Font Resize- U.S. Attorney for Utah
- Oct 14:
- Brett Tolman resigning as U.S. attorney
Washington » President Barack Obama is expected to nominate experienced prosecutor David Schwendiman as the new U.S. Attorney for Utah, according to political and legal insiders.
If nominated and confirmed, Schwendiman would replace his former boss, U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman, who announced Wednesday he will resign at year's end.
"The talk has always been Schwendiman," says Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland. "I would have been surprised if Brett is stepping down if it wasn't Schwendiman" taking the role.
Currently a war-crimes prosecutor in Bosnia, Schwendiman is a graduate of the University of Utah College of Law and previously helped run security operations for the Olympics in Salt Lake City, Athens and Sydney. He also had stints in the Utah Attorney General's Office and U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps before his extensive career in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah.
That career included key roles in the execution of murderer Gary Gilmore and the prosecution of the Singer-Swapp family in the bombing of an LDS church. He briefly worked for Tolman before taking the international prosecutorial post in Bosnia, where he has served since 2006.
Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah's lone Democrat in Congress who likely would hold some sway in the choice of the state's top federal prosecutor, declined to say whom he recommended to Obama for the position. But it has been no
Schwendiman is well known by the Matheson family, serving for five years as the top assistant to then-U.S. Attorney for Utah Scott Matheson Jr., Jim Matheson's brother.
Schwendiman, who eventually became acting U.S. attorney for Utah, also serves as an adjunct professor at the U.'s College of Law, where Scott Matheson formerly served as dean.
Those who know Schwendiman well say he would be the perfect pick.
"There couldn't be a better candidate and a better person to be put in that position," says Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill. "Beyond a professional résumé that is just impeccable, Dave Schwendiman has just the passion and understanding to be a great public prosecutor."
The White House said Wednesday it had nothing to report on whom it would pick to replace Tolman.
Obama so far has nominated 30 of 93 U.S. attorney positions; 15 of those have been confirmed by the Senate in a process that normally takes a few months.
U.S. attorneys are the top federal prosecutors in each district, of which Utah has only one. They report to the U.S. attorney general and often push the legal priorities of the president. As an example, President George W. Bush touted Project Safe Neighborhoods, which aggressively prosecuted gun crimes.
It's up to Obama to nominate Tolman's replacement, but he is expected to lean heavily on recommendations from Utah's congressional delegation and the advice of the Justice Department.
Aside from Matheson, Sen. Orrin Hatch is expected to play a key role because of the Utah Republican's position on the Senate Judiciary Committee. All U.S. attorney nominees must be approved by that panel and confirmed by the whole Senate.
The last Democrat to hold the position of U.S. Attorney for Utah was Scott Matheson Jr., who now is a candidate for an opening on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. (Schwendiman's political affiliation was unclear Wednesday).
Then-Rep. Karen Shepherd, D-Utah, recommended Scott Matheson Jr. for U.S. attorney. He then had to go through a vetting process in which he turned over professional and personal information to the White House. He also was interviewed by Attorney General Janet Reno before his nomination went to the Senate.
The Senate Judiciary Committee examines the nominees and votes, though it rarely holds a hearing on attorney nominees.
Matheson Jr. said that Shepherd and Hatch helped him navigate the nominating process.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said it's the president's prerogative to nominate whomever he wishes and that change in such an office can be good.
"Those are political appointments and I respect that," Chaffetz said. "It's good to cycle people. [They] come in, serve and then get out. I think that's a healthy part of the process."
» International prosecutor in the Special Department for War Crimes of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 2006-present.
» Adjunct professor, University of Utah College of Law, present.
» Assistant U.S. attorney for Utah and later interim U.S. attorney, 1987-1998.
»Member of the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps.
» Security operations at the Olympics in Salt Lake City, Sydney and Athens.
» Member of the U.S. Attorney General's Critical Incident Response Group.
Signs point to veteran prosecutor David Schwendiman -- if he is nominated, as expected, and confirmed -- returning to Utah and becoming the next U.S. attorney for the state. Schwendiman, who is prosecuting war crimes in Bosnia, previously was interim U.S. attorney for Utah and has ties to Rep. Jim Matheson and brother Scott Matheson Jr., who held the U.S. attorney position from 1993 to '97.
