What is the matter with the DOJ

As a local prosecutor there was always a certain envy of our Federals counterparts. That envy was due to several factors (1) the fact that while local prosecutors handled 200-300 felony cases per year, Asst US Attorneys handled 50-70 (2) their cases were investigated by the FBI which generally had better educated and trained agents (3) they had non-elected Judges who were not subject to politics and (4) they worked for an entity that when it came to money, had its own printing presses.

As a result when the Feds went after, you were usually in deep trouble. Yet lately, the Feds have been falling on their asses. Consider the prosecution of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens in which a conviction was thrown out due to prosecutors misconduct - the Barry Bonds prosecution which spent tens of millions and obtained a single misdemeanor conviction - the Roger Clemens prosecution (thrown out on the first go round due to prosecutor mistakes, retrial still going) - the John Edwards case and last but not least, the trials of Milton McGregor.

Now the Feds have always been known to be political in the sense that they loved to go after local officials but have the prosecutions gotten so political that juries now distrust them.

Remember that local US Attorneys generally have to get approval from Washington in these high profile cases. 

What are your thoughts?