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Senate Confirms 6 US Attorneys, 5 are Republican Nominees

Last night, the Senate confirmed six U.S. Attorneys, five of whom were the preference of Republicans. Traditionally, nominations for U.S. Attorneys are presented to the President by the senators of the district. If the district's senators are not in the President's party, representatives from the House who are in the same party are consulted.

President Obama. however, has chosen to ignore tradition and nominate U.S. Attorneys preferred by Republican senators, against the advice of House Democrats. [More...]

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Obama Names Second U.S. Attorney From Same NC Law Firm

Today President Obama announced the nomination of Ann Tompkins for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. She's a partner in the law firm Alston & Bird.

A few weeks ago, Obama nominated Thomas G. Walker to be U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He's also a partner at Alston & Bird.

Open Secrets says Alston & Bird is a lobbying firm that made $8.1 million in lobbying fees in 2009. Here are their health care clients. [More...]

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Fired U.S. Attorney Bogden Gets His Job Back

Is rehiring Daniel Bogden, one of the fired U.S. Attorneys, really a good idea? Some think not. From the Las Vegas Sun:

President Barack Obama’s nomination of Daniel Bogden as U.S. attorney for Nevada was met Friday with initial disappointment from defense attorneys and prosecutors who had questioned his leadership abilities.

....“Many people within the U.S. attorney’s office do not see Bogden’s appointment as the type of ‘change you can believe in’ that Obama promised,” one prosecutor said. “But we’re hoping that Bogden has changed as a result of his experience under the Bush administration and will demonstrate a greater commitment to diversity in hiring and promoting within the office.”

Other complaints by Nevada attorneys about Bodgen included his reputation for lack of cordiality when dealing with defense attorneys and the media.

The U.S. Attorney's job has always been a political plum, almost always reserved for people within the President's party. Obama has been slow to replace Bush's appointments, and now, he's appointed one who is a Republican. I don't call this progress or change.

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