individuals charged through the investigation, Tommy Chong was the only individual without a prior criminal history who received jail time.

Chong's jail time, the tactics utilized by the DEA agents during the investigation, and the investigation's focus on Tommy rather than Paris Chong (the company's CEO), raised concern among critics of selective prosecution.

Chong was released from federal prison after nine months. He has been an avid critic of the prosecution in his case. In 2006, Chong wrote a book about his experiences in jail and his interest in meditation, called The I Chong: Meditations From The Joint. In addition, the documentary a/k/a Tommy Chong chronicles the Drug Enforcement Administration raid on his house and his subsequent jail sentence for trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia. Tommy Chong has stated publicly that he has no ownership in the film.

On May 7, 2008, federal agents raided Spectrum Labs on an investigation related to Spectrum Labs' detoxification products. The raid, one of nine during the day, was part of Operation True Test, an investigation being led by Buchanan. The investigation targeted companies that sell "masking products" that are supposed to help drug-users pass employer drug tests. Of the nine search warrants issued, none were for businesses within Buchanan's district, the Western District of Pennsylvania.

In executing their search warrant, the federal agents supposedly seized over 10,000 copies of the documentary a/k/a Tommy Chong, which had yet to be released, though this was later retracted. The fictional texts featured detailed stories about the molesting, torture and sometimes gruesome murders of children under the age of 10, mostly girls. She explained that her writing started out just for her and was cathartic because she had been sexually abused as a child. "This is extremely egregious and is as patently offensive as material possibly could be. I cannot imagine material more offensive than the material in the case of Karen Fletcher."

Daniel Zehr (2004) The case focuses on an Amish man, Daniel Zehr, who is seeking an exception to a law which requires that a photo be taken for one to receive legal residence in the United States. A lawsuit filed by the Amish is highly unusual in nature since the Amish hold a steadfast view that they should be non-confrontational. The lawsuit relates to a first amendment argument centered on freedom of religion. Zehr is a Canadian citizen. He is a member of an Old Order Amish sect that takes literally the Bible's prohibition of graven images, which is why he has refused to consent to an immigration photo.

In June 2001, Zehr entered the United States and married his wife, Ruth Anne. He has since lived in Licking Township in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, about northeast of Pittsburgh, where he has raised two children. While both men had military experience, neither had achieved these ranks. In Buchanan's statement to the press, she stated: "To have individuals simply impersonate officers is an offense we have to address to preserve the integrity of the military service."

United States vs. Dr. Cyril H. Wecht (2008)

Dr. Cyril Wecht, a former Allegheny County, Pennsylvania coroner and medical examiner, was a prominent Democrat in the Pittsburgh area. In January 2006, Wecht was indicted by Buchanan on 84 counts of fraud and theft relating to using his public office for private gain. Wecht's lawyers argued that some of these charges involved $3.96 worth of faxes, and $1,778.55 worth of gasoline and mileage bills charged to the state.

Before Wecht's trial, the prosecution moved to dismiss 43 of the 84 counts without prejudice. The judge rejected the motion and dismissed the 43 charges with prejudice, which permanently bars the revival of the charges. Wecht's defense counsel argued that his prosecution was politically motivated. The initial indictment was announced in early 2006, before the November 2006 elections. During the trial, the judge barred the defense from arguing that the case was politically motivated. Although discussions about possible political motivations were not allowed during the trial, the jury foreman told reporters after the trial that some jurors began to see the prosecution as "political". "I don't know if politically motivated or not, but it seemed to me that the motivations were certainly less than pure. There was something behind it other than seeking justice." and the second trial was scheduled by the trial judge less than two months later, on May 27, 2008. However, on May 8 a three judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an indefinite stay in the trial proceedings. University of Pittsburgh law professor, John Burkoff characterized Buchanan's decision to attempt a re-trial as one that required perspective: "It's getting beyond embarrassing. We're nearing humiliation."

The controversial charges resulted in Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh's testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee investigating the dismissal of U.S. Attorneys. Thornburgh acted as a defense lawyer for Dr. Cyril Wecht, and testified that Wecht, "would qualify as an ideal target for a Republican U.S. attorney (Buchanan) trying to curry favor with a department which demonstrated that if you play by its rules, you will advance."

As a result of Thornburgh's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, and the public speculation as to the merits of the case, the committee opened an investigation to review the Wecht case, in addition to the review of Governor Don Siegelman's trial. On May 5, 2008, the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) revealed that it initiated an investigation into the Wecht prosecution due to claims that the case was a "selective prosecution". On June 26, 2008, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law issued a subpoena for all documents related to the case of Dr. Wecht. The Subcommittee issued the subpoena in conjunction with a request for similar documents in the case of Governor Siegelman under the heading "Selective Prosecution". In deciding to exclude the evidence, the judge referenced Fourth Amendment violations committed by Buchanan's office in the improper execution of the government's initial warrant to search Wecht's office. Through the government's voluntary decision to dismiss all charges, Wecht has been effectively cleared of all charges initially brought against him within the government's indictment.

Alleged involvement in U.S. Attorney dismissal controversy

Buchanan was allegedly involved in the firing of the U.S. Attorneys for not embarking on politically motivated prosecutions. The congressional committee investigation has focused on whether nine U.S. attorneys were fired by the Justice Department because they had prosecuted Republicans or did not press charges against Democrats. The controversy is known as the Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy.

In April 2007, Kyle Sampson, the former Gonzales aide, mentioned Buchanan's name to judiciary committee investigators during his April testimony.

Congressional campaign Buchanan announced her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district in 2010. She faced attorney and former Homeland Security Department official Keith Rothfus in the Republican primary for the right to challenge incumbent Democratic Congressman Jason Altmire. In opposition, two of her former targets for prosecution, Tommy Chong and Cyril Wecht, appeared together at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall in Pittsburgh for a comic fundraiser for the Allegheny County Democratic Committee. In the May 18 primary, Buchanan was defeated by Rothfus, losing by a margin of 67% to 33%.