Another Justice Department aide resigns

The aide who warned fired U. S. attorneys not to speak about their dismissals or they would face retaliation has resigned:

Michael J. Elston, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, will leave the department at the end of next week to join an unidentified law firm, officials said.

Elston was closely involved in deliberations over the fate of a group of U.S. attorneys last December. He assembled one of the lists of prosecutors to be considered for removal. Four of the dismissed prosecutors said they later received inappropriate telephone calls from Elston, who allegedly warned some of them that they would suffer retaliation if they spoke publicly about their firings.

Elston and his attorney have denied the allegations.

Elston is the fifth high-ranking Justice Department official to resign in recent weeks.