We start this post with a caveat: We really don’t know what’s going on with the Northern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney selection. But we do have some new information to share about criminal defense lawyer Christi McCoy, who was recommended for the post by Mississippi House Democrats.

We reported earlier this month that the nomination of McCoy, of Oxford, Miss., was on the rocks — after previously reporting it was on track. We heard unconfirmed talk of a tax problem, and chatter that her professional connections to two figures in the famous Dickie Scruggs case were giving the Obama administration pause.

Scruggs is the prominent trial lawyer and Democratic donor who made a fortune suing the tobacco industry. McCoy used to work for Joey Langston, who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Scruggs to bribe a judge.  McCoy also represented former State Auditor Steve Patterson, who pleaded guilty in another Scruggs-related judge bribery case. Is all that really a problem for McCoy?

As Mississippi legal reporter Patsy Brumfield noted recently, “Frankly, what aspiring young attorney in Prentiss County didn’t want to work for Langston back in the mid 1990s?”

And what criminal defense lawyer hasn’t represented an unsavory client? No good one, certainly.

But even Brumfield, who originally refuted reports that McCoy’s candidacy had run off the rails, has concluded that “something” is amiss. But what?

Well, let’s start with the rumored “tax” problem. A person familiar with the Mississippi nomination process told us McCoy hasn’t even submitted her tax information to the White House or the Justice Department yet. And an administration official said the vetting process for McCoy hasn’t begun. So that casts doubts on that.

And while we’re on the topic of background checks, another thing worth considering: McCoy’s husband, Dwanye Smith, is the acting agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Oxford office. The DEA regularly conducts background checks on its agents to maintain their security clearances. If the couple had tax issues, or any other skeletons for that matter, they probably would have revealed themselves by now.

Meanwhile, Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Ivy is lobbying for the position, though McCoy has the support of Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Travis Childers (D-Miss.). Ivy was in Washington recently for the Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and Asset Forfeiture Program (OCDETF) national leadership conference. Ivy, who had been an early favorite for the post, paid a visit to the Congress members’ offices.

Thompson told us that the meeting had “nothing to do with the U.S. attorneyâ€� position. He declined to comment on what the two discussed. We’re also told Ivy met with Childers’ staff, though we could not confirm whether he pitched himself as an alternative to McCoy.

Pasty Brumfield in Mississippi also reported this interesting fact: Ivy had recently been added to the prosecution team for Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter, who was accused of giving Scruggs an unfair advantage in court. DeLaughter pleaded guilty on July 31 to one federal obstruction of justice count. Prosecutors recommended an 18-month sentence. Ivy worked alongside prosecutors Robert Norman and Chad Lamar, veterans of the Scruggs case.

So what’s with the delay on McCoy? Maybe nothing. The person familiar with the Mississippi nominations said the Obama administration was in contact with Childers about McCoy as recently as last week. That’s a heckuva lot better than in some other districts, which shall remain unnamed, where candidates have been in the dark since January because their elected officials aren’t bird-dogging the White House.

Mary Jacoby contributed to this report.

Joe Palazzolo can be contacted at jpalazzolo@mainjustice.com and Mary Jacoby at mjacoby@mainjustice.com