The decision to appeal was approved in Washington Thursday evening by Solicitor General Drew Days, the third-highest ranking official in the Justice Department, department officials said.

Mr. George, who was the agency's third-highest ranking official during the Iran-contra affair, has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of perjury and obstruction of justice.

From 1966 to 1969 he served as Under Secretary for Political Affairs in Lyndon B. Johnson's government, the third-highest ranking official in the State Department.

Louis R. Anemone served with the New York City Police Department for 34 years, the last four as its chief of department, the third-highest official.

Mr. Larson, the state's third-highest official and the party's endorsed candidate, is a popular Democratic leader who only a month ago had a 2-to-1 lead in polls of registered Democrats.

In 1994, Allegra was appointed Counselor to the Associate Attorney General (the third-highest ranking official at the Justice Department).

From almost the moment he declared his candidacy in April 1993, Mr. Larson, the third-highest official in the state, began raising money to broadcast commercials portraying him as an effective legislator.

As the third-highest elected official in the land, one of what the Constitution calls the "civil officers of the United States," Mr. Gingrich is also probably impeachable.

From 1996 to 1999, he was the third-highest ranking official in the NBA as its Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

They soon found his badge from the District Attorney's office, where he was then the third-highest ranking official.