President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Justice Department’s criminal division is facing scrutiny over a plea deal he brokered with a Louisiana district attorney who was accused of coercing sexual favors from as many as two dozen women. Kenneth Polite was New Orleans’ top federal prosecutor in 2016 when he struck the deal that allowed longtime St. Charles Parish District Attorney Harry Morel to escape sexual misconduct charges and serve less than two years for obstructing a federal investigation. Morel’s accusers and a former FBI agent say Polite lacked the courage to seek justice in the case.
