State Sen. Joyce Elliott (D) "repeatedly questioned" ex-U.S. Atty Tim Griffin's (R) character during his ascent to the U.S. Atty's office during a 10/11 debate. Griffin "defended his service in the office," saying he was proud of his "short stint" there, though he acknowledged the transition was "mishandled."

At one point Elliott called Griffin a "Washington politico" and said an investigation showed he tried to subvert the DoJ to get the position. Griffin: "The decision on who was to be fired was put together long before I ever stepped into the White House. That list was made a long time ago and it was mishandled" (Lesnick, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/11).