Huber is a former aide to Mitch McConnell and has always struck me as a fair minded prosecutor for the Western District of Kentucky. My suspicion is that McConnell probably stepped in if he caught wind that the political hacks in the U. S. Justice Department might try to have Huber fired. Here's the C-J story about Huber:

Huber mystified by suggested dismissal
U.S. attorney hasn't heard from Justice

By Jim Adams
jadams@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

The U.S. attorney in Louisville said yesterday no one from the Justice Department has called to explain why his name was on a list of U.S. attorneys suggested for termination.

U.S. Attorney David Huber said that he has spoken with only one person in Washington -- a press assistant regarding a press release -- since Thursday morning. That was when The Washington Post reported that his name was among 13 prosecutors on a list sent to the White House in March 2005 by Kyle Sampson, who was chief of staff at the time for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The newspaper reported that Huber was one of 26 U.S. attorneys -- more than Gonzales has acknowledged -- who were suggested for termination in 2005 and 2006.

"I don't know why I was on the list. I really don't have a clue," Huber said during a press conference.

Huber, 64, said he called the press conference to tell the public that "we're still open for business and doing our jobs."

Gonzales has been under fire this year over whether the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys were for proper reasons or were politically motivated. At least five Republican senators have called for his resignation and a congressional investigation of the firings is under way.

If Huber's name were on Sampson's list because of complaints about his performance, Huber is unaware of them, he said.

Huber said U.S. attorneys were told a couple of months ago that they could call the Justice Department and find out if they were on any sort of list or if "anyone said anything bad about you." But he said he did not make such a call and has never discussed his job performance with anyone in Washington.

While U.S. attorneys undergo what he called an "excruciating examination" of their backgrounds prior to appointment, there is no structured job performance evaluation after appointment, he said.

"I've never talked to anyone at the Department of Justice about my job performance," he said.

Huber said that his appearance on the list was a surprise to him, and that no one had alerted him in advance to the Post story.

Huber first joined the U.S. attorney's office in Louisville in 1972. He worked 17 years in two stints as an assistant U.S. attorney and was appointed by President Bush as the top federal prosecutor in the Western District of Kentucky in 2003.

Reporter Jim Adams can be reached at (502) 582-4199.