Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Ed Tarver yesterday announced two promotions in his office, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Ed Tarver (DOJ)

He named Assistant U.S. Attorney James Durham to be first Assistant U.S. Attorney. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Rafferty will take Durham’s old post as the office’s criminal division chief. Durham told Main Justice that he is replacing Joseph Newman, who stepped down as the first Assistant U.S. Attorney to become a senior litigation counsel in the office.

Durham said he joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in 2002. Rafferty has been with the office since 2008, Durham said.

“Mr. Durham and Mr. Rafferty have handled many significant, complex fraud and other cases in the district, and the district’s judicial officers, defense bar, and staff have recognized their exemplary talents both within and outside of the courtroom,” Tarver said in a statement. “I am excited about the leadership these individuals have provided and will provide as we continue our pursuit of the mission of the United States Attorney’s Office.â€�

Tarver has led the office Savannah, Ga.,-based U.S. Attorney’s office since November 2009. He succeeded Edmund A. Booth Jr., who stepped down as U.S. Attorney last September.

Ed Tarver (DOJ)

While many Americans cut back on spending for their Super Bowl parties yesterday, the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia wasn’t one of them, the CBS affiliate in Augusta, Ga., reported today.

The television station caught up with U.S. Attorney Ed Tarver at a local Kroger grocery store yesterday as he was stocking up for the big game. WRDW television was doing a report on how some people bought less food and party supplies for Super Bowl parties this year because of the poor economy.

“No cutting back in my household today,” Tarver told WRDW. “I have to come pick up my chicken drummettes, chips and dip and all of those things I don’t normally get to eat on Sunday afternoon.”

Tarver has led the office Savannah, Ga.,-based U.S. Attorney’s office since November 2009.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia got a little choked up during his ceremonial swearing-in before almost 200 well-wishers at a federal courthouse today, The Augusta Chronicle reported.

Ed Tarver (gov)

Ed Tarver blinked back tears when he spoke about his former job at the Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley law firm in Augusta, Ga., according to the newspaper. He worked there for almost 20 years.

“They have been more than my law partners, they are my family and have helped us a great deal,â€� Tarver, the first African-American to serve as U.S. Attorney in Georgia’s southern district, said at the ceremony, according to the Chronicle.

Augusta businessman James L. Kendrick said in his remarks at the ceremony that Tarver can be proud of his past work at the Augusta law firm and his U.S. Attorney appointment.

“Ed Tarver, you have earned the right to feel proud, honored, blessed and maybe a little loved,â€� Kendrick said, according to the newspaper.

Tarver was officially sworn in last month, shortly after his Senate confirmation. He succeeded former U.S. Attorney Edmund A. Booth Jr., who resigned in September.

The Senate confirmed four Justice Department officials by unanimous consent tonight.

They are:

Laurie O. Robinson (DOJ)

-Laurie O. Robinson (Office of Justice Programs Assistant Attorney General): The OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and former office chief will succeed Bush OJP head Jeffrey Sedgwick, who resigned in January. She was nominated Sept. 14. Read our previous report on Robinson here.

Carmen Ortiz (Adelphi Univ.)

-Carmen M. Ortiz (Massachusetts U.S. Attorney): The Massachusetts Assistant U.S. Attorney will replace Michael J. Sullivan, who stepped down in April to join a law firm headed by former Attorney General John Ashcroft. Read more about Ortiz here.

Ed Tarver (Tarverforgeorgiasenate.com)

-Ed Tarver (Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney): The Georgia state senator and partner at Augusta, Ga., law firm Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley will succeed Edmund A. Booth Jr., who resigned earlier this month. Read more about Tarver here.

-Benjamin Wagner (Eastern District of California U.S. Attorney): The Assistant U.S. Attorney will succeed McGregor Scott, who resigned in January. Wagner was nominated Aug. 6. Read more about Wagner here.

The Senate has now confirmed 21 U.S. Attorneys. The chamber must still consider three more U.S. Attorney nominees that were reported out of committee today.

Robinson is the second Assistant Attorney General to be confirmed today. The Senate confirmed Ignacia Moreno as the next Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division earlier this evening. There are three more Assistant Attorney General nominees waiting for confirmation in the Senate, including long-stalled Dawn Johnsen for the Office of Legal Counsel.

The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed two U.S. Attorney nominees at its business meeting this morning by unanimous consent.

They are:

Carmen Ortiz (Adelphi Univ.)

-Carmen M. Ortiz (Massachusetts): The Massachusetts Assistant U.S. Attorney would replace Michael J. Sullivan, who stepped down in April to join a law firm headed by former Attorney General John Ashcroft. Read more about the nominee here.

Ed Tarver (Tarverforgeorgiasenate.com)

-Ed Tarver (Southern District of Georgia): The Georgia state senator and partner at Augusta, Ga., law firm Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley would succeed Edmund A. Booth Jr., who resigned earlier this month. Read more about Tarver here.

The panel has now approved 21 U.S. Attorneys, including the 18 U.S. Attorneys who have been confirmed by the Senate. There are another eight U.S. Attorney nominees who have not been considered by the committee yet. There are 93 U.S. Attorney positions nationwide.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to consider two U.S. Attorney nominees next Thursday, the panel announced today.

They are:

Carmen Ortiz (Adelphi Univ.)

