Our Kerala girl Rachel Paulose is facing strong headwinds in her job as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota.

Of course, we knew Rachel Paulose was in trouble. But the magnitude of opposition she faces surprised us after reading today’s New York Times.

The essential criticism against Rachel Paulose seems to be that she’s yet another Bush lackey just not qualified for the important job she holds.

But it’s possible that much of Rachel Paulose’s woes could be motivated by sheer resentment of her success in landing a coveted job at a young age.

In any case, Rachel’s woes must have surely multiplied after the NYT butchered the 34-year-old U.S. Attorney in a front page story today:

Rachel K.Paulose is routinely described by colleagues in Minneapolis and Washington as representative of much that went wrong at the department under Alberto R.Gonzales, the former Attorney General…. 

Ms. Paulose is the focus of a wide-ranging investigation by the Office of Special Counsel, a federal watchdog agency charged with protecting the rights of government workers.

Administration officials with knowledge of the inquiry say it centers on accusations that Ms. Paulose mishandled classified documents, retaliated against at least one staff member who complained about her management and used a racial epithet in reference to another employee. She has denied the accusations.

David Anderson, a flack for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesotta, declined to comment on the troubling issues raised in the New York Times piece.

Anderson, however, forwarded a statement issued by Rachel Paulose after the news on the investigation by the the Office of Special Counsel was disclosed:

Since the matter is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time. I am confident the truth will be brought to light. I am focused on doing the work of the people, which is what I was appointed to do.

But with Minnesotta’s Republican Senator Norm Coleman turning against her, the Democrats on the ascendant, the investigation by the Office of Special Counsel and the media heat, our Mallu Kutty could well be entering her final weeks or months as U.S.Attorney for the District of Minnesotta.

A Bush loyalist, Rachel was appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesotta first in an interim capacity in February 2006 and later confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2006.

Barely had the ink on her appointment letter dried when Rachel’s troubles began when some of her underlings quit their management posts in April 2006, reportedly in protest against her management style.

To compound her woes, Rachel also seems to have run afoul of the media, both local and national.

A Yale Law School graduate, Rachel Paulose was born in Kerala on March 12, 1973 to Lucy Paulose and Joseph Paulose and moved to the U.S. at a young age.

Rachel Paulose was the first person of Indian origin to be appointed as U.S. Attorney.

In her previous avatars, Rachel served as the Department of Justice’s Special Counsel for Healthcare Fraud and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota from 1999-2002.