Linda Pence (Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP)
An Indianapolis lawyer is now the frontrunner to become the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, The Indianapolis Business Journal reported Friday. But Joe Hogsett was not the first choice of Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who was pushing for trial lawyer Linda Pence.
Joe Hogsett (Bingham McHale LLP)
The chairman of the Marion County Democratic Party, Ed Treacy, and others with knowledge of the situation told the Journal that Hogsett is now expected to get the nod. Hogsett, who is a partner at Bingham McHale LLP in Indianapolis, served as Indiana secretary of state from 1989 to 1994 and was chief of staff for then-Gov. Bayh from 1995 to 1997.
Hogsett declined comment to the newspaper nor would he acknowledge being under consideration.
The newspaper said that Pence was several months into the U.S. Attorney vetting process but withdrew her candidacy in October 2009. She also declined to discuss or acknowledge her possible nomination with the paper.
Pence, a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, was the Democratic nominee for Indiana attorney general in 2008 but lost to Greg Zoeller by nearly 39,000 votes. Prior to joining the firm, Pence worked at Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., investigating corporations for bribery, embezzlement, and tax fraud.
The district has been without a presidentially selected U.S. Attorney since 2007 when Susan W. Brooks resigned after heading the office since 2001. The district’s current acting U.S. Attorney is Timothy M. Morrison. Morrison told the newspaper he is not interested in being nominated for U.S. Attorney. “Politics has nothing to do with it,” he said. “It’s because I want to stay,” meaning he wants to work in the U.S. Attorney’s office longer than the four-year term.
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