-Carmen M. Ortiz (Massachusetts): The Massachusetts Assistant U.S. Attorney would replace Michael J. Sullivan, who stepped down in April to join a law firm headed by former Attorney General John Ashcroft. Read more about the nominee here.

Ed Tarver (Tarverforgeorgiasenate.com)

-Ed Tarver (Southern District of Georgia): The Georgia state senator and partner at Augusta, Ga. law firm Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley would succeed Edmund A. Booth Jr., who resigned earlier this month. Read more about Tarver here.

Another nine U.S. Attorney candidates have been nominated so far, but they haven’t come before the committee yet.

Ed Tarver (gov)

The Senate Judiciary Committee today released a questionnaire from Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney nominee Ed Tarver (Augusta College, University of Georgia School of Law). If confirmed, Tarver would replace Edmund A. Booth, who resigned Sept. 3.

His vitals:

• Born in  Killeen, Texas, in 1959.
• Has been a Georgia state senator since 2005.
• Has been a partner at Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley since 1998. Started working at the firm as an associate in 1992. Was a summer associate there  in 1990.
• Clerked for Judge Dudley H. Bowen, Jr., in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia from 1991 to 1992.
• Was a summer law clerk in 1990 for the Office of the United States Trustee in Tallahassee, Fla., an arm of the Justice Department that oversees bankruptcy cases.
• Has tried 14 cases to verdict — seven as sole counsel, four as chief counsel and three as associate counsel. Seventy percent of the trials were jury trials, 30 percent were non-jury trials.
• Was a field artillery officer in the Army from 1982 to 1989. Had the rank of captain when he was honorably discharged.
• Was delegate for the Democratic Party of Georgia last year.
• The National Association of University Women’s Augusta chapter named him the Citizen of the Year in 2008.

Click here for his full questionnaire.

UPDATE: According to his Office of Government Ethics disclosure, Tarver’s salary from Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley is $243,065. In addition, he earns $27,271.75 as a state senator. He also generates $8,250 from director’s fees and income from two insurance companies and a bank. He owns a condo in Atlana valued at between $10,001 and $250,000. Tarver has debt of between $60,004 and $450,000. His debt consists of a loan acquired to purchase stock, credit cards, a mortgage and a line of credit.

On his Senate Judiciary Committee financial disclosure, Tarver reports assets valued at $1,058,400 and liabilities of $681,100, resulting in a net worth of $377,300. He has two properties worth a combined $650,000, which he owes $568,000 on.

President Obama tapped a former state senator, a state lawmaker and a federal prosecutor for U.S. Attorney posts in Georgia and Massachusetts today.

They are:

-Michael Moore (Middle District of Georgia): The former Georgia state senator and lawyer in Houston County, Ga., would replace Frank Maxwell Wood, who resigned in July. Read our previous report on Moore here.

Ed Tarver (Tarverforgeorgiasenate.com)

-Ed Tarver (Southern District of Georgia): The Georgia state senator and partner at Augusta, Ga. law firm Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley would succeed Edmund A. Booth Jr., who resigned earlier this month. Read more about Tarver here.

Carmen Ortiz (Adelphi Univ.)

-Carmen M. Ortiz (Massachusetts): The Massachusetts Assistant U.S. Attorney would replace Michael J. Sullivan, who stepped down in April to join a law firm headed by former Attorney General John Ashcroft. Read our previous report on the nominee here.

Obama has now made 21 U.S. Attorney nominations. The Senate has confirmed 11 U.S. Attorneys. The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to consider the 10 remaining nominees.

Ed Tarver (Tarverforgeorgiasenate.com)

It will be “nearly impossible” for Georgia taxpayers to avoid picking up the bill for a special election if state Sen. Ed Tarver (D) becomes the Southern District’s U.S. Attorney, Richmond County Board of Elections Executive Director Lynn Bailey told The Augusta Chronicle.  Edmund A. Booth Jr., a Bush holdover, is currently the U.S. Attorney for the district.

The reason? Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) can’t declare Tarver’s state senate seat empty and issue a write of election until Tarver has resigned. The governor also needs time to let a 30-day “candidate qualifying period” lapse before the scheduled Nov. 3 ballot.

If a candidate to replace Tarver does not appear on the ballotU., Purdue will be forced to schedule a special election sometime in 2010, Bailey told the Chronicle. Although it is unclear how much the additional election would cost, a single-issue sales tax referendum voters considered in June cost the city $83,290.

In addition, the Tarver vacancy likely would open up other seats, meaning other special elections for whomever fills Tarver’s seat. Among the politicians looking to replace Tarver are state Rep. Hardie Davis (D), Richmond County State Court Solicitor Harold Jones (D) and Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Mason. Althought Tarver is rumored to be the frontrunner for the job, the White House has made no annoucement on a nominee.

Edmund Booth Jr. (USDOJ)

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, Edmund A. Booth Jr., said today he is resigning, effective Sept. 3.

From The Augusta Chronicle:

Mr Booth, who spent 38 years with the government, said he intends to explore opportunities in the private sector. He was appointed to his current position by President Bush in 2007.

Click here for Booth’s official bio.

Ed Tarver (Tarverforgeorgiasenate.com)

The move could mean the White House is close to nominating his successor. As we reported here, via NBC Augusta 26 News, the Justice Department is vetting Georgia state Sen. Ed Tarver for the job. Tarver, a Democrat, has served in the Georgia senate since 2005.

He is also a partner at Augusta law firm Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley, where he focuses on employment discrimination and public finance law. Read his full bio here.