Thompson, a former U.S. attorney in Atlanta, also supervised the administration’s corporate-crime task force that has prosecuted top executives of Enron, WorldCom and other alleged corporate malefactors. Word of his departure has jolted Justice insiders: although a strong conservative, Thompson is a widely respected professional whose low-key style contrasted sharply with that of his boss, Attorney General John Ashcroft. Thompson’s departure is also a setback for administration diversity efforts: he was the highest-ranking black in federal law enforcement and was considered a likely replacement for Ashcroft if the A.G. were to leave first.
