Carol Lam

Two prominent Democratic congressmen asked the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday whether the Bush administration forced San Diego U.S. Atty. Carol Lam to resign because of her vigorous prosecution of public corruption cases, including that of a longtime Republican lawmaker. In a letter to Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzalez, Reps.

Carol Lam, who was forced out by the Bush administration as U.S. attorney, will become senior vice president and legal counsel for Qualcomm Inc., the locally based telecommunications company. Lam starts at Qualcomm on Feb. 26. Her last day as U.S. attorney was Thursday. Executive Assistant U.S. Atty. Karen Hewitt will act as interim U.S. attorney while the Bush administration selects a successor.

From the moment she took over as U.S. attorney in San Diego in 2002, Carol Chien-Hua Lam made no secret that white-collar crime would be her top priority -- including transgressions by prominent business and political figures. And she was as good as her word, prosecuting corporate targets, local officials and a U.S. congressman, Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham of Rancho Santa Fe, who is in prison as a result of her efforts. Lam, however, was recently fired, one of eight U.S.

Senate Democrats signaled Sunday that of the eight federal prosecutors abruptly ousted by the Bush administration, the case in San Diego is emerging as the most troubling because of new allegations that U.S. Atty. Carol C. Lam was fired in an attempt to shut down investigations into Republican politicians in Southern California. Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.