In related news, The Washington Post reports that a former U.S. attorney who prosecuted a landmark lawsuit against tobacco companies has admitted that political appointees in the Justice Department repeatedly ordered her to take steps that weakened the government’s case. Sharon Eubanks said she was ordered to drop a recommendation that tobacco executives be removed from their corporate positions as a possible penalty. The Justice Department also urged Eubanks to seek less money from the tobacco companies. The government originally sought a $130 billion settlement, but at the last moment the request was dropped to just $10 billion. Eubanks said, “When decisions are made now in the Bush attorney general’s office, politics is the primary consideration. … The rule of law goes out the window.”