Pubdate: Wed, 22 Apr 2015 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Copyright: 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: http://www.wsj.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487 Author: Devlin Barrett DEA CHIEF MICHELE LEONHART TO STEP DOWN Resignation comes amid disagreements with Obama administration on drug and criminal-justice policy The head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has decided to resign amid mounting disagreements with the Obama administration on drug and criminal-justice policy, and intense criticism of her handling of a sex-party scandal involving DEA agents. Michele Leonhart, who has led the agency since 2007, has been under growing pressure to depart. Her hold on the job has been precarious for more than a year following her apparent discomfort with the Obama administration's acceptance of laws in some states decriminalizing marijuana. She also distanced herself from the Justice Department's effort to scale back some prison sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. Outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that Ms. Leonhart, a career law-enforcement officer who worked on the Baltimore police force before becoming a DEA agent, would retire next month. He called Ms. Leonhart a "trailblazer for equality and an inspiration to countless others," noting she was a female agent who rose through the ranks during a 35-year career. "She has devoted her life and her professional career to the defense of our nation and the protection of our citizens, and for that, I am deeply grateful,'' Mr. Holder said. Ms. Leonhart couldn't be reached for comment. A former DEA chief, Peter Bensinger, criticized the Obama administration for forcing her out. The sex-party scandal, he said, "is not what is causing her departure. This is about her courage to enforce the law. It's about marijuana which is illegal in all 50 states under federal law, it's about our international treaty obligations, it's about the asset forfeiture law, and minimum sentencing for serious drug offenses. It's about politics.'' A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on Mr. Bensinger's criticism. Ms. Leonhart's time as the nation's top drug enforcement officer saw major changes in government policy toward drugs, particularly marijuana. Those changes left her increasingly at odds with her bosses in the Obama administration, but neither she nor the White House seemed willing to have a public confrontation on the issue. Public criticism of Ms. Leonhart intensified this month after a Justice Department inspector general report found that DEA agents had engaged in sex parties in Colombia, where prostitution is legal in certain zones. The agents received what lawmakers of both parties called light punishment-suspensions without pay ranging from two to 10 days. At a congressional hearing last week, legislators questioned whether Ms. Leonhart should continue to lead the agency. She defended herself by saying she had little direct control over the DEA's disciplinary process, and was trying to improve it. After the hearing, nearly two dozen lawmakers signed a letter saying they had no confidence in her continuing in the job because they didn't believe she could change what they called the "good old boy" culture at the agency. A White House spokesman declined at the time to say if she still had the confidence of President Barack Obama. Ms. Leonhart is leaving at a time of shake-ups in the top ranks of the Justice Department. The head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recently left his position, and Attorney General Eric Holder is likely to leave his job any day, as lawmakers said Tuesday they had ended a deadlock over a piece of legislation that had been holding up a floor vote on the nomination of his intended successor, Loretta Lynch. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt