Update on the Employment Status of Article III Groupie

Update: Orin Kerr over at the Volokh Conspiracy (through Crime and Federalism) has this: 

Just a few minutes ago, Underneath Their Robes returned and A3G put up a new post announcing that the blog is back online.

Ann Althouse is reporting that David Lat (formerly known as Article Three Groupie (A3G) at the now-defunct Underneath Their Robes blog) has voluntarily quit his job with the U.S. Attorney's office in Newark, New Jersey. The article is here.

You might remember that I blogged on this story in November (previous post here), and discussed the intersection of blogging and employment law, including the rights of public employees to speak on matters of public concern on the Internet under the First Amendment.

According to the article, David was not forced from his job because of his blogging activities, but instead quit on his own accord.  An US Attorney spokesman stated: ""It was David's decision to leave . . . There was no effort to force him out of the office at all. He was very good at what he did here."

I have to say that I remain highly skeptical of this explanation, mainly because David was forced to shut down his blog and I can't imagine his credibility as an AUSA having survived the dramatic outing of his gossipy alter-ego.

David plans now to move to Washington D.C. to start a yet-to-be-mentioned new career.  I wish him well and good luck in whatever the future may bring him.

PS