Agency review favorable to AG nominee

WASHINGTON — Justice Department evaluators gave mostly high ratings to the management skills of Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obama’s nominee for attorney general, in a report made public five days before she faces a Senate confirmation hearing.

The evaluation depicts Lynch, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, as a hands-on manager who personally reviews all indictments, meets regularly with top staff members and helps make decisions on major cases. The report found no significant morale problems within the office and called her “exceptionally well-qualified” for her current job.

The evaluation, conducted in 2012, was written by the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, an arm of the Justice Department whose responsibilities include peer reviews of prosecutors’ offices.

But the review also identified areas for improvement, including the office’s responsiveness to public records requests made under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The report, released Friday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, had been requested by the committee chairman, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa. Obama nominated Lynch in November to succeed outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder.