Holder Changes Ethics Boss at Justice Dept.

Attorney General Eric Holder says he's shifting some office heads at the Justice Department and putting a career Washington prosecutor in charge of the internal ethics unit. Mary Patrice Brown will lead the Office of Professional Responsibility, which drew criticism from a federal judge this week for the handling of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' prosecution last fall, the AP reports.

Yesterday, the judge ordered a criminal investigation into whether Justice Department attorneys violated the law in the Stevens case. Justice officials say the department changes aren't related. Holder moved the current chief of the ethics unit to lead the executive office of US attorneys, and he shifted the person in that position to acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.