Former U.S. Attorney Criticizes Obscenity Task Force Leader

Daniel Bogden, one of seven former U.S. Attorneys asked to resign by the Bush Administration in December, told the Salt Lake Tribune he never refused to handle a case presented to his office by federal obscenity task force leader Brent Ward  -- and that Ward's claims to the contrary are "nonsense". 

In e-mail correspondence recently released to Congress by the Department of Justice, Ward complained that Nevada prosecutor Bogden and other U.S. attorneys were not cooperating in the pursuit of obscenity cases. 

According to the Tribune, Bogden said he was "surprised" to read the statements in Ward's e-mails.

"When I read the e-mails it was just really nonsense," Bogden said in a March 24 interview with the Tribune . "This guy hasn't even met me and yet he's criticizing me of having made lousy excuses and being some kind of defiant U.S. attorney."

Ward's August 2006 e-mail to a Justice department official claimed that Bogden was making excuses to resist a potential obscenity prosecution one week before a scheduled meeting on the case in Las Vegas. 

Bogden told the Tribune that the case brought to his attention by Ward would have required further investigation, demanding more resources than his office could provide. 

To read the Salt Lake Tribune report, click here.