Hot on the heels of today's news about U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales's political firings, here's more hotness from the Justice Department's 3,000-page document dump relating to the scandal:

• Rachel Brand, an assistant attorney general, was the Gonzalez-approved choice to replace U.S. Attorney Margaret Chiara in Michigan. Though she didn't make the cut in the end, she helped stick the knife to Chiara. One of Chiara's staffers e-mailed Brand (page 19) about "Miss Margaret," calling a mandatory staff meeting to publicly announce who was getting bonuses and who wasn't. The chaos that ensued sounds like an outtake from The Office.

Publicly shamed secretaries started sniffling in the meeting then broke down in heart-rending sobs in their cubicles. Angry and disgusted AUSAs—both those who got bonuses and those who didn't—retreated in groups behind closed office doors, saying they'd never seen anything like it.

So at 7:09 a.m. this morning, Miss Margaret commences damage control ... Oh, yeah, almost forgot ... you can guess the one person who got the largest bonus and presumably the best rating.

• Brand got another interesting e-mail (page 49) from Gonzalez aide Michael Elston concerning Arizona U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton's policy when it comes to arresting illegals who are repeat offenders.

They also do not prosecute illegal re-entry until the 13th illegal re-entry or something like that. We are stretched thin on the border, and this is the result.

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